The images from the Mount Rainier Lodge area during the last day were winterlike, with several inches of snow on the ground
The Crystal Mountain ski area was similarly snow-covered.
Thunderstorms, with small hail, hit both sides of the Cascades, with substantial precipitation totals yesterday (Saturday); many mountain locations received over an inch of liquid water.
This situation has brought much colder than normal temperatures to the region, with many locations 10-20 F below climatology ( see below). Many higher terrain locations did not get out of the 30s!
But even colder and wetter weather is in the forecast, with major positive implications for water resources this summer.
The forecast temperature anomaly (difference from normal) for the region for Tuesday to Wednesday morning (below) is for 5-15F below-normal temperatures, with the coldest temperatures over the Cascades and eastern Washington and Oregon.
Wet conditions will dominate from late Monday into Tuesday morning, with some locations in the Cascades receiving 1-3 inches. Very favorable for water resources this time of the year: moistening the soil, filling reservoirs and rivers, and reducing water demand.
The origin of this cold/wet period is anomalous low pressure (roughing aloft in meteorological parlance), as shown by the upper-level (500hPa, roughly 18,000 ft) forecast map for Monday at 5 PM. Blue indicates the low/pressure/troughing
Temperatures should recover a bit by the end of the week (see forecast through Friday for Seattle, shown below), but we will have to endure a cool/wet period first.
I'm now looking forward to your next blog describing the potential heatwave that is being forecast for next week. Thanks Cliff! PS I think you should bring back the Podcast :)
ReplyDeleteThis is why I rarely leave the safety of my man cave
ReplyDeleteA quick summer, then back to our ice cold rain for 9-10 months. Nice!
ReplyDelete"Ice cold rain"....would be "snow".
ReplyDeleteNo snow.. our 35 degree rain always does the trick. Very refreshing.
DeleteGreat blog Cliff, there has been alot of chatter about the "lack of snowpack" but come June most of the snow left just melts slowly mostly adding moisture to the soil rather than running off to the Ocean, these occasional rainstorms are very beneficial for replacing, or lack of snowpack this time of year
ReplyDeleteIt really is striking how closely the temperature of the rain around here matches the sea surface temperature. Always about 55 degrees, with a very small standard deviation.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is at 8:37PM on Monday, it's raining and it's wet and cool, mid 50's, at best for Tacoma for the high, currently, 51F.
ReplyDeleteThe rain is nice here in Kenmore.
ReplyDelete