Mainly dry today, wet & windy Tuesday

Good morning! We’re kicking off the workweek with some light rain & mountain snow. As I write this discussion around 3:00 A.M., a thin line of rain is passing over the I-5 corridor. We’ll see a few more A.M. showers, but the rest of the day should be more dry than wet. High temperatures should reach the low 50s. Enjoy the break in the rain, because we have a soaker coming tomorrow.

A relatively strong Pacific front will slide into the region between tonight and Tuesday morning, bringing a round of moderate rain, gusty winds and mountain snow. Most of the lowlands west of the Cascades will deal with steady rain through the early afternoon. Between the mid to late afternoon, rain will transition to scattered showers. Wind gusts will peak sometime between the mid-morning and early afternoon. Gusts could exceed 45 mph along the coast, with isolated gusts up to 55 mph. Inland gusts should range between about 30-40 mph, with isolated gusts up to 45 mph. Don’t be surprised if your power gets knocked out for a little bit. Most of us should avoid outages though. Meanwhile, significant snow will blanket the Cascades. The snow level will be around 4,000 feet, so most of the accumulation should occur above pass level. Expect about 6-12 inches near the passes, and closer to 12-18 inches up high. Heavy snow coupled with gusty winds will make driving difficult in the Cascades. Be prepared for white-out conditions.

Showers should taper off between Tuesday night and early Wednesday, leading to some nicer weather around midweek. Our warmest day still looks like it’ll be Thursday with highs in the low to mid 50s. A breezy east wind should be around for at least part of the day. The east wind will develop out ahead of our next weather system, which should bring rain & mountain snow back by Friday.

Have a great workweek!

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