EVERETT — Temperamental fall weather could bring the first snowfall of the season by Thursday morning. Full disclosure: To see it, you better be higher than 3,500 feet.
Possible snow for areas as low as Stevens Pass is one of the possibilities from a series of fronts moving through Wednesday through Saturday. If the cooler temperatures, possible thunderstorms and 20 to 25 mph wind gusts weren’t enough, an atmospheric river looks to bring as much as 3 to 6 inches of rain for the North Cascades on Friday afternoon into Saturday, said Jeff Michalski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service
The first in a series of fronts moved through western Washington early Wednesday, bringing with it showers and colder air.
Forecasters said weather could destabilize Wednesday afternoon, depending on the emergence of a Puget Sound convergence zone. A convergence zone is when air flow splits around the Olympic Mountains to the West and then converges over Puget Sound. As of noon Wednesday, it was 56 degrees in Everett.
By Wednesday evening, the weather service called for another front to drop south across western Washington and Snohomish County, bringing more moisture and continued cooler temperatures. By Thursday morning, rain could give way to snow in the mountain passes. Thanks to above freezing temperatures in the passes, motorists are likely to encounter slushy conditions. Higher elevations in the Olympic range and North Cascades could see several inches of snow through Thursday evening.
The brief return of a high pressure system late Thursday into Friday morning will give Snohomish County a brief chance to dry out. Michalski said “the wettest system of the season so far” will arrive Friday afternoon. Atmospheric rivers are long narrow regions in the atmosphere that carry water vapor from the tropics.
Michalski said the bulk of the rain will be to the north of Snohomish County and won’t adversely affect rivers, but that could change.
“Currently not expecting any river flooding but we’re still monitoring the rivers in case the system stalls,” Mychalski said.
As for next week? The National Weather Service expects high pressure to return, bringing with it drier conditions and mild temperatures in the 60s.
Michael Henneke: 425-339-3431; michael.henneke@heraldnet.com; X: @ihenpecked.
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