If you’re planning any outdoor fun this weekend, Sunday’s your best bet, says KPLU weather expert Cliff Mass.
The famous Puget Sound convergence zone has been dumping rain in the greater Seattle area, with some places in the foothills of the cascades getting as much as 4 inches in the space of just six hours on Thursday afternoon. Mass, who teaches atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington, says there will be a break from that today, but not for too long.
“Today, you’ll notice some sun out there, it’s partly sunny and partly cloudy over the lowlands,” Mass said Friday, predicting that clouds over the mountains will evaporate during the day somewhat and yield to warm spring temperatures.
“So I expect a lot of sun in western Washington, temperatures getting up to around 60, even the low 60s, west of the Cascades,” he said.
If you want heat, go east, says Mass: “You can get 70 over there.”
Saturday will start out dry, Mass says, but a Pacific storm is moving toward us.
“The rain will first hit the coast during the morning,” Mass said, “So, 9, 10 o'clock, it will be raining if you’re at Hoquiam or Quileute.”
Mass says the rain will move into the greater Seattle area right after lunch, and continue into late evening when he expects another Puget Sound convergence zone to form, with rain concentrated a little further north around Everett.
He says the whole system will move through in the morning.
“So I expect Sunday to be a pretty good day. We’ll see some sun, temperatures getting up into the lower 60s and if you go into eastern Washington, even into the 70s.”
So Mass says Sunday is the day to plan outdoor activities such as Easter egg hunts.
He predicts partly cloudy skies and some light showers on Monday and Tuesday, but adds it’s too early to talk about timing just yet.
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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.
