Ah, at last … our old friend rain returns.

In the early hours of Friday morning, Seattle received 0.01 inches of rain, freeing the city from the previous 17 days of no measurable precipitation, according to the National Weather Service.

It was the first measurable rain for most areas since May 22, said Jeff Michalski, a meteorologist with the weather service in Seattle.

The last time Seattle had a longer dry streak that started in May was in 2009, when the city saw a 29-day streak from May 20 to June 17, the weather service said.

This week, the weather service added, also marked only the 16th time in 79 years of records that Seattle had an entirely dry first week of June.

High clouds and scattered showers were expected to continue to make their way over the Cascade crest and into the Puget Sound lowlands Friday, welcoming a cool and cozy end to the workweek and much-needed relief to area grass and gardens.

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Scattered rain will stick around and make its rounds and greetings through Saturday, with rainfall totals around 0.1 to 0.25 inches from Seattle south and 0.25 to 0.5 inches north to the Canadian border. The west slopes of the Cascades will see 0.5 to a full inch of rain, according to the weather service.

Highs on Friday were expected to bounce around the 60s, with lows in the 50s, before warming into daytime highs in the 70s on Saturday.

Seattle’s forecast high of 61 degrees Friday would be the coolest day since May 21, the weather service said.

Conditions will begin to dry out Saturday afternoon as the rain system exits to our north and high pressure builds in the atmosphere. Temperatures are expected to rise deep into the 70s across the lowland interior and the 80s in the Cascade foothills.

Overnight lows will hover in the 50s over the weekend. 

“As we get into Monday, we have another warm and dry stretch, with temperatures getting into the low to mid-80s again,” Michalski said.