Fluctuating pattern to bring possible drought-busting rain to Northwest this week
By
Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Oct 20, 2019 3:26 PM EST
Spacewalkers Christina Koch and Jessica Meir were outside in the vacuum of space on Oct. 18, getting their tools ready to replace a failed power controller that collects and distributes solar power to station systems. These women are conducting the first all-female spacewalk.
The weather pattern will shift this week, allowing for two pushes of wet weather that may continue to help the dry conditions in the Northwest.
After a soggy weekend, another push of wet weather moved onshore from Monday into Monday night.
"Much of the region will see rain into Tuesday as the storm continues to push inland," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert.
The system moving in with relatively warm air will allow much of the lower elevations in the Cascades to also receive rain.
"Some of the higher elevations, even the higher passes, could have some snow mixing in with rain, especially into Tuesday morning," Reppert added.
Snow that fell in lower elevations earlier in the month will at least partially melt off with the warmer air present. The combination of snow melt and additional rainfall could lead to minor flooding issues in the short term.
In the long term, however, this rain could help to alleviate the slight drought in parts of the region. According to the update issued several days ago by the U.S. Drought monitor, it is abnormally dry across parts of the Cascades and western Washington and Oregon.
As things gradually dry out later on Tuesday, a high will approach the Pacific Northwest, allowing for a break in the rain and even some sunshine Wednesday and Thursday.
The break in the wet weather will allow the ground time to dry and absorb all the rain and snow melt from the early-week storm.
Another round of wet weather is set to return to the northwestern United States at the end of the week.
This time, some colder air will move in with the storm, allowing for more widespread snowfall.
"Snow levels look to drop even lower, and accumulating snow could occur in some of the higher valleys of the Northwest and some Washington and Oregon passes," said Reppert.
The exact timing of this system could change, as the arrival is dependent on how long the high bringing in the midweek dry stretch holds on.
However, at this time, AccuWeather meteorologists expect the wet weather to overspread Washington and northern Oregon on Friday, with wet weather and cold air spreading eastward into the weekend.
"The fast-moving nature of this late-week storm should prevent excessive low-elevation rain and high country snow," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
Going forward, more opportunities for late-autumn chill look likely for the interior northwest, although a stretch of dry weather is also expected.
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the latest forecast and advisories for your region. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather News
Fluctuating pattern to bring possible drought-busting rain to Northwest this week
By Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Oct 20, 2019 3:26 PM EST
Spacewalkers Christina Koch and Jessica Meir were outside in the vacuum of space on Oct. 18, getting their tools ready to replace a failed power controller that collects and distributes solar power to station systems. These women are conducting the first all-female spacewalk.
The weather pattern will shift this week, allowing for two pushes of wet weather that may continue to help the dry conditions in the Northwest.
After a soggy weekend, another push of wet weather moved onshore from Monday into Monday night.
"Much of the region will see rain into Tuesday as the storm continues to push inland," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert.
The system moving in with relatively warm air will allow much of the lower elevations in the Cascades to also receive rain.
"Some of the higher elevations, even the higher passes, could have some snow mixing in with rain, especially into Tuesday morning," Reppert added.
Snow that fell in lower elevations earlier in the month will at least partially melt off with the warmer air present. The combination of snow melt and additional rainfall could lead to minor flooding issues in the short term.
In the long term, however, this rain could help to alleviate the slight drought in parts of the region. According to the update issued several days ago by the U.S. Drought monitor, it is abnormally dry across parts of the Cascades and western Washington and Oregon.
As things gradually dry out later on Tuesday, a high will approach the Pacific Northwest, allowing for a break in the rain and even some sunshine Wednesday and Thursday.
The break in the wet weather will allow the ground time to dry and absorb all the rain and snow melt from the early-week storm.
Related:
Another round of wet weather is set to return to the northwestern United States at the end of the week.
This time, some colder air will move in with the storm, allowing for more widespread snowfall.
"Snow levels look to drop even lower, and accumulating snow could occur in some of the higher valleys of the Northwest and some Washington and Oregon passes," said Reppert.
The exact timing of this system could change, as the arrival is dependent on how long the high bringing in the midweek dry stretch holds on.
However, at this time, AccuWeather meteorologists expect the wet weather to overspread Washington and northern Oregon on Friday, with wet weather and cold air spreading eastward into the weekend.
"The fast-moving nature of this late-week storm should prevent excessive low-elevation rain and high country snow," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
Going forward, more opportunities for late-autumn chill look likely for the interior northwest, although a stretch of dry weather is also expected.
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the latest forecast and advisories for your region. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo