Wet & Dry

 

Mixed pattern ahead, with the very wet cycle still teasing us on the charts.  Let’s preview the outlook.

 

Generally, dry today with the coldest air of the season aloft.  Therefore, frosty tomorrow morning in many areas on both sides of the Cascades.  Another weak system will bring additional rain/showers later Tue night, along with a bit more SNOW at pass level & higher.  Wed could be cool with sun & showers.  Thu is looking mostly dry before the next weak system moves onshore from the NW sometime Fri (this one may only impact areas north of Portland).  Windy across northern CA today and tomorrow.

 

Weekend ahead, Oct 16,17: expect rain to arrive late Sat into early Sun for most western locations north of Salem.  The upper lever winds (jet stream) are aimed at the PNW in a relatively straight line from west-to-east, centered over WA/BC (what is commonly referred to as a ‘zonal flow flow’).  Therefore, OR is most likely to miss much of the cumulative precipitation over the several days.

 

Starting next Sunday, models now build a high pressure ridge over the western US that will NOT easily yield to the cold air mass trough that will develop over the Gulf of Alaska.  Hence, the series of windy, rainy storms we have projected may not arrive until Thu Oct 21.  The storms will essentially be stretched out north-to-south and thus weakened, as they gradually break through that blocking ridge.  Still, we see notable RAIN and WINDS coming into play in the Oct 21-28 period.  Before hand, expect dry weather Sunday afternoon Oct 17 through Wed Oct 20.

 

Special Note: if the sky does clear in your area tonight, Patrons in northern WA & BC may get the chance to witness AURORAS.  Geomagnetic storms may hit the earth today, setting up this opportunity to see ’northern lights’.  Worth a peek, for sure.