What the weather has in store for Seattle’s Fourth of July weekend

After a scorching heat wave and a cool-down brought by a Pacific Ocean breeze, the Seattle area is in for a cloudy holiday weekend, possibly with some rain.

Saturday will be the sunniest and clearest day this long weekend, with highs in the mid-70s, according to the National Weather Service. Sunday and Monday will be cloudy with a chance of precipitation and highs plunging to the mid-60s.

“I don’t think people are going to be real happy with that forecast,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Dana Felton.

Historically, rain isn’t unheard of for the so-called “summer” holiday. Out of the last 77 years, it has rained 18 times on July 4 and 18 times on July 3.

Lots of locals will tell you summer in Seattle begins July 5, but at the Seattle weather service station Felton says meteorologists tend to cite statistics showing July 12 is actually when temperatures rise.

This Fourth of July holiday could be an especially chilly one, at least for recent years, Felton said. The last time it rained on July 4 was 2010, which also happened to be one of the coolest at 65 degrees. Seattle might just match that record on Monday.

Sun will return Tuesday before another low-pressure system may bring in another rash of clouds and possible showers, Felton said.

June ended as one of the wettest in history here with 2.67 inches of precipitation, nearly double the month’s typical 1.4 inches, Felton said. Out of 78 years of records, this June is the ninth wettest, he said.