After dealing with lowland snow Sunday/Monday, heavy rain Wednesday/Thursday, and a minor windstorm today, Pacific Northwesterners will finally get a much-deserved respite from the wacky weather we’ve witnessed recently.
Today’s winds were caused by a degrading 999 mb cyclone making landfall on the Olympic Peninsula. As is typical, the strongest gusts were in the mountains, along the coast, and in the North Interior. Many places in the Seattle metro area peaked in the mid 40s, still plenty windy.
Credit: Seattle NWS
Further south, winds were not much of a factor, but there are still plenty of flooding rivers from all the rain we’ve seen over the past couple days. Check out this picture of the Tulatin River by Rood Bridge Park today!
Credit: Twitter user @JennBug41
A major change in our weather pattern will begin Saturday, as a ridge of high pressure approaches the coast. Expect a partly cloudy day on Saturday, clearing as the day progresses.
Credit: UW Atmospheric Sciences
By Sunday, this ridge will be right over us, giving us a sunny day with highs in the mid 50s! Expect similar conditions on Monday and Tuesday.
If we had a setup like this in December or early January, I would be concerned about inversions setting up, with smog and chilly temperatures in the lowlands while areas with a little elevation basked in warm sunshine. However, it is now the second week of February, and with our days getting longer, the additional sunshine makes it harder and harder for these inversions to get set up. I fully expect Sunday and especially Monday to feel somewhat springlike, particularly for the folks in Portland who have gotten pummeled by so much snow and ice this winter.
Rain returns for Wednesday and showers persist Thursday under southwesterly flow. Snow levels will be high – nearly 9,000 feet – so this isn’t a great time to head up to the slopes. Thankfully, these storms appear weaker than the ones we saw this week, but with high rivers and high snow levels, we can’t rule out the potential for some additional flooding.
Enjoy your taste of spring!
Charlie
