I would say we were fairly lucky with the weather on Veterans Day. A fast-moving weather system brought rain overnight, ending in the early morning hours. This resulted in some partly sunny skies. And yes, there were a few widely scattered leftover showers.
The really big news is the mass of moisture off the coast streaming its way toward Washington. This will be similar to the rainfall we had Halloween weekend. The heaviest amounts are forecast on the south Washington Coast up to Olympia northward and especially the Olympic Mountains. How about 5 to 10 inches of rain? That is serious stuff.
Enough to probably cause some flooding for sure in rivers draining into the ocean, such as the Grays River and others. Unfortunately freezing levels rise during a good share of the precipitation, with snow only above 6,000 feet. However, the trailing cold front will move inland later in the weekend and drop the snow level down to 3,000 feet for our portion of the Cascades. Early next week persistent snow showers will pound the Cascades, maybe with feet of snow.
Looking ahead to next week, perhaps another shot of heavy rain for the lowlands. This progression is a pattern that will see the snow level going up ahead and during part of the storm, then dropping like a rock after the cold front. So another roller-coaster ride for the snow lovers. I’m guessing ski season begins before Thanksgiving weekend this year. If traveling over the Cascades or Siskiyou Mountains for Thanksgiving, you may encounter snow-covered roads.
Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://patricktimm.com.
