MOUNTAIN WEATHER FORECAST

Time and Day:  0800 Wednesday

The Snapshot:  Rain showers today with temperatures reaching into the upper 40’s.  Another batch of heavy precipitation arrives tomorrow with cooling.   

Seattle is expecting record high temperatures to be reached today with flood warnings in effect.   

The Science

Current Observations: 2.63” of rain fell over the last 24hrs, it is 47^0f  at the top of Brooks and currently raining. The Rh is 97%, the barometer has bumped up a notch to 1016mb and the southerly winds are gusting around 10mph.  The bulk of moisture has moved east with moderate rain showers still tracking through the Cascades.

The warm frontal system, that brought us the lovely weather, is now heading into the inter-mountain west.  A record-setting warm air mass with an unstable atmosphere has been left in its wake. This all equates to rain showers and high freezing levels for Stevens Pass.  Another batch of heavy precipitation, out ahead of the approaching cold front, will bring the next round of heavy rain tomorrow. 

The good news: Cooler air associated with this slow moving cold front, is expected to reach the North Central Cascades tomorrow. The freezing levels should begin to fall tomorrow afternoon and drop to or below 4000’ sometime early Friday morning.  We should see some fresh snow beginning to accumulate Friday and Saturday.   

The Long Range:  The PNW storm machine will continue to pound the region through the weekend.  Freezing levels will bounce between 3500’ and 5000’ with several pulses of moisture expected.      

24hr Precipitation ending at 4am: Today 24hr water: .5-.75 snow: 0 Tomorrow’s 24hr water: 1 snow: 2-6 Trend and Timing: Rain showers today.  Moderate to heavy rain starts the day tomorrow and slowly changes to snow.

24hr temperature ending at 4 am:  Low: 38    High: 48 Freezing level: 8- 6000’. Trend and Timing:    Surface temperatures could briefly hit 500f today.  Freezing levels will start to fall tomorrow and drop to or below 4000’ sometime early Friday morning.

24hr Winds (mph) ending at 4 am: Base: 0-5 SSE Ridge Top: 5-15 SW Trend and Timing: This southerly flow pattern will begin to shift westerly and strengthen tomorrow afternoon.

jM