Amid warmer temps and sunnier skies, Washingtonians are looking away from the current pandemic and toward potential complications from wildfires in the summer months ahead.

That’s according to state climatologist Nick Bond. The latest forecast for the coming summer months indicate that the region will experience higher-than-average temps, with lower levels of rain.

Weather forecasts can be tricky, especially the further out the predictions go. But the current outlook hints at more wildfires on the horizon.

“Around here, there is an old joke – ‘April showers bring May showers,’” Bond told KUOW's Angela King. “I’m afraid that’s not going to be the case this year … our snowpack is in pretty good shape, but there’s part of the landscape here in Washington state that is on the dry side; that has not gotten as much of precipitation over the last few months as usual, and that’s especially on the east flank of the Cascades."

On the west side, Sea-Tac Airport has recorded a mere .01 inches of rain so far in April, indicating a dry few weeks in the area. So perhaps not as many April showers. Meanwhile, UW Climatologist Cliff Mass has also noted a "dry storm" striking the Northwest.

"And we’re looking at a warmer-than-normal summer," Bond said. "So that combination of the landscape starting out on the dry side, plus a warm summer is raising some concerns.”