Weekend storminess ahead

There have been a few very spotty rain showers this afternoon in the central and south Sound but those will be drying out this evening. There could be a little patchy fog into Saturday morning, but as we come toward dawn, rain will be moving in at the coast and overspreading the rest of the area through the morning. This is the start of a soaker of a weather system that will last through the weekend.

LOWLAND RAIN AND BREEZES: From Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening, it will be raining areawide and the rain could be heavy in some spots. It will also be breezy north and at the coast late in the day Saturday with wind gusts 30-40 mph at Whidbey Island and the coast. Elsewhere, it will be blustery with some wind gusts 20-30 mph, but the wind will be hit and miss. This is not a major wind event, and wind will be getting lighter by midday Sunday.

Rain will be continuous through Saturday night and early Sunday and that’s when I expect some issues with standing water because of backed-up storm drains. Rainfall totals will be in the 0.5-1″ range in the lowlands this weekend with more at the coast. The rain will turn to showers Sunday afternoon but it stays rainy at times into Sunday night and Monday.

MOUNTAIN SNOW: There is a Winter Storm Warning from Saturday through Monday in the Cascades, though the dynamic nature of this system and the fluctuating snow levels will mean varying impacts. Snow will start in the passes (even Snoqualmie Pass) by early afternoon Saturday continuing into Saturday evening. Two to six inches of snow could fall through the passes on Saturday afternoon and evening and some travel issues are possible. Late Saturday evening and Saturday night, the snow level (elevation at which snow will fall vs rain) will rise quickly to above 5,000 feet. This will mean it will turn to rain at Stevens and Snoqualmie Passes Saturday evening through early Sunday. This could create a slushy mix which could cause problems, especially on US 2. Beyond mid-morning Sunday, the snow level comes back down again to allow for heavy snow at the passes once again — and another half-foot or more snow is likely from Sunday afternoon through Monday morning. The best chance for significant pass travel impacts will be late Sunday afternoon through Sunday night, but pass travelers need to be prepared and check conditions before leaving all weekend long. The higher passes and peaks will get 1-2 feet or more of snow.

NEXT WEEK: Rain and mountain snow continue Monday, with some breaks. Snow levels could fall to 1,500 feet Monday night into Tuesday morning and while we don’t expect significant foothill snow, there could be some pockets of wet snow in some of our foothills on Tuesday morning.  Milder weather and windy conditions return mid-late week as this very active November continues.

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