Weather Eye: Nice weather here to stay

Good news!

Great spring weather is with us through the weekend, with highs above seasonable averages and in the 70s over the weekend.

OK, I have a word for you. What is the meaning of pluviophile? Read on.

What a fantastic week for spring break. The rain held off until later Tuesday and rained overnight. Wednesday dawned clear, with afternoon highs almost on the mark. Even though next week looks cloudier and cooler, not much in the way of rain is coming our way at this point in time. April may end up being drier than normal. We paid our dues the past two months, thank you.

So how are we doing so far this month? Vancouver’s average mean temperature is running 52.8 degrees, 2.1 degrees above average. Rainfall as of Wednesday was 0.98 of an inch, 0.14 of an inch above average. I consider the wettest first nine days spillover from the soggy month of March. The rest of April appears to be drier. Temperature extremes through Wednesday were a high of 74 degrees April 7 and a low of 40 degrees April 2.

If you have travel plans, like maybe heading up to Seattle on Friday for the Mariners game, smooth sailing weatherwise (no traffic prediction here). It will be fair weather from one end of the state to the other. The only caveat here is that a weak weather system will move across British Columbia on Friday for some clouds up north but little chance of rain. Plan a trip to the coast for a leisurely walk on the beach. Bring a sweatshirt, as there may be some brisk northwest winds. In the mountains, it will be spring skiing at its best.

The pop quiz answer: Pluviophile is a lover of rain — someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days. Hey, that is most of us, isn’t it? After all, we live here and endure inches and inches of it.

Enjoy the weekend, and we will chat on a very nice Sunday!