Atmospheric rivers can be things of beauty, and the atmospheric river coming in on Sunday will turn heads.
The map below shows the total amount of water in a column of air (the precipitable water) at that time and you can see a "river" of higher amounts of water content streaming northeastward towards the Oregon/Washington border (greens and yellows are the highest amounts).
This is an atmospheric river, and since it starts just north of Hawaii, you might even call it a Pineapple Express.
This particular river is associated with strong southwesterly winds between a low over the Gulf of Alaska and a high off over California. The typical setup for such moist plumes.
The total precipitation predicted through Monday morning is impressive, with nearly 3 inches in Seattle and twice that in the mountains to the south. Most of the precipitation will fall on Sunday as the atmospheric river reaches our region.
Several of you have emailed me asking about snow. Well, I have some good news! Up to two YARDS of snow are predicted in some of our regional mountains during this event (see below).
It is also important to keep in mind that rain and snow in mid-March is golden.... much more valuable than early in the season.
All this water will be stored in reservoirs (no need to worry about leaving space for later flood control) and snowpack, and this water will moisten the soil immediately before we start to dry out in spring.
Seattle's reservoir storage is actually above normal now (see below), and the heavy rain is well-positioned to help boost the Yakima drainage.
All in all, an encouraging trend.
Also encouraging is the substantial rehiring of many of the probationary staff at NOAA. Critical buildings will not be sold. There will be more on this in a future blog.
Not so encouraging. Will you be able to see the total lunar eclipse on Thursday night (around 10 PM)?
Here is the cloud prediction for 11 PM on Thursday.
Better go to eastern WA if you want a sure view! NW Washington a possibility.
Another major wind event?
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