Today was just a prelude to the stormy weekend ahead, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t exciting! A cool and unstable air mass poured into the region, bringing brief but heavy showers to the lowlands and heavy snow in the mountains above 5,000 feet. The satellite picture taken this afternoon by NASA’s polar-orbiting TERRA satellite shows how efficient the mountains are at enhancing precipitation during this setup.
Credit: NASA
Paradise at Mt. Rainier National Park lived up to its name today!
Credit: National Park Service
This weekend is still looking wet and windy as a very strong warm front pushes through the area and a strong atmospheric river slams into SW Washington and NW Oregon. As expected, the Portland NWS has upgraded Western Oregon from a “Hydrologic Outlook” to a Flood Watch. Additionally, they’ve issued a Wind Advisory for the Willamette Valley and just to the north for wind gusts of 35-45 mph from Saturday afternoon to Saturday evening. The coast has been upgraded from a High Wind Watch to a High Wind Warning from noon to midnight Saturday, and gusts of 60 mph are possible in the coastal communities there, with even higher winds on the coastal headlands.
Credit: Portland NWS
That’s it for now… I’ve gotta hit the hay for an early day at work tomorrow. I’m going to have some very rainy bike commutes tomorrow and Sunday morning!
Cheers,
Charlie
