Breezes subside setting up a warmer Mother’s Day weekend
For most of the first week of May, the Cascades have been a stark dividing line: often gray and chilly to the west, and warm, dry, and windy to the east.
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For most of the first week of May, the Cascades have been a stark dividing line: often gray and chilly to the west, and warm, dry, and windy to the east.
While much attention has been focused on the woeful state of the mountain snowpack from the winter season in Washington, these recent dry days have started to dry out, or “cure”, grasses and other fine fuels in lowland locations.
In the lowlands of Western Washington, we’ve been plagued by several days of “May Gray,” as onshore low-level wind flow from the Pacific Ocean has pushed clouds into the Puget Sound region.
In the Pacific Northwest, our weather is often directed by two “forces”: our varied topography, between mountains and lowlands, and the vast, cool Pacific Ocean to our west.
Trees like cedar, birch, and alder are still some of the primary sources of allergy problems — and the pollen counts have reached the “high range” — but starting in early May, grass pollen grains begin to show up.
Following a few sprinkles Friday night into Saturday morning, there will be clearing skies later in the day Saturday ahead of the warmest days of the year.
As the temperatures warm into the first weekend of May — with the warmest days of the year Sunday and Monday — the threat of “cold water shock” faces anyone who is on the water, whether it be the lakes, the rivers, the ocean, or inland waters.
I’m sure you’ve heard about the incoming heat this weekend. Is it warm? Is it hot? Is it too hot? All good questions, and get ready, because it’s coming.
A taste of summer is underway for Western Washington as we begin to see high pressure aloft building across the region.
After a dreary few days with chilly daytime temperatures, a big warmup is on the way for Western Washington!