The historic cherry blossoms on the UW campus are taking their sweet time blooming. The latest Bloom Watch indicates a 10% bloom, with only a few florets emerging during this cool spring. But some warm days this week should do the trick.

Today will be sunny and seasonably warm, a picture-perfect spring day for Cherry Blossom Festival attendees. Tuesday and Wednesday will be even warmer - near 60 degrees - as a mild offshore wind develops across western Washington.

The 'Cascadia Gap' winds will kick up tonight along the east Puget Sound lowlands in response to large low pressure off the coast. From Sultan south to Snoqualmie Ridge and Enumclaw, an east wind will howl up to 40-50 mph, potentially stripping small branches off trees and cause localized power outages. While much of Puget Sound evades the damaging blows, this hyper-local wind will continue near the foothills on Tuesday.

A few showers may brush South Sound Tuesday as this offshore storm drifts into the Bay Area of California. Otherwise, cloudy, breezy, and mild conditions are all we experience from this latest West Coast storm.

The flow eventually flips onshore by Thursday, dragging in morning drizzle for the commute. The afternoon will be seasonably cool and cloudy for the Mariners Opening Day at T-Mobile Park.

We'll need the rain gear by Friday, however. Scattered showers and cooler conditions, with highs in the 40s, end the week. Pelting hail showers and isolated thunderstorms could also have you dashing indoors this weekend.

Meteorologist Kristin Clark
The KOMO 4-Cast Team

Updated Monday Afternoon{/strong}