SHOWING OFF We're here to help you show off the Seattle area to your summertime visitors — and teach even you locals a few things. Other ways to show off: Seattle skyline cheat sheet International flavor More ...

By Jack Broom
Seattle Times staff reporter

Summer begins today and, yes, Seattle does have the bluest skies you've ever seen — but even in summer, you won't see them every day. Here are some facts about Seattle summers, including when you're most likely to stay dry.

Scheduling for sunshine. Planning a family reunion or croquet marathon? Use this table to pick a date on which Seattle most frequently stays dry, based on 108 years of data compiled by Weather Service meteorologist Dana Felton. Figures show the percentage of times measurable rain fell on these dates from 1893 though 2000.

Driest summer days: July 30 7% Aug 4 7% July 21 8% July 22 8% July 28 8% Aug. 1 8% July 20 9% July 24 9% July 27 9% July 29 9% Aug. 8 9% Aug. 9 9%

Wettest summer days: Sept. 14 35% Sept. 20 33% Sept. 5 31% Sept. 19 31% June 24 31% June 27 31% June 28 30% July 4 30% Sept. 18 30% June 22 29% June 23 29% Sept. 13 29%

How hot it's got: Only twice has the Seattle area's temperature officially hit the century mark. A high of 100 was recorded on July 16, 1941, at the Federal Building downtown and on July 20, 1994, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Hot but no cigar: The thermometer also hit 100 downtown on June 9, 1955, but by then, the Weather Service took its official readings for the area from its Sea-Tac station.

Fireworks and Gore-Tex: The date Seattle is most likely to get rain in July is, of course, Independence Day.

Can't handle heat? If last week's 94-degree scorcher threatened to dry out the webbing between your toes, don't worry. Our average summer highs are much more benign: 69.4 in June, 75 in July, 74.7 in August and 69.4 in September, based on readings at Sea-Tac.

Need more sizzle? Head east. The state's record high was 118 on Aug. 5, 1961, at the Snake River's Ice Harbor Dam, which must have seemed a terrible misnomer at the time.