Seattle is waking up to steady rain Tuesday with a 68% chance of showers and thunderstorms through the afternoon, temperatures topping out near 62°F and southwest winds gusting to 18 mph. This is a classic Puget Sound front-passage day — wet through mid-morning, a brief thunderstorm window, then a slow clearing. Grab your packable rain jacket and plan around the gaps.
Today’s Setup
A cold front cleared east of the Cascades overnight, but a trailing upper-level trough is dragging additional shower coverage — and a genuine, if unusual, thunderstorm chance — through the day. The National Weather Service notes a convergence zone setting up over Snohomish and southern Skagit counties this morning, with King County seeing the thickest shower activity mid-afternoon as the trough passes overhead. Overnight lows fall to near 49°F with a 46% rain chance lingering before dawn.
Best Window To Be Outside
If you can push outdoor plans to Wednesday, do it. Partly sunny skies and 65°F with just an 8% rain chance makes for a much better day at Green Lake or along the Burke-Gilman Trail. Today’s best outdoor window is late morning after the heaviest rain but before the afternoon trough arrives. Breezy southwest winds will make 62°F feel closer to the upper 50s, so layer up. Anyone heading out to Tiger Mountain or the Issaquah Alps should have waterproof hiking boots on.
Rain and Wind Risk
No SPC severe weather outlook covers the Seattle metro today — but NWS forecasters specifically flag a thunderstorm chance between 11 AM and 5 PM PT. Keep an eye on the radar if you’re working outside in Redmond or anywhere east of Lake Washington, where convergence effects can sharpen showers. A compact travel umbrella is worth tossing in your bag this morning.
Events This Week
Seattle Storm host the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, June 10 at Climate Pledge Arena — that’s indoors, so rain won’t matter. Find tickets on StubHub while you can, or pick up Official team gear on Fanatics to cheer them on in style. Also on Wednesday, June 10, the Tacoma Rainiers host the Albuquerque Isotopes at Cheney Stadium — Wednesday’s clearing skies make it a solid outdoor baseball night.
Looking ahead, the ilani BBQ Fest presents Bourbon & Bites rolls into Ridgefield on June 13 with much better weather on the horizon. And Chelsea Handler: The High and Mighty Tour hits the Paramount Theatre on June 13 — Get tickets on SeatGeek before they’re gone.
Dinner Tonight
Rainy Tuesday calls for serious comfort food. Load up your programmable slow cooker with chili or beef stew before you head out the door and come home to something warm. An enameled cast iron Dutch oven is equally perfect if you prefer stovetop. Need ingredients? You can order groceries on Amazon and have everything for tonight’s dinner delivered to your door.
Next Few Days
Wednesday is the turnaround — that trough clears east and sunshine returns. The National Weather Service is tracking a strong upper-level ridge building offshore Friday and pushing inland through the weekend, with low-level flow going offshore Saturday night. Forecasters are flagging the possibility of record highs Sunday and Monday — quite a flip from today’s gray skies. Stay up to date with the Seattle weather forecast as that warmup develops.
