SEATTLE — As Puget Sound emerges from the clouds and journeys back to sunnier pastures this week, forecasters are monitoring signs of even hotter days in the not-so-distant future. After a cloudy and milder start to the week, highs Tuesday should hit at least the high 70s around Seattle and are poised to break 80 degrees by Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The sunny and warm trend should keep up through at least Thursday, with a hotter turn possible by early next week.

“Any clouds that form inland Tuesday should be quick to clear and expect temperatures to climb into the 80s for much of the interior,” NWS Seattle wrote Monday. “A similar story on Wednesday with temperatures a few degrees warmer in most spots.”

After a smattering of rain Monday morning, precipitation should also be out of the picture for a good stretch in Puget Sound, with clear skies in the forecast day and night nearly every day this week.

Here is the five-day weather outlook for the Seattle area:

• Tuesday: 78°/58° (Sunny)
• Wednesday: 82°/59° (Sunny)
• Thursday: 80°/58° (Mostly sunny)
• Friday: 76°/58° (Partly sunny)
• Saturday: 76°/58° (Sunny)

In the longer term, new temperature outlooks released Monday show growing odds that the Pacific Northwest will join nearly the entire contiguous United States in facing a noticable heat-up over the last full week of July. While forecasters are not expecting a heat wave to rival last year’s, the National Weather Service said early indicators suggest much of the interior will hit the 90s.

More specifics on what to expect during the incoming round of heat will be available as the forecast is firmed up in the coming days.