A front that brought rain and mountain snow overnight will push east of the area this morning with precipitation turning to showers. A convergence zone is likely to form later today with showers decreasing late. Drier weather will begin wednesday, with gradual warming through sunday. High temperatures late in the weekend could be the warmest since mid or late october.
A cold front is pushing through the puget sound region as of 09z and will be well east of the cascades before daybreak. Precipitation totals thus far have ranged from a couple hundredths in the olympic rain shadow to more than an inch in the wetter spots in the olympics. Heaviest snowfall in the mountains has been at mount baker with 10 inches. post-frontal westerlies should develop a decent convergence zone for a few hours later this morning. This will keep snowfall going in the central cascades through late morning. A winter storm warning for the cascades from snohomish county southward to lewis county continues through midday.
The convergence zone should dissipate relatively quickly this afternoon as onshore flow behind the front weakens. Upper level ridging promptly begins building into the offshore waters this evening heralding the beginning of a pattern change for the region. A chance of showers lingers into the early hours of wednesday morning, but wednesday looks basically dry and partly sunny with temperatures just a little below average. A weak upper ridge axis pushes across the area wednesday night then eastward on thursday. There will be plenty of mid and high level moisture streaming across the region on thursday. With the mild west- southwest flow aloft and low level offshore flow, temperatures will get a bump to...get this...a little above normal. That`s not a typo. Highs in the mid 50s look like a good possibility for many spots on thursday. It gets better (if you like spring). See below.
As we get into the extended period, the models gradually attempt to establish a mean upper ridge position along the west coast. Unsurprisingly given the time of year, they have slightly differing solutions. The overall pattern will features a series of weak systems skirting the northwest corner of the state with occasional precip chances for the olympic peninsula and north interior. For the remainder of the region, it looks mainly dry with varying amounts of cloud cover. The ridge finally gains some amplitude toward the later half of the weekend. but the big news? temperatures. Call it the luck of the irish, but we could be talking mid 60s in many spots for high temperatures by st patrick`s day. Perhaps by then the days of early february will begin to finally fade from memory. 27
Flooding is not expected for the next 7 days.
Wa...winter storm warning until noon pdt today for cascades of pierce and lewis counties-cascades of snohomish and king counties.
winter weather advisory until noon pdt today for cascades of whatcom and skagit counties.
Pz...small craft advisory until 9 pm pdt wednesday for coastal waters from cape flattery to james island 10 to 60 nm-coastal waters from cape flattery to james island out 10 nm-coastal waters from james island to point grenville 10 to 60 nm- coastal waters from james island to point grenville out 10 nm-coastal waters from point grenville to cape shoalwater 10 to 60 nm-coastal waters from point grenville to cape shoalwater out 10 nm.
small craft advisory for rough bar until 9 pm pdt wednesday for grays harbor bar.
small craft advisory until 5 am pdt wednesday for admiralty inlet-east entrance u.s. Waters strait of juan de fuca- northern inland waters including the san juan islands.
small craft advisory until 5 pm pdt wednesday for west entrance u.s. Waters strait of juan de fuca.
small craft advisory from 5 am early this morning to 5 am pdt wednesday for central u.s. Waters strait of juan de fuca.
small craft advisory from noon today to 9 pm pdt this evening for puget sound and hood canal.
The cold front that moved through the waters earlier this evening is now pushing east of the cascades. Winds over the coastal waters have shifted to the northwest and will shift in the inland waters early this morning.
Strong west to northwesterly flow will continue through tonight as high pressure offshore gradually builds into the area. Small craft advisories are now up for all of the waters. Winds will gradually diminish overnight tonight as high pressure builds into the waters. However, small craft advisories were extended into wednesday at the west entrance to the strait of juan de fuca and into wednesday evening for the coastal waters. Seas in those areas will be slow to subside as the strong northwesterly winds extend well into the offshore waters per recent ascat imagery.
Then a weak front may brush the waters late thursday. The front will lift northward into canadian waters friday as strong high pressure builds into the area. Albrecht
A frontal system has started to make its way onshore and will continue to push inland, bringing continued periods of rain to the interior terminals through the early morning hours. westerly flow aloft will shift to the northwest in the wake of the frontal boundary. The airmass is moist and stable.
Current conditions remain mvfr across most terminals, with pockets of ifr conditions in periods of heavier precipitation. Primarily mvfr conditions are expected to continue over the next several hours, with gradual improvement in ceilings and visibilities expected throughout the day as precipitation becomes more showery. The development of a puget sound convergence zone between kpae and ktcm will allow for mvfr conditions to linger for some interior terminals into the early evening hours.
Ksea...mostly mvfr conditions will continue throughout the early morning hours, with ifr conditions possible in any areas of heavier precipitation. Mvfr ceilings could linger into the evening hours as a convergence zone develops across puget sound, remaining near or just to the south of the terminal. Southeasterly winds 5-10 knots will shift to the southwest in the wake of the front and increase to 10-15 knots, with gusts up to 25 knots possible. 14