Where’s Winter? (Vacationing in the Pacific Northwest Evidently)

BECOMING MORE ACTIVE: The rest of the week will continue to feature above average temperatures and fairly quiet weather ahead of the storm system this weekend. Highs today will be in the 50s to lower 60s across the state with partly to mostly sunny skies. There is a disturbance that will move just north of the state late this afternoon into tonight that could bring a few clouds to the northern counties of the state but the precipitation should stay north of the area. As we head into Friday, partly to mostly sunny skies will be found once again. There will be a noticeable increase in the cloudiness as we move into the afternoon hours with the storm approaching from the southwest. Highs on Friday will range from the middle and upper 40s in the northwestern counties through the 50s elsewhere.

WEEKEND SYSTEM: Moving on to the weekend, the storm will move in Saturday into Sunday with a chance of some rain for most of the state with a touch of snow possible in our northwestern counties. Rainfall amounts look to be quite significant with possibly 1-2” of rain possible in the eastern half of the state and lesser amounts further to the west. It’s still a bit early to determine any possible snow accumulations but at this point they look to be relatively minor (perhaps a few inches) but this could still change so stay tuned. Colder air will filter into the state on Sunday which should move the rain snow line further to the east so the precipitation may end as a rain snow mix in the eastern counties as the system moves away late Sunday night. More details are to come on this system.

EARLY NEXT WEEK: Another storm will follow on the heels of the weekend one as we head into Tuesday with a chance of mainly snow or a wintry mix. This system doesn’t have the amount of moisture as the weekend storm will have so any amounts look to be light at this time with the northern counties of the state favored to see any significant precipitation. Highs as we head into Monday and Tuesday next week will be in the 30s and 40s but will cool down as we head into the middle of next week to more typical December like weather.

HEADING TO CHRISTMAS: Looking at the extended period which goes through Christmas, a storm system looks to miss the state to the south with some precipitation there. We could see an increase in cloudiness in our southern counties if this occurs. Temperatures will be near seasonal levels late next week and into the following weekend. We still see a storm system around the 22nd and 23rd that could bring us some snow to the state just in time for Christmas but there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding that system and confidence remains low at this time.