Our first 70F day of the Spring

 You've probably heard by now that the forecast for this week is for warmer and drier weather. But first, we'll have a showery Sunday and Monday.

Morning showers will give way to afternoon/evening convective showers.  Here's the radar mosaic at 730am this Sunday morning:



The forecast has a possibility of thunderstorms, but the vast majority of these will be south of Spokane.  Still, there is a small chance of thunderstorms over northeast Washington.  The dew point will climb into the upper 40s so any showers could put down a quick quarter of an inch of rain.  These showers will continue over northeast Washington tonight.  More showers are expected for Monday, but dew points will be much lower so rainfall from these Monday showers should be lighter

Here is a computer forecast of the expected rainfall for Sunday and Monday.  Don't get too hung up about the exact amounts and placement.  But it does appear that northeast WA has the best chance for heavier rainfall, with some locations totaling a half inch.




After that, high pressure builds into the area for dry and warmer weather.  And that should last until at least next Sunday.  Even if this rain does happen next Sunday, this weather system looks to be very weak at this point.

We should hit 70F for the first time this spring, sometime later this week.  Is this late, early, or normal?  Since records at Deer Park only go back to 1998, we'll take a look at the Spokane Airport.  On average, Spokane reaches 70F for the first time each year on 17 April.  So for 2023, we'll be about 10 days late.  This is typical for a spring that follows a La Nina winter.

Looking farther into the future, the computers diverge on the possible weather patterns.  About 60% of them call for continued warm and dry weather.  The other 40% do suggest a possible cooler and showery pattern.  




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