Forecasting Kitsap

Ok, maybe it won’t look THAT pretty on the base of Crystal Mountain, but the top could indeed have 1-2 feet of snow on it by the end of the weekend.

My jaw dropped open when I read this statement in the afternoon weather discussion put out by the National Weather Service. It’s early September for heavens sake! Here’s the excerpt:

THIS WEATHER PATTERN WILL HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON THE
MOUNTAIN BACKCOUNTRY…AND PEOPLE PLANNING TRIPS THERE SHOULD BE
PREPARED FOR POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS COLD AND WET WEATHER.

THE SNOW LEVEL WILL FALL TO AROUND 6000 FEET BY SUNDAY…AND ONE
TO TWO FEET OF NEW SNOW IS EXPECTED TO FALL ABOVE THE SNOW LEVEL.
WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH SHOULD BE EXPECTED ON HIGHER EXPOSED RIDGES
AND SLOPES…AND THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF THUNDER AND LIGHTNING.
PRECIPITATION WILL BE LESS HEAVY ON LABOR DAY BUT THE SNOW LEVEL
WILL REMAIN AROUND 6000 FEET AND TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN COOL.

This could be a great sign for a healthy ski season to come, or the most action we’ll get all season. Hopefully it’s not the latter

Down in the lowlands, we could receive 0.25-0.50” of rain tomorrow with slightly heavier amounts on Sunday accompanied by breezy conditions of 25-35 mph. There could also be a few thundershowers Sunday as well.

Labor Day itself looks less showery, but still plenty chilly and breezy, so plan your outdoor activities accordingly! My suggestion? Have an indoor movie marathon! Our family has decided to just watch movies together all day since it will be too cold and wet to enjoy doing anything else.

And yes, for all you summer weather lovers, summer looks to return by mid-late week next week with highs rebounding. How much they’ll rebound is still in question, but by next weekend you *may* be able to return to the lake before putting away that boat for good.

Have a great evening/weekend!

Matthew Leach

Forecasting Kitsap

forecastingkitsap@live.com

7 DAY FORECAST

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The National Weather Service has issued a SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT regarding the potential for some dangerous vacation weather here in the Northwest, especially for those planning on making a trip to the mountains. I have decided to copy and paste the statement into this post:

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
305 AM PDT FRI SEP 4 2009

WAZ001-503>519-050130-
SAN JUAN COUNTY-WESTERN WHATCOM COUNTY-SOUTHWEST INTERIOR-
EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS-WESTERN SKAGIT COUNTY-EVERETT AND VICINITY-
SEATTLE/BREMERTON AREA-TACOMA AREA-ADMIRALTY INLET AREA-
HOOD CANAL AREA-LOWER CHEHALIS VALLEY AREA-OLYMPICS-
EASTERN STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-WESTERN STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-
NORTH COAST-CENTRAL COAST-WEST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES AND PASSES-
WEST SLOPES CENTRAL CASCADES AND PASSES-
305 AM PDT FRI SEP 4 2009

…A COOL AND WET LABOR DAY WEEKEND IS EXPECTED ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON…

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON ON
SATURDAY…BRINGING PERIODS OF RAIN…COOLER…AND BREEZY
CONDITIONS. THE FRONT WILL BE FOLLOWED BY AN UNSEASONABLY COOL AND
SHOWERY UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH LABOR DAY. TEMPERATURES
IN THE LOWLANDS SUNDAY AND LABOR DAY WILL STRUGGLE TO HIT THE
LOWER 60S DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS.

SNOW LEVELS IN THE MOUNTAINS WILL BE AROUND 6000 FEET SATURDAY
NIGHT INTO LABOR DAY. TEMPERATURES ABOVE 3500 FEET WILL REMAIN IN
THE 40S DURING THE DAYTIME HOURS. COLD TEMPERATURES WILL BE
ACCOMPANIED BY OCCASIONAL SHOWERS AND BREEZY CONDITIONS.

PEOPLE PLANNING TRAVEL INTO THE MOUNTAINS THIS WEEKEND SHOULD BE
PREPARED FOR FALL-LIKE CONDITIONS. DRESS WARM AND TAKE RAIN GEAR. HYPOTHERMIA
CAN OCCUR WITH THESE EXPECTED CONDITIONS.

Indeed, the models are advertising quite a sharp trough for this time of year to dig into our region. This is looking more like a late October/early November storm than an early September one.

The good news is, after Labor Day, a strong ridge of high pressure looks to build into the area, boosting temperatures above normal by the end of the week. So it looks like Mother Nature will even things out!

Have a great day,

Matthew Leach

Forecasting Kitsap

Questions? Comments? E-mail me at: forecastingkitsap@live.com

7 DAY FORECAST