Stormy Pattern Coming Up

Sorry but been a while since I was able to get this up and running due to lots of stuff going on! But as winter break approaches and weather has taken a much more active turn, I will be posting more frequently.

After catastrophic flooding in many areas of Washington in the last couple days, the break in the rain this weekend will most certainly aid recovery efforts, however the weather will take a much more active turn in the coming week with more storms entering the area.

After a dry and partly sunny Saturday, our next system enters the area on Sunday. Rain should start spreading over most of the area through Sunday afternoon and evening, and really begin to pick up in rate over night. Now the difference with this system is that snow levels will drop on Monday, meaning the precipitation will actually fall as snow at many of the passes! Good news for skiers!


Up to 2-3 feet of snow can be expected for Snoqualmie and Stevens passes, with higher totals in the North cascades! Although this is good news for our snowpack, it may cause some complications in areas that have experienced flooding, especially in places like Leavenworth, which saw a lot of damage from rain and wind in the last couple of days.





Adding to the complications will be even more wind and rain from the lowlands. As these low pressure systems swing from the southwest into our area, a couple of them have the potential to bring a windstorm threat for Western Washington. The first system on Monday/Tuesday has the potential to bring up to 45 MPH wind gusts for the lowland areas, however I have my eye on another system on Wednesday that looks to take a better track for wind in our area. This could produce gusts upwards of 50 MPH for much of the area and that has the potential to cause more damage and lead to power outages. 
In terms of rain, though the week, 2-3 inches of rain can be expected for much of the lowlands. With rivers already at or above flood stage, this will cause even more flooding in areas prone to this. Stay aware and heed warnings! There looks to be less shadowing with the rain this time around, so Seattle and Everett should also get in on the action with 2-2.5 inches of rain through the week. 


I will keep you posted if there are any significant changes. Otherwise stay safe and have a great week!

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