Enjoy a beautiful weekend, says KPLU weather expert and UW professor Cliff Mass.
But we've entered a late-summer pattern that should start bringing occasional showers, starting early next week. That brings an end to an annual dry period that makes the northwest drier than the deserts of Arizona, says Mass. It's been four weeks without measurable rain in western Washington.
"We’re still in August and August is a very pleasant month," says Mass. "But we’re going to see more and more frequently weather systems pushing in. …It’s getting to look a little more fall-like."
Is the heat gone for 2012?
"We can get more heat waves. we’ve had heat waves well into September. But more and more frequently some of the cooler flow from the north is going to dip down, and more and more frequently a weather front will slip in and we will have some rain."
-----
Do you have a weather question? Cliff Mass and Keith Seinfeld occasionally answer reader questions on the air. Share yours at the bottom of our Questions page (you can click on Discussion and see the "newest").
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 subscribeto a podcast of “Weather with Cliff Mass”shows.
