Seattle weather: Light showers possible Tuesday

Another dry stretch to end the week

The next weak frontal system arrives Tuesday, bringing another chance of rain to the Puget Sound area. The coast will see some showers in the morning, with the front spreading showers inland by the early afternoon.

SEATTLE - A weak system will bring rain showers and cooler temperatures to Western Washington Tuesday.

Light rain showers are possible, especially Tuesday afternoon, ahead of a cold front pushing through the area.

The best chance for rain arrives this afternoon and into the evening commute hours, though it won't be widespread and will move along quickly. By 8:00 PM, most of the area will be dry again. The one exception could be in the area of the Puget Sound Convergence Zone, where rain could linger longer.

In total, we aren't expecting much more than a tenth of an inch of rain today. In fact, after Tuesday the forecast looks dry through at least early next week.

We are gearing up for an El Niño this upcoming winter season. Taking a look back on the last ten El Niño winters, we found an interesting pattern. While some snow is possible in these typically drier and warmer seasons, a big snow season in the lowlands is not as likely. Data is missing at Sea-Tac in the 1997-1998 and 2002-2003 years, but out of the other eight latest El Niño seasons, only one saw significant snowfall in the Puget Sound lowlands. The 2018-2019 season saw 21 inches.

The coming week looks fantastic, with high temperatures warming into the mid to upper 70s Thursday through Saturday. No significant rainfall is expected for at least the next 10 days.