Happy Friday! We’re off to a calm start this morning with some patchy fog, sprinkles and temps in the 30s to low-40s. A low pressure system developing over the Pacific will head toward northern Vancouver Island today, spreading increasing rain and mountain snow over Western Washington and bringing some breezy weather this afternoon through Saturday morning.
WIND: While nowhere near as powerful as the November “bomb cyclone”, this low pressure system will be potent out over the ocean, though weakening as it moves toward northern Vancouver Island. The pressure gradient between low pressure offshore and higher pressure inland will induce some Cascade gap easterly winds to begin flowing from land out to sea on this afternoon and evening. Wind gusts around North Bend, Enumclaw, and some of these susceptible areas could be in the 25-30mph range as we go into Friday night. Thankfully, nothing unusual for late fall and not at all comparable to the extreme winds of three weeks ago.
For the rest of the area, winds will rise later tonight through early Saturday afternoon. It’ll get blustery around the Sound with wind gusts in the 20-30mph range for most of our urban areas, including Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia.
At the coast and north, tonight and Saturday, wind gusts will likely be in the 35-45mph range from about Everett north/west into the northern waters as well as at the coast. As far as these winds go, they are unlikely to cause damage or significant power outages, but there could be an impact here and there.
For most of us, this storm will just bring some blustery times, reminding us it’s still fall for a little more than a week.
COASTAL FLOODING: A Coastal Flood Watch has been issued for Saturday for the Pacific beaches where a combination of onshore wind, 14-17 foot seas, low atmospheric pressure from the Pacific storm, and King Tides will bring water levels at the beaches to between two to three feet above normal high water levels. This could be enough to inundate low-lying areas. Also, pounding surf and sneaker waves will be dangerous to people out to see the water’s fury. The most dangerous time at the beaches is during the day Saturday and particularly in the hours around high tide which occurs at 11 a.m. Saturday.
RAIN: Expect a half-inch to an inch of rain in the lowlands from Thursday through Sunday with more than an inch at the coast and nearer the foothills. The bulk of the lowland rain will fall Friday afternoon through Friday night.
SNOW: Snow levels around 3,000 feet will allow for accumulating snow at the passes. A couple inches of snow could fall at Stevens Pass and higher elevations into early Friday with snow picking up above 3,500 feet later in the day. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the central and north Cascades above 3,500 feet (excludes Snoqualmie Pass) for 6-12″ of snow from Friday afternoon through Sunday at Stevens Pass with higher amounts at Mount Baker. Lower at Snoqualmie Pass, I expect 2-4 inches of snow through the period. Travelers should check pass conditions before heading out Friday through the weekend.
SUNDAY INTO NEXT WEEK: Expect off and on showers of rain and mountain snow Sunday with the wet weather continuing into next week. There are signs of some warmer temperatures toward mid-late next week which could bring more rain than snow to the lower passes.
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