Trick-or-treaters can look forward to less-than-ghoulish weather for this evening's candy harvest. KPLU weather expert Cliff Mass said Friday's rainy Pacific front should clear off to the east by the time the ghosts and goblins hit the streets.
(Does anyone dress up as ghosts or goblins anymore? Perhaps I should say "Marvel heroes," or "Provocatively-dressed pop culture figures." -ed.)
"It may not be as scary tonight as some people feared," said Mass, Professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington. "Maybe there will be a few showers, but it will be mainly dry, so not too bad. And temperatures getting up into the upper 50s today [Friday]."
That will set up a relatively dry and mild weekend, according to Mass. Saturday should bring a few clouds and possibly a residual shower or two, giving way to sunbreaks and warm temperatures. Expect that weather to continue into Sunday, which should start out dry. Clouds will likely move in later on Sunday afternoon, transitioning into some precipitation by evening.
"Then I'm afraid the story next week will be really ghoulish. It will be warmer than normal, maybe that's OK. But it will be wetter than normal," Mass said.
Mass sees another Pacific front moving in early next week, dousing the Northwest in fall showers. That will follow a much rainier-than-usual October, with precipitation levels about 50 percent above normal.
Mass said that means it has indeed been an unusually warm and wet year.
"If you look for the entire year, we have right now, at the end of October, the total rainfall that we normally would get in the whole year. Way ahead of normal," he said.
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.
