Under the Weather: Showery start to spring expected

For those of you that are so ready for winter to be over, the weekend you have been looking for is just about here. Astronomical spring officially starts on Saturday! We’ve gotten a tease the past few days of what weather to expect more of in the coming weeks. It’s been a gorgeous few days, hasn’t it? I know I went outside and took advantage of it; I hope you did, too.

Because, ironically, the start of spring is not going to feel much like spring. With a series of systems on tap over the weekend and into the start of next week, showers will likely be more common than the warmer, sunny days so many of us are looking forward to.

We saw our first raindrops since Sunday on Thursday, thanks to the first in a series of frontal systems coming our way. In the image below, you can see a beautiful low-pressure center with clouds swirling around it, which is responsible for the return of the rain.

The second frontal system makes its way to our area during the day Friday. Showers are expected as a result. In addition, winds are expected to pick up Friday. Some ensemble members are suggesting that gusts of over 40 mph are possible. To keep things interesting, there is also the chance of some isolated thunderstorms—so don’t be caught off guard if you hear a rumble of thunder or two.

The chance of showers remains overnight Friday, and temperatures will be prevented from dropping too low thanks to our cloudy blanket. The low-pressure center offshore starts to come onshore on Saturday, which will again lead to some more showery weather throughout the day.

Another front is expected to come through the region on Sunday, which should lead to some light showers and some potentially breezy conditions once again—nothing too crazy is expected.

Unfortunately, as I alluded to before, there’s not much in the way of dry and warm weather expected in the coming week. Take a look at the GFS (American model) Ensemble for 24-hour precipitation at Paine Field below.

Most of the individual members are showing rain at times for much of the week ahead. This doesn’t mean steady rain the whole time, but scattered showers will likely be more common. According to the GFS Ensemble above, there is the chance that next weekend could be dry to mostly dry.

In terms of temperatures, there’s nothing to write home about either. Expect mostly seasonable temperatures with highs in the upper-40s to low-50s and lows in the upper-30s to low 40s. I wouldn’t say it’s quite time to get the tank-tops and shorts out, yet.

But don’t worry—true springlike weather will come eventually. Flowers are starting to bloom on trees. And before we know it, summer will be around the corner. We just have to wait a little bit longer.

In the meantime, stay dry out there. Have a great weekend!

— By Kelsie Knowles

Kelsie Knowles is a meteorologist and recent University of Washington graduate who lives in north Lynnwood. After writing weather blogs as a KOMO News intern, she discovered a passion for writing about weather. You can learn more in her blog www.wxnoggin.com and you can also follow her on Twitter at @kels_wx3.

 

 

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