More snow possible this weekend, but early summer forecast looking warm and dry
Feb 26, 2014, 12:45 PM | Updated: Feb 27, 2014, 5:16 pm
While a chance of snow is in the forecast again for this coming weekend, new data suggests a warmer and drier summer for the Pacific Northwest. (MyNorthwest file)
(MyNorthwest file)
Forecasters say we could get another round of lowland snow stretching all the way to Seattle this weekend.
The National Weather Service says there’s a chance of lowland snow in Western Washington and has issued a Special Weather Statement.
“The forecast has a great deal of uncertainty so stay tuned as the weekend nears,” warns the NWS.
KING 5 meteorologist Rich Marriott says even though things have warmed up this week, a blast of cold air is looming to the north.
“Starting as early as Friday into Saturday, we’re going to start to see the Fraser River outflow draining the cold air out of the interior of B.C.”
Marriott says it’s too early to make any more specific weekend forecasts about snowfall amounts and locations, but he says some of the early models show moisture creeping in and clashing with the cold air potentially all the way to Seattle Sunday and Monday.
“That could very easily create some snowfall,” he says.
Even if it snows around Seattle, it won’t stick around for long because of warmer temperatures. Whatcom and the other northern counties will feel the effects differently because of the topography and Canadian cold air mass. That makes the chances of a snow event like the one that paralyzed the area last weekend more likely.
Meanwhile, a surge of Arctic air is expected to blow into Eastern Washington with the wind chill feeling as if it’s well below zero.
The NWS expects wetter, milder weather to return next week in Western Washington.
Still, with winter waning, forecasters are beginning to set their sights on spring and summer. New data released this week by NOAA, predicts warmer than normal temperatures from April through September. Early models also suggest drier than normal conditions from April through July.
Marriott says it’s far too soon to draw many conclusions from the early numbers, which predict a 52 percent chance of above normal temperatures from July through September. But he says it’s never too soon to think about a sunny Seattle summer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
