Seattle weather: Smoke to push east, cooler weather to follow

Skies will remain hazy through Sunday

Wildfire smoke is impacting our air quality throughout the region. Many locations are seeing moderate readings with a few spots even into the "unhealthy for sensitive" range.

After experiencing smoky weather this weekend, cleaner air and cooler weather return to Seattle and Western Washington this week.

Earlier this morning, many places in Western Washington dealt with low-hanging clouds and isolated pockets of fog. While there is some smoke near the surface, most of the wildfire haze in our skies today is in the upper levels of the atmosphere. This means that there isn't a major drop in the air quality at the ground.

However, the air quality may be "moderate" to "unhealthy" for those who are sensitive to smoke (e.g. for people with asthma, COPD, COVID-19, etc.) near the Cascades and in Eastern Washington. Air quality should remain "good" along the coast." Many backyards near the water of Puget Sound will experience "good" to "moderate" readings today.

Here are resources to check air quality in our region:

The Washington Air Quality Map and Puget Sound Clean Air Agency are resources to check air quality in our region.

As cooler and cleaner air arrives from the Pacific Ocean on Monday, any remaining haze will be pushed out of Western Washington and into the east side of the state. Right now, it looks like most of this week will feature good air quality. Stay tuned, because this is subject to change!

This afternoon, highs will reach the 70s for most neighborhoods in Puget Sound, but the smoke may hinder temperatures from warming somewhat. Temperatures will be super comfortable for the Seahawks game!