The forecast is calling for a few rain showers to move through the Puget Sound region, no surprise there. But with the strong sun heating the ground and with the clouds aloft, we could also get a weak thunderstorm or two, said KPLU’s weather expert Cliff Mass.
Then, it’s better weather through the weekend. By Sunday, we’ll see the end of showers, though there will still be some clouds aloft and temperatures in the mid-60s. Monday is the best of the set with temperatures reaching into the 70s.
Often, Mass advises sun-seekers to head east across the mountains, but in this week's conversation he offered another option. He said the coast would be a great place for some sun and seeing the transit of Venus.
Mass explained why the coast had more sun in his blog:
“This time of the year the sun is quite strong and is able to heat up the land substantially when a solid overcast is not overhead. The water offshore is cool (roughly 50F). When cool air moves over the warm land, we have a large change of temperature with height. Such large vertical temperature changes can cause the air to convect, producing upward thermals and cumulus clouds.”
And there have been some near record results from all these clouds moving inland. Last week, some places saw an inch and half or more of rain.
“We’ve got the whole month’s of June rainfall in the first week of June. So, it’s been a pretty wet week and I don’t think that next week will be like that.”
The weekly KPLU feature "Weather with Cliff Mass" airs every Friday at 9 a.m. immediately following BirdNote, and repeats twice on Friday afternoons during All Things Considered. The feature is hosted by KPLU’s Science and Health reporter Keith Seinfeld. Cliff Mass is a University of Washington Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, a renowned Seattle weather prognosticator, and a popular weather blogger. You can also subscribe to a podcast of “Weather with Cliff Mass”shows.
