With the region’s first flirtation with snow all but over (considering the lack of snowflakes for 95% of the Puget Sound region, “flirtation” may be too strong of a word here), the focus now turns to a rather wet pattern taking shape, starting tomorrow night.
But before we get to the drenching rains that are so common around here in mid- to-late November, a much weaker system–an appetizer for what’s to come–will pass through the region tomorrow morning.
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| UW model showing tomorrow morning’s rainfall |
The top image shows the hourly rainfall projected for Seattle around commute time (7 a.m.). The yellow values indicate about .10″ of rain falling from the skies–nothing major, just your standard light rain to start the workweek off on the right foot. The second image shows the rainfall forecast across the state during the afternoon (at 2 p.m.).
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| The same model, showing dry skies for the afternoon |
You’ll notice that the region is largely devoid of moisture by this time in the day–most of the rainfall from our “appetizer” will come between 6 a.m. and noon. Skies will remain cloudy most of the day, which really isn’t that bad, considering the ample sunshine we’ve seen the past few days.
It’s tomorrow night when things really take a turn for the wet. A lengthy fetch of moisture, stretching all the way back into the mid-Pacific, will take aim at western Washington late in the day, and by Tuesday morning, it should be raining at a pretty decent clip across the entire metro area. Models have actually backed off on the overall rainfall amounts for this storm, as it’s expected to move through the area a bit quicker than earlier thought, but rain will still be widespread and heavy throughout the day on Tuesday.
The winds will also really kick up along the coast and up around Bellingham Monday night–gusts could come close to High Wind Warning criteria (55-60 mph) during the overnight hours. The wind doesn’t look too bad for the metro area right now–early Tuesday morning looks like the breeziest time of day, with winds gusting to around 40 mph. The wind will die off by mid-day Tuesday, but the rain will continue through at least Tuesday night.
Lighter rain is in the cards for Wednesday, and as of right now, models have us drying out Wednesday night and Thursday morning, before another system barrels through on Thanksgiving Day.
The onslaught continues!
