Temperatures warming up in Seattle to finish spring, start summer

Seattle - A ridge of high pressure will build over the Pacific Northwest this week, bringing sunshine to Western Washington and pushing temperatures into the 70s and 80s.

Tuesday starts with morning clouds, but sunshine will follow and dominate the afternoon. Temperatures will be back in the upper 60s and low 70s in the central and south Puget Sound areas.

A warming trend starts today in Seattle with afternoon sunshine.

Temperatures will warm up with morning clouds and afternoon sunshine in Seattle Tuesday. (FOX 13 Seattle)

With spring coming to and end and the summer solstice on Thursday, Seattle has reached its longest days of the year. The sun rises just after 5:00 AM and sets after 9:00 PM for the next two weeks, giving us almost 16 hours of daylight.

The longest days of the year are the next two weeks in Seattle.

Seattle gets almost 16 hours of daylight with the sun setting after 9:00 PM this week. (FOX 13 Seattle)

Temperatures will soar into the 80s by Thursday, but we are still about a month away from the "heat of the summer" in Seattle. On average, July 21 through August 9 is the warmest time period of the year in Seattle with highs close to 80 degrees.

The heat of summer is about a month away in Seattle.

The longest days of the year are over the next two weeks, but the heat of summer lags behind about a month. (FOX 13 Seattle)

The warmest days of the week will be Thursday and Friday as temps soar to the 80s. There's a chance Friday will become Seattle's warmest day of the year so far.

Hot temperatures won't last. An incoming system will bring more weekend clouds and a slight chance of showers on Sunday.