The streak is over.
Friday marked the ninth—and last—consecutive day of above-average temperatures for Seattle, with a high of 55. Unfortunately, Saturday’s persistent cloud cover prevented the streak from reaching double digits, as we only topped out at 48 degrees—two shy of the average high for the day. Regardless, nine back-to-back days of warm weather in mid-winter is pretty impressive, especially in a La Nina year (where temperatures are generally cooler than average).
For the next few days, our temperatures will actually trend more La Nina-like, with highs falling as much as five degrees below the mid-February norm of 50 degrees. (Interesting sidenote: the average high in Seattle won’t dip below 50 degrees again until Thanksgiving 2012—Nov. 22.) The reason? Extensive cloud cover (what’s new!), and a shot of some colder air due to arrive on Tuesday.
Temperatures tomorrow will actually be fairly similar to today, with highs reaching the upper 40s under cloudy skies. We’ll actually see some rain again on Monday—perhaps another 0.20” or so—but the bulk of it will occur during the overnight hours. Showers will probably still be lingering by the time the morning commute arrives, but they won’t stick around for too long. By noon on Monday, we should be completely dry, albeit with plenty of clouds around.
Tuesday (Valentine’s Day) is looking like the coldest day of the week, as some chilly air spills into our area from the northwest. Temperatures won’t come anywhere close to those recorded during mid-January’s cold snap—when high temperatures hovered around the freezing mark—but the forecast high of 44 degrees will make it the chilliest day in over two weeks. Scattered rain showers are also a likely bet; some of these could fall as snow in outlying areas above 1,000 feet.
We’ll stay on the cool side Wednesday, but we’ll also be dry—both forecast models from the University of Washington show a precipitation-free Feb. 15 (I guess Mother Nature forgot that Valentine’s Day is actually a day earlier). Light rainfall is back in the picture again for Thursday and Friday, as another weak front brushes the area. Temperatures will moderate back to normal as we close out the workweek, but the overall weather pattern—a bland diet of clouds and light rain—will remain unchanged.
Perhaps by then, Seattle will be well into a mundane weather streak?
