🐪 It's Wednesday! We're halfway to a long weekend.

🚌 Situational awareness: School will start as scheduled today for Seattle Public Schools students, the district announced last night.

• The district and its teachers union reached a tentative agreement on a new contract yesterday, averting a potential teachers strike.

🌧️ Today's weather: Rain, with a high of 69.

Today's newsletter is 866 words, a 3.5-minute read.

Summer isn't technically over, but Seattle's weather is about to make a convincing case otherwise.

Driving the news: An early-season Pacific storm is expected to sweep into Western Washington today, bringing widespread rain, gusty winds and temperatures in the 60s.

• Seattle has a 90% chance of rain, with up to about a half-inch possible over the next two days.
• The heaviest rain will fall today along the coast and in the Olympic Mountains, where some spots could see 2–3 inches, NWS Seattle meteorologist Kirby Cook tells Axios.

What they're saying: If this storm arrived next month "we wouldn't even really be talking about it," Cook says.

• But in early September, "it'll kind of feel like October," he says.
• And for those of us mourning summer, he says, "Summer's not over. It's just a taste of fall."

The big picture : The soaking comes days after a 33-day dry streak, and amid a deadly wildfire season and drought conditions across the state.

• The widespread "wetting rain" — which NWS defines as at least a quarter-inch — should help tamp down fires across the region.

Threat risk: Gusts could approach 40mph in parts of Western Washington, including the coast, Admiralty Inlet area, San Juans and around Bellingham.

• NWS has issued wind advisories for some of those areas.
• Because trees are still fully leafed out, some downed limbs and power outages are possible, Cook says.

What's next: The cool, showery pattern is expected to hang around through Labor Day weekend.

• Think of it as practice: Fall will be here soon enough.

Tell a pluviophile

Former Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes says he still doesn't know why he was pushed out.

The latest: In his first interview since leaving the department, Barnes defended his roughly 18-month tenure to KIRO's Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin, and challenged the perception that he spent too much time away from Seattle.

State of play: Barnes was criticized for spending time outside the state, but he said in the interview that he lived in Pioneer Square while his family remained in Chicago, an arrangement he said was agreed upon before he took the job.

• His wife is a cancer researcher, his son is finishing high school, and his daughter underwent major surgery during his tenure.
• He said he didn't believe his wife should have to abandon her career because he took a job here: "My commitment to Seattle never changed, but my commitment to my family can never change."

Barnes said in the interview, released this week, that he traveled to Chicago four times this year and rejected suggestions that he wasn't sufficiently present in Seattle.

The other side: Mayor Katie Wilson hasn't publicly given a specific reason for asking Barnes to resign, citing multiple factors. But in describing what she wants in his replacement, she said the next chief should be "consistently present in Seattle" and keep travel to "an appropriate minimum."

• Records obtained by PubliCola showed Barnes was, or planned to be, out of the office nearly 40% of the time through early August, including for professional travel and trips to Chicago.

What he's saying: Barnes said he felt he hadn't been given enough time to prove himself, noting that he served less than 18 months and spent only about seven months working under Wilson after being hired by former Mayor Bruce Harrell.

Between the lines: Asked what advice he'd give Seattle's next chief, Barnes said to listen to the community and officers — and to "develop a better relationship with the mayor."

• "The job isn't politics, but it is politicky," he said.

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🏛️ The FTC and 22 states sued Amazon in federal court in Seattle, alleging the company used deceptive ad practices that overcharged more than 1.2 million advertisers. (Axios)

💊 Seattle's downtown overdose recovery center has started 800 people on medication for opioid use disorder in its first year, while diverting 65% of Seattle Fire's post-overdose transports from hospital ERs. (KUOW)

🚗 Seattle had the nation's third-largest decline in average commute time among major cities from 2019 to 2024 — though that amounted to just 2½ minutes off the typical one-way trip. (Seattle Times)

✊ Thousands of Washington state workers staged hourlong walkouts yesterday to press for higher wages, as contract negotiations with the state head toward an Oct. 1 deadline. (Washington State Standard)

Do you know where we are this week? Here's a clue:

Amid the towers, glass and steel,

There's something racy to reveal.

Where techies type and cranes once loomed,

Bright colors beckon from this room.

😉 If you've walked by this place, hit reply and let us know.

💻 Melissa is back after a few days off.

📖 Clarridge is cracking open the first book in Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Saga.

This newsletter was edited by Geoff Ziezulewicz.