Mother Nature reverses course...in a hurry!
SEATTLE -- I don't know how to phonetically spell a record scratch sound, but it'd be an apropos sound effect for the radical shift in weather conditions that are about to take place across Western Washington.
High pressure along with a little east wind warmed most of the region into the 60s Wednesday amid at least some filtered sunshine all day long.
By Thursday, sunshine won't be filtered, it'll just be missing all together. And 60s will be impossible to find -- both on the thermometer and on the freeways too.
A strong cold front is approaching the area, bringing a round of heavy rain, gusty winds, and, eventually, even some snow to the mountains. (Or as we call it, the November hat trick of weather.)
Rain will be developing along the coast early Thursday morning, spreading inland to the I-5 corridor by late morning to midday. The rain will be fairly intense, with as much as 0.75-1.50" of rain in the lowlands by Friday.
It'll rain even more up in the mountains, especially the southern Olympics and northern Cascades. A Flood Watch remains in effect for the Nooksack and Skokomish Rivers, meaning flooding is possible, but not yet imminent.
The rest of the rivers should hold up OK, including the Green River. In the lowlands, the amount of rain expected normally wouldn't cause any urban flooding concerns, but with 23 gazillion leaves on the ground, localized flooding is possible near any clogged storm drains.
In addition to the rain, wind will be a factor up north and along the coast. Southeast winds of 20-35 mph with gusts to 45-50 mph are likely from about 1 a.m. Thursday through the afternoon. In the Seattle/Puget Sound area, winds are not expected to be a major factor, but we will see a period of gusts of 30-40 mph late Thursday evening through around midnight.
Once the front passes overnight Thursday, much cooler air will move in, crashing snow levels down to 3,500 feet by Friday. Thus, Stevens Pass could start getting snow by then. Snow levels are expected to drop further to around 2,500 feet over the weekend.
As it does so, a few weak weather systems are expected to push through, bringing a continuing chance of snow in the passes through the weekend, and long range models hold a cool and showery pattern through next week.
If nothing else, it should get a healthy snow base going for the higher ski resorts, but for the soggy lowlands, the weather next week might feel more like a broken record than a record scratch.
High pressure along with a little east wind warmed most of the region into the 60s Wednesday amid at least some filtered sunshine all day long.
By Thursday, sunshine won't be filtered, it'll just be missing all together. And 60s will be impossible to find -- both on the thermometer and on the freeways too.
A strong cold front is approaching the area, bringing a round of heavy rain, gusty winds, and, eventually, even some snow to the mountains. (Or as we call it, the November hat trick of weather.)
Rain will be developing along the coast early Thursday morning, spreading inland to the I-5 corridor by late morning to midday. The rain will be fairly intense, with as much as 0.75-1.50" of rain in the lowlands by Friday.
It'll rain even more up in the mountains, especially the southern Olympics and northern Cascades. A Flood Watch remains in effect for the Nooksack and Skokomish Rivers, meaning flooding is possible, but not yet imminent.
The rest of the rivers should hold up OK, including the Green River. In the lowlands, the amount of rain expected normally wouldn't cause any urban flooding concerns, but with 23 gazillion leaves on the ground, localized flooding is possible near any clogged storm drains.
In addition to the rain, wind will be a factor up north and along the coast. Southeast winds of 20-35 mph with gusts to 45-50 mph are likely from about 1 a.m. Thursday through the afternoon. In the Seattle/Puget Sound area, winds are not expected to be a major factor, but we will see a period of gusts of 30-40 mph late Thursday evening through around midnight.
Once the front passes overnight Thursday, much cooler air will move in, crashing snow levels down to 3,500 feet by Friday. Thus, Stevens Pass could start getting snow by then. Snow levels are expected to drop further to around 2,500 feet over the weekend.
As it does so, a few weak weather systems are expected to push through, bringing a continuing chance of snow in the passes through the weekend, and long range models hold a cool and showery pattern through next week.
If nothing else, it should get a healthy snow base going for the higher ski resorts, but for the soggy lowlands, the weather next week might feel more like a broken record than a record scratch.