If you were out in shorts last weekend, slathering on sunscreen, be prepared for a different kind of weather this Saturday and Sunday.
“There won’t be a lot of sun tomorrow for most of Western Washington. Maybe a few sunbreaks, but not much more than that,” says KPLU weather expert Cliff Mass, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington. “This is going to be kind of a so-so, middle-of-the-road weekend.”
Temperatures on Saturday will get up into the mid- to upper 60s, with possible patches of sun in the afternoon. Temperatures on Sunday will get up to the mid-60s, he says, but still with lots of clouds and some scattered showers.
Mass says the overcast skies are pretty typical for spring in the Puget Sound region.
Typical Spring
“Low clouds develop over the Pacific during the spring and early summer and those tend to move in, so it’s really a low-cloud forecast rather than a storm forecast for most of the spring and early summer,” Mass says.
As Gov. Jay Inslee declares a statewide drought emergency, concern among farmers has climbed. But parts of Eastern Washington, around the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla, experienced a day of welcome rain earlier this week. Central and Southeastern Washington got one to two and a half inches on May 13.
“It really was perfectly timed for many of them,” Mass says. “It wasn’t from thunderstorms. It was from a relatively steady, moderate rain that lasted many hours.”
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The weekly KPLU feature "Weather with Cliff Mass" airs every Friday at 9 a.m. immediately following BirdNote, and twice on Friday afternoons during All Things Considered. The feature is hosted by KPLU Environment Reporter Bellamy Pailthorp. Cliff Mass is a University of Washington Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, a renowned Seattle weather prognosticator, and a popular weather blogger. You can also subscribe to a podcast of “Weather with Cliff Mass” shows.
