Warm, cold, and warm. The Western Washington weather ahead

After an unusually cold spring thus far, Western Washington is expected to see high temperatures in the 70s on Friday and Saturday.

Don't get used to it, though. This summery snap will be short-lived. Here is a look at the Northwest weather ahead.

State Climatologist Nick Bond said a ridge of high pressure is developing, albeit temporarily. Translation: Warm, sunny weather.

That high-pressure system will get the Seattle metro area close to 80 degrees on Friday, April 28, likely breaking the current 76-degree record for the day. The warmth will stick around through Saturday, too, before highs dip back into the 60s on Sunday.

The late April warmth comes despite the fact that this spring has been one of the coldest on record in Seattle, according to the National Weather Service. Bond said that's likely to continue for a while longer, gradually warming up to relative seasonal norms.

"The month of May doesn't look to be spectacular one way or another," he said. "But as we get later into spring, then chances are, we're going to be on the warm side. Last year, that didn't occur by any means. In the month of May, we had almost four inches of rain — more than double what we usually have."

But what does all of this mean for the upcoming summer?

"Well, you shouldn't extrapolate from what's happening now," Bond said. "With all the information that we have at hand, it does look like this summer is going to be on the warm, dry side."

Of course, that's been the trend for years now under our ever-changing climate.

"This [summer] will probably not be an exception."

Don't forget, it's still cold some places

The current warmth isn't all fun in the sun, though. Folks looking to escape the heat in the mountains or waterways should be aware of a few things.

The Northwest Avalanche Center issued a warning that the warm-up and rapidly melting ice are going to create dangerous conditions in the mountains, especially in the lower elevations of the Olympics and the Cascade. Cornices, or snow cliffs, could be unstable, too.

By the way, Crystal Mountain is extending its lift operations until May 21, thanks to some late winter snow.

Rapid snow-melt also means our local rivers will continue to run cold even though it will be warmer in the lowlands.

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For example, temperatures in the Snoqualmie River Basin are running between 37 and 44 degrees right now, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"It's kind of tempting [to] take a quick dip, but people can get into trouble really fast when they get into cold water," Bond said. "And it turns out in Western Washington, the month with the greatest number of drownings is May. That is partly because we can get some warm weather, but the waters are still really cold."