The weather was fantastic this week across the entire Pacific Northwest! Sunny skies were the name of the game for the entire region – including both Seattle and Portland who had their first sunny days this year! Unfortunately, since the Tri-Cities lies in a basin, calm conditions also come with increased pollution. These conditions should continue Saturday, with light winds and highs in the mid-50s. Sunday, however, a low pressure system is expected to impact Washington and Oregon. This will bring strong winds and a chance of rain showers to the Columbia Basin.
First, lets talk about precipitation. Most of the moisture will be caught by the mountains, but there is a 40% chance of light rain for the Tri-Cities. Rainfall values will be limited, with most solutions putting us below 0.05″ and some giving us zero. As usual, rain is more likely off toward Walla Walla and Pendleton where the Blue Mountains force the air up (a phenomenon called orthographic lift).
If you’re traveling over the mountains this weekend, be sure to check pass conditions because this will be another snow maker for the Cascades. Parts of the Blue Mountains above 4,000 feet will also see some snow, but it currently looks like Interstate 84 will only see a few inches.
The big story out of this for us, though, is the wind. As of Friday evening, most models have wind gusts peaking in the 40-50 mph range. This certainly isn’t the worst we’ve ever seen, but it is enough to be able to toss around light objects. Be sure to secure stuff you have outside, like trampolines, garbage cans, or outdoor furniture. Wind gusts will be higher in exposed areas, such as the tops of ridges and/or outside of town and may cause difficult travel conditions for high profile vehicles.
Breezy conditions may linger into Monday, but it looks like we will be on a calming trend. Some models are showing a weaker system coming across the region midweek that is far from guaranteed. Most of those models paint this as mainly a small mountain event with limited impacts in the Tri-Cities, but I will keep track of it and make sure to keep you posted if it becomes interesting! Temperatures should remain near average for this time of year, with highs in the 50s through Wednesday.
Finally, voting for the Tri-City Herald’s People’s Choice Awards has started! I would really appreciate your vote for me, Mark Ingalls, in the Best Weathercaster category! Click this link to vote and remember that you can do so daily, so don’t be shy!
The featured image for this post is modeled wind gusts for Sunday afternoon from the NAM as displayed by Windy. You can check out what the models are currently saying about wind and other variables by heading over to the forecast map page!
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