High of 88 expected today; high of 90 on Sunday

Oh, sure, some people can just accept that it's a beautiful day and enjoy it — fishermen preparing their boats, gardeners grabbing their gloves, partyers hitting the keg stores to make up for months of gray weather that never delivered a barbecue-worthy spring.

But what about the down side? Do they ever think about that?

Do they think about all the people who have to work weekends and watch (or read about) the weather rather than enjoy it?

The high temperature in Seattle is expected to reach 88 today, shy of the record, 91, set in 1995, according to the National Weather Service. Sunday may be hotter still, with a forecast high of 90, again short of the record, 93, set in 1987.

"It doesn't look likely that we may break those records," said Weather Service meteorologist Johnny Burg.

The highest temperatures will be inland, away from the Puget Sound, in places such as Bellevue.

Burg looked out from an office in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration building at Sandpoint.

"We have a big, huge window in front of us so we get to enjoy watching people at Matthews Beach or sailing across the water, but, yeah, we're stuck inside," Burg said.

Burg said he likes clouds and cooler weather, but he called the warm sun "a nice change of pace from what we've been having for the earlier half of this month."

While the first day of summer was June 20, in Seattle, most folks know the season doesn't begin for practical purposes until after Independence Day.

And, in fact, a typical weather pattern is expected to return with the workweek. Burg said there is a chance of thundershowers Sunday evening.

On Monday, high temperatures will be in the upper 70s to mid-80s, and then they will cool into the low to mid-70s Tuesday through Friday, which is Independence Day.

No funds for fun

Some people started the sunny weekend with empty wallets.

"I have no money, so I can't do anything," said Christie Ross sadly as she waited in the sunshine for her bus to North Seattle on Friday.

"I don't get paid 'til next week, so I'll probably stay inside and watch TV."

Divers and the search-and-rescue teams know that when the mercury climbs, there's a good chance they'll be summoned.

"They call it a good day for a drowning," Sgt. John Urquhart, of the King County Sheriff's Office, has said of unseasonably warm weather.

"People around here either go into the mountains or go into the water, which is not a bad thing in itself," said Urquhart, who said he would probably be out there himself this weekend were his boat not in the shop. "But if they are not prepared, either can be deadly. Beautiful weather is dangerous around here."

Urquhart and other officials offered words of caution to those headed outdoors.

"Wear life jackets and don't go in over your head, literally or figuratively," said Urquhart.

"If you are going into the mountains," he said, "take enough for overnight, and a cellphone, that's one of the most important things these days."

Allen Kam, another Weather Service meteorologist, said area rivers and lakes are still icy cold with snowmelt that can shock a person's system.

Experts now recognize that "cold-water immersion" is a significant cause of drownings, said Dan Shipman, a Coast Guard boating safety specialist in Seattle.

Sudden entry into chilly water has caused fatal heart attacks in healthy people, and an involuntary gasp reflex triggered by cold water has caused people to inhale water and drown, said Shipman.

The Coast Guard expected boating traffic to increase this afternoon and particularly on Sunday, said Petty Officer Stephen Spalding.

"Density increases with the weather," he said.

The Coast Guard has had no search-and-rescue incidents so far this weekend, Spalding said.

Boating-related fatalities are up 18 percent so far this year in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, according to the Coast Guard. Of the 28 reported deaths, 12 have been in Washington; 11 of those victims weren't wearing life jackets.

In the Puget Sound area, two men died in separate boating accidents on the Green River in May, and earlier this month a man and two boys drowned in a boating accident on the Nisqually River.

Allegedly, that accident involved alcohol, as do about 20 percent of all boating accidents nationwide, according to the Coast Guard.

Among those who refused to be dispirited by the warnings were the many patrons of the Dawgpound keg shop on University Way.

"There's definitely been good moods all around," said manager Jason Deford.

David Him, of Seattle, said Friday he planned to get up before dawn today to go fishing with buddies while the skies hold clear.

"You have to do it when you can around here. That's how it works," he said.

Chelsea Culver, of Ballard, said she plans to spend the whole weekend sitting in her yard on a lawn chair with a Hale's beer in her hand.

She expects it will be very pleasant, though she has one concern.

"I'm afraid it will get too hot," said the Northwest native, who prefers temperatures in the high 60s. "In true Ballard fashion, I'm a little picky about my weather."

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com

Information previously reported in The Seattle Times was included in this report.