Just when you thought spring had arrived in the Pacific Northwest, winds and wet weather are sweeping in.
We're in for another wet weekend, says KPLU weather expert Cliff Mass — but not without sun breaks.
Expect Showers On Friday
“A front has just passed through and now we’re getting into the showery regime,” said Mass, who teaches atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington.
He says we can look forward to a Puget Sound convergence zone forming somewhere between North Seattle and Everett, bringing moderate to heavy precipitation with it.
"That's when we have winds on the coast to the west and they go around the Olympics [and] converge over the north Sound, giving us that band of precipitation," Mass said.
The result, says Mass: expect showers in the mountains and “at least several inches of snow,” especially from the central Cascades northward.
“So, just the normal situation,” said Mass, adding Friday’s temperatures will get up into the upper 50s.
“And some people will see sun,” said Mass, “so not such a bad day,” especially for people south of the convergence zone.
On Saturday, A Reprieve From Rain
“We’re going to have a little bit of a break, at least in the morning,” said Mass of Saturday. “You’ll wake up and there may be some clouds.”
We’ll see mild temperatures in the lower 50s.
But a front is moving toward us, Mass warns, and bring precipitation to Vancouver Island, the North Cascades and the Olympics, dousing the north and northwest part of Washington sometime Saturday afternoon.
The precipitation will slowly move southward Saturday night.
“And so we’ll get steady rain over the whole western area on Saturday night into Sunday morning, and probably into Sunday afternoon,” Mass said.
Next Week: More Showers, Some Sunshine
The system will move though late Sunday, then it’s back to the shower regime on Monday.
“And then believe it or not, we’ll have sunny skies and probably decent temperatures in the mid to upper 50s Tuesday sand Wednesday,” said Mass.
Spring-like Weather Just A Short Jaunt Away
If you want to escape the rain, Mass once again advises heading east over the mountains to eastern Washington, where the feel of early Northwest spring is still sticking around.
“You know, we’ve gone through that regime change, and eastern Washington is up there in the 60s, even when there are a bit of clouds. And they’re not going to get much precipitation on Saturday or Sunday,” Mass said.
“So, go to the eastern slopes, go down to Vantage or Richland and you’ll be dry, probably.”
---
The weekly KPLU feature "Weather with Cliff Mass" airs every Friday at 9 a.m. immediately following BirdNote, and twice on Friday afternoons during All Things Considered. The feature is hosted by KPLU Environment Reporter Bellamy Pailthorp. 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.
