YAKIMA -- Attendance at the Central Washington State Fair was expected to come close to last year's count, despite a brief repeat of gloomy weather.

Through Saturday, 252,763 people had passed through the gates since the fair opened on Sept 26. That was about 500 ahead of last year at the same time.

A final count of 294,411 attended the fair in 2007, when inclement weather was blamed for bumping down the total. This year's numbers won't be known until today, but fair spokesman Rob Phillips said he was hoping for 35,000 to 40,000 visitors on Sunday.

Phillips said rain on Friday and Saturday played a part in reducing ticket purchases by about 8,500, but good attendance on earlier days helped build in a buffer.