Scattered showers will taper off overnight. Drier weather will begin wednesday along with a gradual warming trend. a couple of weak systems will spread clouds but probably not much in the way of rain over the area thursday and again saturday night. High temperatures sunday through tuesday could be the warmest since mid october.
Strong west to northwest flow this evening will gradually diminish late tonight into wednesday morning as high pressure offshore gradually builds into the waters. Small craft advisories continue for all of the waters except puget sound and hood canal this evening. The advisories in the inland waters will drop during the predawn hours as winds diminish.
Winds will also diminish over the coastal waters and at the western entrance to the strait of juan de fuca late tonight into wednesday morning. But seas -currently running 13 to 16 ft will only slowly subside and will remain above 10 feet through late wednesday afternoon or wednesday evening.
A weak front may brush by the coastal waters late thursday before lifting northward into canadian waters friday as high pressure continues to build over the area. Another weakening frontal system may brush the coastal waters friday night or saturday. Albrecht
An upper level ridge well offshore combined with an upper low over eastern washington is giving a moist and unstable northwesterly flow to western washington this evening. The air mass will gradually dry and stabilize tonight through wednesday as the upper level ridge moves eastward into the area.
Area radars at 8 pm show lines of showers...one extending from around the hood canal bridge se into mt rainier and another from everett se to north of snoqualmie pass. Isolated showers are also being observed from the central washington coastal waters se into far sw washington. The showers in the interior are associated with convergence zones that occur as the unstable nw flow interacts with the olympics and mountains of vancouver island. these showers will gradually diminish overnight as we lose daytime heating and as the air mass slowly dries and stabilizes.
Generally vfr conditions are expected to prevail through wednesday with local mvfr conditions (bkn025-030) during the late night and morning hours. Albrecht
Ksea...generally vfr conditions will become mvfr 11z-18z with cigs around bkn025 as a lingering convergence zone sits near the terminal. Shower chances will gradually diminish with time overnight. Expect variable wind 3-6 kt through wednesday. Albrecht
Wa...none. 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 3 am pdt wednesday for admiralty inlet-central u.s. Waters strait of juan de fuca-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.
/issued 315 pm pdt tue mar 12 2019/
Synopsis...scattered showers will taper tonight. Drier weather will begin wednesday, with gradual warming through early next week. A couple of weak systems will spread clouds but probably not much rain over the area thursday and again saturday night. High temperatures sunday through tuesday could be the warmest since mid october.
Short term /tonight through friday/...north winds have reached tacoma. Radar shows scattered showers, including a convergence zone or two in king and pierce counties. There is some clearing happening west of puget sound, and good clearing over the ocean. This means better weather is on the way.
Have kept chance pops tonight as the scattered showers taper, and likely pops where a convergence zone might affect the weather. wednesday will be dry except for a few showers over the cascades. Otherwise skies will be partly to mostly sunny as an upper ridge builds off the coast. The ridge will move inland wednesday night for more clearing and then patchy fog thursday morning. A weak weather system will try and fail to penetrate the ridge on thursday. the main effect will be an increase in cloudiness thursday along with low chance pops on the coast and across the far north. High temperatures will be around 50 on wednesday, then will rise into the mid 50s thursday. The 55 forecast at ksea on thursday will be the well advertised first day with a high above normal since february 1.
Clouds will retreat friday as the upper ridge reasserts itself. With heights in the low 560s, high temperatures friday will mostly be in the 55-60 range over the interior, with some low 60s possible. Burke
Long term /saturday through tuesday/...another weak system will make a run at the area on saturday, again mostly just increasing clouds and giving low chance pops to western sections. Saturdays highs will be similar to fridays--55-60. The upper ridge returns sunday and especially monday, with highs in the low to mid 60s sunday and in the mid 60s monday. Models drift the ridge away to the northeast on tuesday, but the weather should still be warm and sunny. Burke
Aviation...moist airmass remains in wake of departing frontal system. Flow aloft is northwesterly with surface flow bouncing around from southerly to north/northwesterly. Showers have become more scattered outside of a puget sound convergence zone that is currently stretching from just south of port townsend over to snoqualmie pass. Conditions ranging from vfr to ifr across the area early this afternoon. May see some gradual improvement outside of the convergence zone into the evening hours. Conditions may then dip back to mvfr tonight as plenty of moisture lingers with improvement again throughout the day wednesday.
Ksea...mvfr ceilings continue. Hit or miss showers may continue through the evening hours with a brief period of heavier rain if current convergence zone drops as far south as the terminal. Brief window of improvement possible this evening before mvfr conditions return overnight with improving conditions again during the day wednesday. Winds have shifted to the north invof of convergence zone but may shift back to the southwest this evening for rest of taf period. Ceo
Marine...strong west to northwest flow will continue through tonight in the wake of a cold front pushing east of the cascades. Small craft advisories remain in effect for all waters. Winds gradually diminish overnight into wednesday morning as high pressure builds into the area. Seas in the coastal waters and west entrance will be slow to subside so small crafts will ride into wednesday for those areas only. A weak front may brush by the coastal waters late thursday before lifting northward into canadian waters friday as high pressure continues to build over the area. Ceo
Hydrology...flooding is not expected for the next 7 days.