Seattle - The second half of the weekend is going to be sloppy at times. Rain, wind and mountain snow will take over the forecast. Widespread rain will move in overnight dropping heavy snow to the mountains. This all thanks to an "Atmospheric River" set up in the Pacific.
We are very close to reaching the normal amount of rain for the month of February and we still have more than a week left until we welcome in March. After this next storm system we should push up and over the monthly average of 3.50" for the second moth of the year.
Tonight the winds will gust at times too. Winds ramp up out of the south for most overnight and out of the SSW for Sunday. Futurecast has Western WA gusting between 18-36 mph overnight with bigger gusts through Sunday and Sunday night.
Here's a look at 12pm Sunday. Seattle showing a gust of 34 mph.
By 11pm some areas settle down while others see 35-50 mph burst.
As we look at the next 48 hours if will feel pretty stormy at times for the lowlands and mountains. Temperatures will rise slightly above average for Seattle into the low 50s. Snow levels in the mountains will climb too bringing back the potential for area rivers to flood, especially the Chehalis, Skokomish and Grays Rivers. There are several Watches and an Avalanche Warning for the Cascades.
We have several weather alerts for the mountains over the next two days with so much snow expected to fall.
Tuesday through the rest of the week we spring back to more traditional winter weather around the Pacific Northwest. Snow levels will drop back down to near 1,500ft. By Wednesday a weak, small ridge builds in for a short break from the rain and lending to some pops of sunshine before another decent push of rain and mountain snow come our way to close out the week! Stay tuned!
Have a great rest of the weekend all! ~Erin Mayovsky, Q13 Forecaster