A record-breaking day in the sun

The warm and sunny weather intensified Saturday breaking a 52-year-old record when the soaring temperatures reached 88 degrees at Sea-Tac Airport, beating the old record of 85 degrees.

The warmth continued what is expected to be a short-lived but welcome heat wave to the Seattle area.

Friday hit 84, tying the record for the date set in 1985.

The National Weather Service's Mike Soltow said the record-breaking temperatures make this weekend's weather unusual and definitely above normal.

Soltow said the warm weather isn't expected to last beyond Sunday, when temperatures dip into the 70s, then return to the less unusual 60s after that.

"We'll be back to normal next week," he said.

However long the heat lasts, Seattleites took full advantage.

Flag football players on the field at Roosevelt High School traded traditionally rainy football game days for sweltering, dehydrating heat -- a likely excuse for the teams who lost.

The warm weather also greeted chefs from Washington and Oregon, many of whom gathered at the Home Depot in SoDo around 5:30 a.m. Saturday, preparing for the Pacific Northwest Barbeque Association's Spring Training BBQ Competition.

The weather cooperated much better than the cold and rain of the association's last competition at Pike Place Market in March where barbecuer Dave Snider (team Bird Dogs BBQ) shivered in the wet and cold while camping out during that two-day competition.

But it's the camaraderie and love of the food that keeps them coming back, especially during Saturday's sunshine.

"Someone once said there was a fine line between healthy obsession and mental illness," said association president Tom Wallin. "At times I think I may have crossed the line. On the other hand, I don't golf. I need to do something to keep active."