Time and Day: 0630 Wednesday
The Snapshot: Cold, increasing winds with building clouds
today and tomorrow. Winter storm warning takes effect tomorrow night, snow
through the weekend with heavy accumulation possible.
The Science: This morning radar has clear skies over
western Washington and a mid-level
stratus layer over the eastern half of the state. This is due to the cold temperatures settling
into to the eastern basin and warmer convection starting to creep up the coast. Temperatures will bottom out this morning
around 10 degrees. The overall temperature regime begins to slowly warm as the
strong low-pressure system approaches.
Therefore, today and tomorrow will be mostly dry with increasing clouds
and strengthening easterly winds.
Tomorrow night's storm:
A low-pressure system, with a
southwest to northeast trajectory will begin to impact the PNW late in the day
tomorrow. Features of this storm include
strong cold east flow, plenty of moisture
and rising freezing levels. There doesn’t seem to be a rain component with this system, but freezing levels are expected spike near 3500’ sometime early Saturday
morning. I will calculate storm totals with fresh data tomorrow; there is a potential
to receive 15-24+” of snow with this storm.
Warning; complex
avalanche dynamics are likely Friday and Saturday due to the spike in temperature
and period of intense precipitation. Be
sure to check the NWAC website for hazard
evaluations.
The Long Range: The snow will shift to moderate showers over
the weekend and likely continue into Monday.
The storm track then shifts south into Oregon.
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Precipitation
Ending at 4am:
Today 24hr water = 0 Snow
= 0
Tomorrow’s 24hr water
= .25+
snow = 2-5
Trend and Timing:
Dry through at least
4pm tomorrow. Snow begins after 4pm tomorrow and intensifies on Friday.
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24hr temperature ending at 4 am tomorrow:
Low: 10 High:
16
Freezing level: Sea
Level – 2500’
Trend and Timing:
Today will be the
coldest temperatures of the week. Freezing levels to the west will begin to
rise tomorrow with cold east flow holding into Friday.
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24hr Winds (mph) ending at 4 am tomorrow:
Base: 5-15 E
Ridge Top: 10-25 E
Trend and Timing:
Easterly winds will strengthen over the next
24hrs. Watch gusts +50mph above 5000’ and along the downslope portions of
western slopes.
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jM
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