Seattle will see a long stretch of dry and warm weather heading into mid-June

Seattle weather: Sunny skies and temperatures warming up

Seattle - A ridge of high pressure building over the West Coast of the United States will warm temperatures into the 70s and even 80s in some spots by the weekend.

Temperatures will be about five degrees warmer on Thursday with mostly sunny skies from start to finish. The area will see high clouds at times today.

Seattle will start heating up Thursday with the return of sunshine.

A map showing the forecasted high temperatures in Western Washington Thursday. (FOX 13 Seattle)

This strong ridge of high pressure will impact areas of the Southwest United States with potentially record-setting temperatures. For the Northwest, temps will be above average, but not excessively hot.

High pressure means warmer temps and sunshine for Seattle

A map showing the upper level weather pattern, showing a strong ridge of high pressure over the West Coast. (FOX 13 Seattle)

Phoenix and Las Vegas will see temps over 110 degrees, about two to three weeks ahead of schedule. The California valleys could see temps over 100 degrees Thursday as well.

Temps could heat to record highs in the US Southwest Thursday

A map showing the forecasted high temperatures for Thursday around the United States (FOX 13 Seattle)

Saturday will be the hottest day of the next week, with highs close to 80 degres in Seattle. Models are in good agreement moving in a weak system into the Pacific Northwest on Sunday. This will cool things down and bring in a few more clouds to start next week. There will be a chance of light showers in the mountains, but the lowlands will likely stay dry.