Kirkland Weekend Forecast: Less Smoke, More Rain

KIRKLAND, WA — After a long week of smoky skies and unhealthy air, rain has finally arrived to help clear things up. The frontal system began pushing its way into the Puget Sound region on Friday, bringing with it scattered shower activity, and even few lightning strikes.

That system is expected to continue making its way through the region Saturday, and forecasters are predicting a 90 percent chance of rain for many communities. On Sunday, the rain will largely subside but the clouds will remain through Monday.

Skies will clear on Tuesday, but expect to see even more rain Wednesday and Thursday when a second frontal system moves in. Highs will remain in the upper 60s to lower 70s, with lows dipping into the mid 50s at night.

Luckily, this forecast also calls for an end to the smoke that has been choking western Washington the past week.

As the rain moves in this weekend, it is expected to push the smoke out. Friday evening, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency reported that the air quality remained largely unhealthy, but that they expect it to improve over the day Saturday— possibly even moving back into the "good" range.

Until air quality returned to normal levels, experts continue to warn that anyone who is sensitive to respiratory issues should remain indoors as much as possible. The National Weather Service says that the homeless population, elderly children and those with underlying health issues are the most at risk when the air quality is low.

Here's the National Weather Service's 5-day forecast for Kirkland:

• Saturday: 66°/57° (Showers likely)
• Sunday: 68°/53° (Chance of showers)
• Monday: 68°/54° (Chance of showers/patchy fog)
• Tuesday: 69°/56° (Slight chance of showers/patchy fog)
• Wednesday: 70°/58° (Chance of showers)

Smoke may be gone, but wildfire danger remains

Just because it will be rainy this weekend and late next week, doesn't mean Washington is out of the woods just yet when it comes to wildfire season. The National Weather Service is warning that there is a slight chance weekend thunderstorms could spark up additional brush fires, and a comprehensive burn ban remains in place for most of western Washington and DNR controlled lands.

Patch reporter Charles Woodman contributed to this story.