Seattle weather: Balmy day smashes November heat records in WA

Nov. 11, 2026 at 8:32 pm

Seattle Times state politics reporter

Just as it seemed like the cold and rainy weather was finally here to stay, an unusually warm day led to record-setting temperatures in Western Washington.

Four record highs were set Wednesday in the Puget Sound region, with three of those records topping ones set in 1990.

Near the National Weather Service office next to Magnuson Park the former daily record was 65 degrees, with Wednesday reaching 67; at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport the previous record was 65, and it 67; and in Olympia, where the previous record was 64, it hit 66.

For Bellingham, it climbed to 69 degrees, breaking the previous record of 67 set in 1977.

Dana Felton, meteorologist for the weather service in Seattle, said only two scenarios could lead to record highs this time of the year, and this is one of them. He said there was a warm front to the north, and a cold front stalled offshore, with winds from the south blowing in to warm up the region.

Gusts coming from the south in Bellingham topped 45 mph around 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Another unusually warm scenario would be a strong offshore front met with eastern winds coming down from the Cascades, Felton said.

On Thursday, the stalled offshore front will slowly move toward the region and will increase cloud cover, so while it will still “be a very warm day for November,” temperatures should only reach about 60 degrees, Felton said.

Shauna Sowersby : 206-652-7619 or ssowersby@seattletimes.com . Shauna Sowersby is the state politics reporter for The Seattle Times. She covers the state Legislature, government agencies and the inner workings of state government from Olympia.

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