The new year came in rather uneventfully with a high and low temperature close to seasonal averages. And guess what? No rain either. Not too shabby.
Monday continued that trend although we were a few degrees cooler thanks to some easterly winds fanning out over the area. High clouds were streaming by aloft signaling a change in the weather.
A weak weather system moves northward today for some light showers but don’t expect much. A stronger storm gets closer Wednesday, but how much precipitation we receive is unclear. Here’s why: The main jet stream is flowing into California and generally we remain cool and only get leftovers with residual rainfall and snowfall in the higher elevations.
These storms will develop and eventually circle northward well off our coastline. That keeps the heaviest rain and strong winds offshore, and we only get a glancing blow.
It is something forecasters watch carefully because if one of these weather systems moves close to the mainland, strong winds would be possible along with moderate to heavy rain.
In this case, I’ll paint the weather picture with occasional rain and breezy conditions Wednesday through Saturday, but please stay abreast of changing weather conditions on your favorite daily weather source.
I watched the results of the end of the year storminess at the coast with huge 30- to 35-foot swells arriving at the beaches and the trailing edge of the king tides. Not much left of the sandy beaches at high tide with water running all the way up to the dunes on the southern Washington Coast. The ocean was roaring as loud as a freight train rushing by. Storm watching at its best, I’d say.
We had our little Christmas bout with the sleet and ice and the associated power outages. So what does winter have in store for us in the immediate future? The climate outlook for January and February remains to see temperatures cooler than average and precipitation above normal at times.
I don’t see any snow heading our way any time soon. Cold air remains to our far north and is settled in there, so maybe we remain on the quiet side of things. Wouldn’t bother me. Meanwhile, California is receiving tons of snow and rain. Their reservoirs should be in great shape by springtime at this rate.
Come back Thursday and we’ll chat and see what ripples are on the western horizon.
Take good care.
