Seattle weather: Drier Tuesday, gusty tonight for some

Few showers with afternoon sun breaks

Expecting just a few showers today with some afternoon sun breaks. Overall, we have a pretty calm and mild week ahead with showers at times and no big storms.

Seattle - Showers will end Tuesday morning with a nice mix of clouds and sunshine for most by midday. Gusty winds will hit the west slopes of the Cascade foothills later tonight.

With over a half inch of rain on Christmas Day, Seattle has measured over eight inches of rain for the month of December. That's almost two and a half inches over the average for the last month of the year.

Showers have pretty much wrapped up this morning. Tuesday afternoon will feature a mix of clouds and sunshine with mild high temperatures in the 50s for most.

An approaching storm system off the coast will bring strong easterly winds through the Cascade gaps tonight into Wednesday morning. Gusts could reach up to 50 mph in some spots in the Cascade foothills.

Snow levels will jump up over the next 24 hours and remain high above 4,000 feet through Saturday morning. The mountains could use more snow, but there are no big storms on the way.

The next seven days will bring warmer than average temperatures and showers on and off. Temps will likely cool heading into the new year with drier conditions the first few days of January.