Smooth Sailing

The 500mb Heights for 12Z, 5am PDT, today shows high pressure building to our west in the Pacific.  This translates to a gradual nice day for Friday and for superb sailing this weekend. BBQ tonight? You betcha; grab your coats and grill away. Today however will remain cool since the air is flowing in from Alaska. After that is cut off Seattle temps will be nearing the mid 60s by Sunday.  Have an awesome weekend, I'll be back for the Monday bite.

Enjoy your weekend with friends and family and remember Mother's Day is next Sunday May 8th, 2011.

Farewell Winter? Welcome Spring?!

After a cool unstable day with a funnel cloud spotting, hail, sunbreaks, showers, no rainbows though :), we're going to settle with a cool night, comfortably above freezing.



Highs struggled to reach the 50s today and it seems like the cold grip will loosen some as we bounce back towards normal for this time of the year, 60s. April 2011 will go down in the record books as the coldest April in Seattle beating a 31 year old record (SeaTac Airport is our official record keeping site.) Welcome Spring. 

The Last of Cold

Wow. If you were up late last night in South Seattle what a storm; the winds picked up and rain rapped onto the windows leaving behind super cold, unstable weather.  The high temps today looks like it will barely reach 50 degrees F, now if we do not make it to 50, savoir it! Because this might be one of the last days below 50 until winter time.  Those days of heavy winter coats will transition to sweaters and light jackets soon.... They will be missed by all of Seattle.

Here's the bite: rain showers, sun breaks, hail, wet snow, and rainbows may all occur; I'm having a hunch that it'll be mostly dry today for Seattle. With that said driving a few miles changes what's happening above.

Still Cold

Spring in the Pacific Northwest exemplifies our ever-changing weather. Take a look outside now and put it into photographic memory or if you are reading this later imagine this... the Cascades in the east are engulfed by monstrous poofy clouds, looking right above are wispy grey clouds with silver linings drifting slowly across the sky with a gentle blue background.  With each passing cloud the sun flickers on and off from full power to dim.  Now close your eyes and image catching the few warm rays that fall in between the clouds, and a light breeze catching your hair and cooling your face.  Yes, folks that's this morning.

There are shower activities northwest and east of Seattle right now, with the bulk of the moisture slowly swooping near the coast that will reach us sometime between 2pm and 4pm today with rain lasting for a couple hours.  Following the cold front is cold air! That sets up for an unusually cold April night for those of you traveling in the dark and a slight chance of cool showers firing up, but for the most part dry for us in Seattle tonight.

Sun and April Fools

The sun gave us a visit today in the Udistrict. April fools! You'll be hit with water droplets in a few minutes.

A Runner's Paradise

We're going to have a nice break today with cloudy skies and maybe peeks of sunshine. If it does rain some wait a minute because it will stop. Grab your shorts as today is nice and cool for our favorite couple.

The Return of Sidewalk Puddles

Good morning on a soggy Monday I hope everyone had an awesome Easter.  Looks like the puddles have returned after a nice quiet weekend with most places in the mid 60s and even low 70s on Saturday.  

 

It is late April and spring has sprung? The weather is becoming more tame, but today we're all going to have that lingering aftertaste of winter.  This seems like a wet one and packing a punch too.  The National Weather Service of Seattle has issued a WIND ADVISORY (they love using caps) IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY UNTIL 9PM THIS EVENING. Winds are expected from the S SW at 20 -30 mph gusting near 45mph. So if you are grabbing lunch in Downtown Bellevue expect a mixed bag of weather popcorn; wind, rain, periods of drying, and hold off on the hot, golden sun... an active weather day coupled with a sun diet perhaps?

Update 5:00 pm:

By the National Weather Service ...WIND ADVISORY IS CANCELLED FOR WESTERN WASHINGTON... as of 11:16am. But with that said it'll be breezy, just not enough for an advisory. The bulk of the moisture is heading towards the Cascades dumping buckets of snow there. Sometimes diets, especially with me and my hot dog diet, do not last. The sun is now mixing in with what's left of the weather popcorn and drying will be the continuing trend until tomorrow morning for the Puget Sound Area (except in the convergence zone.) I'll let you guess what happens next.  Another bag of weather popcorn, but this time around the more tame variety.

Happy Easter!

Not a total washout for Easter Sunday.  There are still roaming showers around Western Washington, but the shower activity in Ravenna has stopped... for awhile actually, the pavement outside of Third Place Books in Ravenna is DRY and the sun is trying to peak through the clouds. 

 

This base reflectivity graphic shows how intense the showers are.  Pink and grey shades are fluff and the precipitation from those clouds are probably not reaching the ground.  As you can see the Central Sound in the most part is precip free.  So New Jordan, if you want showers head southwest.  Or perhaps wait 'til later this evening, the weather models are hinting on a hit or miss shower (somewhere in Seattle will be wet) coming in around 8pm.

Update 4:09 pm:

The sun is beaming through the thin clouds into the cafe! And, as I finish this sentence the rays are retreating... come back soon please :-)

The Sun and Friday

 Wow what a beautiful day in Seattle.  And, what a difference a day makes! Check out this visible image from 6:46pm April 21st, clouds covering all of Washington State.

   Now check out today's visible image at 6:45pm; a cloud free Washington.  The visible satellite also shows snow covered grounds.  Looks likes we'll have water for the summer :)

 

For tonight, after a long week of midterms and more midterms to come I think today is an appropriate time for a nighttime excursion on Capital Hill.  With a clear night this weather bite can go out to all of Western Washington, cool now and cooler later :)...calm to light winds from the North with the Capital Hill Area starting in the upper 40s and later after last call.. dipping to the low 40s, grab a jacket or drink up. And, tomorrow the NWS and KOMO are throwing numbers in the mid 60s.  Make it a great weekend as we return to pockets of rain, pockets of sun, and cool all around next week.

The Weather of the Pacific Northwest by Cliff Mass

Pacific Northwest weather is wild!  It can be raining in my neighbor's yard while the sun is shining and the pavement is dry across street.  Yes, we are known for the rain and grey days, but did you know that Seattle on average receives less annual rain in the gauge than Miami, FL?  The Weather of the Pacific Northwest written by the Atmospheric Sciences guru Professor Cliff Mass of the University of Washington gives insight on why that is and the complications of forecasting for this region.  He discusses notable historical storms the blew, dumped on, and flooded the Northwest.  Cliff Mass does a wonderful job in explaining our weather phenomena to be easily understood and engaging across all audiences from general to the scientific community.  I highly recommend this book to the dwellers of the Pacific Northwest or anyone who wants to get a good feel for the Northwest weather through text and stunning images.  Hey, if you want to forecast alongside me check this book out.