SEATTLE — Beginning Saturday, Seattle will have six local beaches open as western Washington braces for its first heat wave of the year.
Seattle Parks and Recreation said six area pools will be guarded daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and 12-7 p.m. on weekdays.
- Madison Beach, 1900 43rd Ave. E
- Madrona Beach, 853 Lake Washington Blvd.
- Magnuson Beach, park entrance at NE 65th and Sand Point Way NE
- Mt. Baker Beach, 2301 Lake Washington Blvd. S
- Pritchard Beach, 8400 55th Ave. S
- West Green Lake Beach, 7312 W Green Lake Dr.
An ongoing lifeguard shortage forced the department to close Matthews Beach, Seward Park Beach and East Green Lake Beach for the entire summer.
RELATED: Western Washington Forecast
The beaches will be opportunities for people to cool off following the National Weather Service's (NWS) Heat Advisory for western Washington. The region is now preparing for its first stretch of hot weather this weekend.
The advisory is in effect from noon Saturday until 11 p.m. Monday for most of the region. The advisory is in effect from noon Saturday until 11 p.m. Sunday for the north and central coast.
The NWS warned residents of hot conditions, with highs in the mid-to-upper 80s on Saturday and low 90s on Sunday and Monday. Overnight temperatures will "likely only cool into the low 60s for many locations" Saturday and Sunday night, according to the NWS.
The sustained warm temperatures will pose "a moderate risk of heat-related illness."
Most of western Washington will see highs in the mid to upper 80s with a few lower 90s on Sunday and Monday. These will be the first 80 and 90-degree days of the year for the region.
The last time Seattle reached 80 degrees was Sept. 9, 2021.
The NWS said residents should try to avoid being outdoors in the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and to stay in a cool place during the heat of the day.
Weather officials said this warm-up will not come close to the extremes of last year's heatwave, but precautions should be taken to stay cool during the heat.
Last year's record-breaking heat wave saw the highest ever recorded temperatures in Seattle and multiple days in a row of triple-digit highs across the Puget Sound region. Temperatures reached as high as 118 degrees in Maple Valley and 116 degrees in Issaquah.
The Washington Department of Health (DOH) said 91 people likely died because of the historic heat wave across the Pacific Northwest from late June to early July. The majority of these deaths occurred in King and Pierce counties.
To compare, there were just seven heat-related deaths in all of Washington state from mid-June to the end of August in 2020. From 2015 to 2020, there were a total of 39 heat-related deaths in the warmer months of May through September.
As temperatures rise in the summer months, King County announced its first-ever "Extreme Heat Mitigation" plan Friday to reduce the impact of future heat
waves.
Heat has proven to be the biggest weather related-killer in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.