Weather Eye: Break out the jackets as rain arrives, with slight break

As I write this column Monday afternoon, clouds were on the increase and outside temperatures hovered around the 70-degree mark. Over the weekend, we enjoyed a high of 77 degrees on Saturday and 76 degrees on Sunday, which was most likely our last warm and dry weekend of the year. It can’t go on forever, can it?

Today, more clouds arrive and some light showers before a strong cold front arrives later tonight into Wednesday. Another weather system swings through on Thursday with more rain and mountain snow. Mountain snow? Yep, it is that time of the year when we introduce that phrase into my writings. Snow could fall to Cascade passes but the accumulating stuff will be in the higher ski areas. Maybe half to 1 foot of snow. Wax your skis.

We have a slight break in the action on Friday and Saturday, but I can’t rule out that a shower or two may develop. A strong atmospheric river will be streaming through southern British Columbia and Northern Washington over the weekend and as it sags southward and weakens, we’ll see more steady rain develop later in the weekend. We will keep a close eye on this potential.

You’ll be donning a light jacket or rain jacket at least as our highs Thursday remain in the 50s. We also include some high surf, gusty winds and thunderstorms into the forecast later this week.

Let’s see. What have I missed? I have been in summer mode for so long with rather mundane weather this fall season. Time to get back in the saddle and pay attention.

October for the first two weeks the mean temperature is running 2 degrees above average and 1 inch below normal on the rainfall as of Monday afternoon. During the last half of the month in the record book, the rain will rise and the temperatures will fall.

I was raking leaves at my daughter’s house Sunday under a large maple tree when suddenly a hard round object fell only inches from my feet. It was a good-sized walnut with bright green skin covering it. I looked up and there was a large gray squirrel staring down at me. This is a true story. Perhaps the squirrel didn’t like my column earlier last week about nature preparing for winter. Weatherman 1, squirrel 0.

Enjoy the rain.