FINALLY!
After 56 days of no measurable precipitation for Seattle and 57 for Portland, both streaks will end tonight as a relatively strong front moves through the area.
Credit: UW Atmospheric Sciences
The front is associated with an upper-level trough/associated ~995 hPa surface low currently centered near Haida Gwaii. The water vapor imagery below looks more reminiscent of a wintertime system than something we’d see in August.
Credit: UW Atmospheric Sciences
The front is visible in even greater detail with our brand new GOES-16 satellite, which is still “experimental” and not yet operational at this point. When it becomes operational, it will be moved east to replace the old GOES-East satellite. We will have to wait until the launch of GOES-S in 2018, which is the same satellite as GOES-16, for a replacement of GOES-West. Those darn east-coasters!
Credit: College of DuPage NEXLAB Experimental Satellite
Aided by a strong westerly jet, rainfall amounts are predicted to be highest on the windward slopes of terrain, with isolated locations along the coastal mountains of Vancouver Island expected to pick up to 2 inches of rain. Amounts will range from 0.05 – 0.25 inches in the interior, but all we need is 0.01 inches to end our dry streaks once and for all.
Credit: UW Atmospheric Sciences
Expect slightly cooler-than-average temperatures (which will feel downright frigid after our recent heat wave) to begin next week, with a typical morning clouds/afternoon sunshine routine. There is a LOT of uncertainty in the extended – so much so that the GFS operational (the “main” GFS that bloggers like myself like use graphics from) and the GFS ensemble control (the ensemble member initialized from the same conditions as the operational GFS, but run at the courser ensemble resolution) are showing completely opposite patterns for next weekend!
Confidence remains low for your eclipse forecast, but if I had to guess, I’d expect a typical morning clouds/afternoon sunshine routine. Since our eclipse is in the morning, this means your best chance at seeing the corona would be to head east of the Cascades… but it will still be pretty darn cool even if skies are completely cloudy.
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I hope you are looking forward to the change to rain/cooler temperatures! I know I certainly am. 🙂
Charlie
