Spring Snow

As we discussed in our previous blogs, the dry spell after our snow meltdown gave us some much needed time to dry out.  As a result, we had a relatively minor spring mud season.  Our 8" soil temperatures have warmed up about 3F in the past week (except in northeast Washington), helping the surface moisture to soak into the ground.

We also talked about a pattern change after the 10th of March leading to cooler and wetter weather.  That is still what is expected for next week, and the details are coming closer into view now.

Currently we have a small area of high pressure over the Northwest, which should give us mild weekend weather.  Most Pacific storms (like the one in the Gulf of Alaska) have been going south of us, and the next one in line is no different.  It will bring us a breezy Sunday afternoon and evening but not much else.

But then a mass of cold air currently over the Bering Sea will move towards our area early next week.  This will bring us rain and possibly some snow Tuesday night and Wednesday.  But any snow that does fall will likely be wet and not cause much impact.  Accumulations would be doubtful unless everything came together just perfectly.  Expect 1/4" to 1/2" of rain for this mid-week system.

Colder air will move into the region for the latter half of next week.  Highs will only be in the mid-40s.  We could see some rain or snow showers on Thursday.  Then there's a better chance of snow for Friday or Saturday.  That's still a week away, but if the timing works out just right, we could see some light snow accumulations.

Here's the precipitation type and probability chart for the next 10 days.

Looking farther into the future, the cool weather lasts into the first half of the following week (i.e. St Patrick's Day).  Then high pressure is expected to build into our area for a warming trend after the 17th.