Fall got off to a damp and cloudy start in the Pacific Northwest on Friday. But knkx weather expert Cliff Mass says he expects “a nice fall weekend” ahead with plenty of sun, warming temps and an especially sunny flourish on Monday.
Mass says a weak Pacific front was moving in Friday morning “and it’s kind of getting split apart, so we’ll have clouds over most of the region, showers along the coast, in the Cascades and in the South Sound, but only a few sprinkles around Puget Sound because we’ll be somewhat rain shadowed by the Olympics.”
That system will move through on Friday night. After that the weather improves over most of the weekend.
'Quite Sunny' Saturday
Mass says there will be clouds early Saturday morning, but those will break by 9 or 10 o’clock and it will be a sunny afternoon. “And I think the temperatures should get up into the mid to upper 60s, so definitely a much nicer day,” he said. “And most of Western Washington will be quite sunny and almost clear.”
Warmer Sunday
Then on Sunday, the ridge of high pressure that usually locks in the sunny skies builds up. “But we have a weak disturbance that’ll just nick the northwest corner of Washington state. So there could be a sprinkle and a bit of clouds if you’re at Tatoosh,” Mass said. “But for the most part, most of the region will see warmer temperatures.” He says expect sunny conditions on Sunday with temperatures around 70 or in the low 70s.
'Glorious' Monday
“The ridge revs up on Monday,” Mass says, and that means high pressure with the possibility of light wind coming in from the coast. “And temperatures should surge up into the mid-70s; so it will be an absolute glorious day on Monday,” he said.
Next week, he says there appear to be a series of weak disturbances that could bring some sprinkles, but no major weather that he can see at this point.
“So a really nice fall weekend and next week doesn’t look like any problems at all.”
To hear the forecast along with a discussion of why the day and night are not actually equal on the equinox, 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 a podcast of ‘Weather with Cliff Mass’ shows.
