If the cold, rainy weather has been getting you down, you’re not alone. KNKX weather expert Cliff Mass says this weekend, Seattle-area people will get a respite from all that.
“It’s going to be perfect for Easter egg hunting. It will be perfect for anything on Sunday; Sunday’s going to be absolutely wonderful,” Mass said.
But he says people here will first have to get through a couple days of transition.
On Friday, cold and unstable air was over the region again, said Mass, who is a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington.
‘And so I look at the radar, I see these showers out there and they’re moving in. And as the surface heats up, as the sun warms the ground, the air’s become more unstable – and we’re going to get back into the showers and sunbreaks, which we’ve seen for the last several days.”
So no matter where you are in Western Washington, there’s a good chance you’ll have some showers Friday —and some sunbreaks.
He says temperatures will only reach the mid-50s.
“So the air is still pretty cool over us,” Mass said.
Warmer Saturday But Still Showery
Mass says there will be a few showers in the lowlands thanks to those unstable air masses aloft.
“More in the mountains,” he said, predicting temps that will climb up to the mid-50s.
“So definitely a little bit better on Saturday, but it’s not going to be perfect,” he said. And he added that the mid-50s are normal for this time of year.
“It’s not like this is unusual weather,” he said, even though he’s been hearing from a lot of people that they are tiring of the rain, wind and churn that have been bothering many this past week.
Sunday Is The Day
Mass says a weak ridge of high pressure is going to move in. That will usher in some offshore flow, or moving into us from the coast.
“That’s very important; offshore flow is generally dry,” he said.
And so Sunday should be sunny.
"Temperatures should zoom up into the lower to mid-60s. Amazing,” Mass said.
And he says the warmest temps will be in the foothills of the Cascades as air descends down the mountains, is compressed and heats up.
“So it’s going to be amazing on Sunday,” Mass said. “It’ll be the warmest day of the year so far.”
Unfortunately, Mass says after that, the weak ridge that promises to provide the sunny day will move out and temperatures will drop.
“We’re going to start getting back into showers on Monday and Tuesday,” he says, “but we have this break on Sunday – perfect for those Easter egg hunters.”
Cliff Mass will be giving a talk at Bellevue College on Tuesday next week, called “The Politicization Of Climate Science.” That’s at 12:30 p.m. on April 18 in room D106. Pizza and drinks will be provided. All are welcome to attend.
Also, Mass is spearheading a local effort with the University of Washington to raise money for climate research in the Northwest. You can learn more about that project here.
To hear the podcast of this segment, including a discussion of why and how people in Western Washington were getting ice on their windshields this past week -- even in temps well above freezing -- you can click on the "play" icon at the top of this post.
The weekly KNKX 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 KNKX 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 podcasts of ‘Weather with Cliff Mass’ shows, via iTunesor Google Play.
