Some spotty showers popped up in western Washington throughout the day, but tonight ended on a fairly calm note.
An atmospheric late-season river event will begin rolling into the region early Sunday. Because the heaviest rain falls from Sunday night to Monday morning, we have a Pinpoint Alert Day for both days.
From Sunday through Tuesday, here is an estimate of total precipitation:
Lowlands: 1-2″
Mountains: 2-4″+
Coast: 2-4″
A flood warning is in force from late Saturday until Wednesday morning. Snohomish, King, Pierce, Mason and Lewis counties. River flooding and urban flooding are possible. The latest river forecast shows the Snoqualmie River near Anjer approaching “minor flood stage” Monday afternoon.
With these weather events now come a few notable memories:
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Although insignificant for most locations, some agricultural interests may be affected by minor river flooding at this time of year, especially in broad floodplains such as the Snoqualmie Valley.
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Unlike atmospheric river systems for which we are on high alert in the fall and winter, the net result of an atmospheric river-like event in the Pacific Northwest would be early June quite positive! This type of soaking rain in the lowlands and mountains is very unusual after May and would “delay” the onset of our serious wildfire concerns by quite a few weeks.
Now, when it comes to winds and gusts, windy conditions for the front will increase across the area. These south/southwesterly winds should have minimal impacts.
Now a weaker system keeps rain in the forecast through Tuesday, with some lingering showers possible into early Wednesday, although a ridge of high pressure is beginning to strengthen, setting us up for significant warming heading into next weekend. Highs will be in the upper 70s, but highs of 80 degrees are likely next Friday and Saturday!
