Wet and Warm

This figure shows you the last day's precipitation using a new technology calibrating the local weather radars with rain gauges at the surface. Over central and southern Puget Sound a number of areas got 1-1.5 inches and everyone had at least a half-inch. Minor urban and road flooding has occurred throughout the region. This is certainly more than last night's computer models were showing (see the graphic with yesterdays 24-h forecast ending 4 PM today). The rain shadow in the lee of the Olympics was in full force and very heavy rain--reaching 3-5 inches were observed on the NW side of the Olympics.

Because we don't a have a coastal radar we can't see where the rain was heaviest...probably 5-7 inches on the windward (SW) side of the Olympics. The result will be flooding on several Olympic Rivers. The mountains of Vancouver Island received similar heavy amounts.

But the other side of this event was the warmth. Take a look at the latest Seattle Tacoma Airport 2-week plot. The minimum temperature last night was higher than the normal MAXIMUM. But the craziest temperatures occurred around 2 AM last night when temperatures at Bellingham and some neighboring site surges into the lower 60s (see plot). The reason: a push of SE flow off the Cascades and Chuckanut mountains, with descending flow causing compressional warming.

And the warmth is back tonight! Ten Mile AgWeatherNet site (4 mi NNE of KBLI) got to 65F this evening at 6:30 PM

We are now stuck in a warm, wet pattern because the upper level configuration has shifted eastward. The ridge aloft has pushed inland, leaving us open to warm, moist southwesterly flow. (see graphic). The east will now starting warming up as the cold air source of northern Canada will not longer supply the eastern half of the U.S. Southern Florida will be back in the 60s tomorrow and 70s on Thursday.

The next 48 hr will bring more rain to the region, with a major break on Thursday.