King Tides, Thunderstorm Chances & More: Puget Sound Weather Outlook

SEATTLE — Forecasters are monitoring an incoming round of astronomical high tides this weekend and peaking early next week, but overall the weather looks to stay calmer and drier after Saturday.

The National Weather Service expects more "king tides" — the unofficial term for the highest tides of the year — to develop between Monday and Wednesday.

King tides in late December were responsible for significant flooding in Seattle's South Park neighborhood, damaging more than a dozen homes. This time, forecasters said, conditions should be less favorable to hazardous outcomes as next week's forecast lacks complicating factors like significant winds, high rivers, or heavy precipitation.

On Friday, the National Weather Service said "very minor" tidal overflow may be possible during the largest of the high tides, but water levels are not expected anywhere close to where they were during the last event.

As a precautionary measure, the city of Seattle put protective measures in place this week — including concrete blocks, jersey barriers and sandbags — in flood-prone locations along the river in South Park.

"We recently experienced how devastating an extremely high tide, called a king ride, can be along the Duwamish River," Seattle Public Utilities wrote Tuesday. "On December 27 and 28, tidal waters overtopped the riverbank and caused serious flooding in South Park homes, businesses, and streets. Some residents had to leave their homes to stay with friends or in hotels."

Officials encouraged neighbors to sign up for Alert Seattle to receive important updates if a serious situation develops. Residents can text "SEATTLE" to 67283 or sign up at alert.seattle.gov.

Slight chance for thunderstorms Saturday, then drier next week

On Saturday, forecasters are also keeping tabs on a small chance for thunderstorms developing, mainly for areas east and north of Seattle. The Cascades also look likely to pick up a few more inches of snow through early Sunday.

A slight chance of rain will stay in the forecast for Sunday and Monday, but the weather looks to stay drier through at least the middle of next week. While mostly cloudy skies are in the forecast through Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday should be mostly sunny, forecasters said.

In the longer term, new climate outlooks favor colder and wetter weather returning to close out January, with a chance for heavy rain in the lowlands and heavy snow over the Cascades.