Seattle’s 8 p.m. sunsets are here — so are showers and colder weather

The air no longer bites, the bright green of new growth is everywhere and the afternoon sun, when it makes an appearance, casts new and unfamiliar shadows as its arc stretches toward summer.

All are sure signs of the forthcoming season’s approach, and on Monday, the wheels of time made another mark: For the first time this year, the sun set after 8 p.m. in Seattle.

We’ll continue our ride of increasing daylight through June 21, when we’ll have nearly 16 hours of daylight and a 9:11 p.m. sunset, according to Time and Date.

The sun won’t set before 8 p.m. again until Aug. 27.

But despite later sunsets and the past few sun-soaked days with above-normal temperatures, the clouds returned Monday, perhaps to keep us humble.

Scattered showers brushed across Western Washington, and the snow elevation dropped to around 2,000 feet in the mountains by nightfall, according to the National Weather Service.

“With that, a few inches of snow won’t be hard to achieve at the passes,” the weather service said.

Highs across the region were noticeably cooler, too, in the low to mid-50s. Overnight lows sank to the mid-30s to lower 40s. 

Drippy clouds and cooler temperatures will linger into Tuesday before a “much drier” trend begins Wednesday, the weather service said.

Not only will the midweek mark the start of sunnier weather, but highs will nudge up into the 60s once again.