WeatherWatcher: Rain returns, winter forecast

Rainy day over Richmond Beach and Puget Sound
Photo by Carl Dinse

Forecast: Rain returns Tuesday morning, and is expected to continue at times into the afternoon. More rain is likely Tuesday night as well. We're looking at a quarter to 3/4 of an inch of rain in total for Tuesday. 

The wet weather pattern is expected to continue through the weekend, with clouds and the threat of rain each day this week. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid to upper 40's for the highs and lows in the upper 30's to low 40's.

Winter Forecast: Several things are in play this year that are increasing our chances of a colder than normal winter, and wetter than normal winter. We have a moderate La Niña developing as well as a shift in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation to more of a negative phase.

In the near term I think we will start seeing the effects of the colder and wetter weather kick in around the second half of December. Some long range forecasts have been pointing at a significantly higher chance that we will see some lowland snow around the Christmas to New Years holidays. We normally have a very low chance of a white Christmas but those chances have increased this year.

January through March is when the bulk of the storms, rain, cold, and possible lowland snow are expected. For that time period our average temperature will likely be around 1-2°F lower than normal. Several atmospheric river events are expected as well.

December 8, 2020, marks 10 years since I started writing weather articles for Shoreline Area News. Here is a flashback to my very first weather report: WeatherWatcher: Thunderstorm. I started this in response to the November 23-25, 2010 snow and cold snap event to help provide better storm coverage for Shoreline and Lake Forest Park. Ponds froze over during that cold snap, and we had about 1-2 inches of snow accumulate and freeze on all the local streets.

Snow covers the newly completed N 195th St connector trail between Meridian Ave N and 1st Ave N in Shoreline on November 23, 2010
Photo by Carl Dinse

For current weather conditions visit www.shorelineweather.com