Thanksgiving Forecast

A band of moderate rain is now moving through western Washington, but the good news is that it will clear the region by 3 AM Thursday.

There will be a period of dry conditions from roughly 4 AM to 1 PM around Puget Sound, so if you want to get your Thanksgiving walk or run in, this will be the time.

The 3-h precipitation totals ending at 7 AM shows dry conditions over the western lowlands (and a few showers over the mountains).   A juicy band of precipitation is offshore.

 The next three hour totals (ending 10 AM), show the frontal band making landfall.

And the 3-h rainfall ending 1 PM shows the wet stuff over Portland and just reaching Seattle.

The following several days will be characterized by lots of showers.  The 72h total ending 4 PM Saturday has up to 2-5 inches over WA terrain and 5-10 inches over some portions of northern CA.

But what really has me excited is the snow.  We will have cool, showery weather, with a low snow level. Over the next 72 h, 1-2 feet will fall above 4000 ft.  Cross country skiing will be possible by Sunday.

The precipitation totals over northern California so far in this storm have been moderate, with around 1.25 inches in the mountains behind Paradise, CA and a few locations getting 2-3 inches.  A lot more is coming.

The good news is that the California-Nevada River Forecast Center indicates little chance of flooding over California (since the ground is starting out so dry) and air quality has rapidly and profoundly improved over much of the Golden State.    To show this, here are the latest Air Quality Index values:  many are green, indicating healthful air.

So enjoy the return to normal weather and wonderful sound of rain on the roof and trees.

from Cliff Mass Weather and Climate Blog https://ift.tt/2QgQZEQ