Topsy-turvy weather pattern to bring warmth to Northwest, chilly showers to Southwest
As sunshine warms the Northwest to May-like levels, a lingering storm will cool and shower the Southwest early this week.
This man living in Los Angeles, California, was surprised to see a large pile of hail during stormy weather on March 7. He said he hadn’t seen a pile this large in 23 years.
Spring conditions have arrived early this year in the Northwest while weather typical of March with clouds and showers will dot the Southwest through the early part of this week, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
A convoluted jet stream with a big bulge over the Northwest and a big dip in the Southwest will drive the weather over the West Coast states into early week.
Northwest to feel like May into Monday
Daytime temperatures will continue to soar early this week to levels more typical of late May and early June over much of the northwestern United States and in British Columbia, Canada.
In Washington and Oregon coastal areas, afternoon temperatures will be well into the 60s to the lower 70s, challenging daytime record highs. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the daily record high of 71 was tied on Sunday, just one day after Saturday's record of 72 fell when the airport set a new daily mark of 74 degrees. Before this weekend, both Saturday's and Sunday's record highs were reached in 1947, underscoring the exceptional nature of the current late-season warmth.
Even at pass level in the Cascades, a major thaw will cause streams to run high. At an elevation of 3,000 to 5,000 feet, daytime temperatures will surge into the 50s.
Across the interior Northwest, it will feel and look just like springtime as well with high temperatures through early week generally in the 60s at the lower elevations in cities such as Spokane, Washington, and Boise, Idaho. However, some locations will push into the lower 70s.
Temperatures will likely reach the mid-70s in Pendleton, Oregon, on Monday afternoon, approaching the daily record high of 76 degrees that was last reached in 1934.
Springlike showers, cool air to rule the Southwest
Farther south, the part of the storm that brought several feet of snow to Colorado will continue to impact the Southwest states early this week. The portion of the storm at the level of the atmosphere at which jets fly will settle into the region.
This setup will generate extensive clouds, especially during the midday, afternoon and evening hours. It will also produce a mosaic of low-elevation showers and mountain snow showers and will be the weather regime from Southern California to Arizona and New Mexico, as well as the southern parts of Nevada, Utah and Colorado.
The cloud cover and shower activity can extend to the Southern California coast and will suppress temperatures. As the storm begins to weaken and shrink in size, temperatures will trend upward just a bit early this week.
For example, in downtown Los Angeles, a high of 71 on Sunday will give way to high temperatures trending well into the 70s as clouds dissipate during the early part of the week.
The storm continued to produce locally heavy snow on Saturday over the Arizona and New Mexico mountains. However, even into Sunday night, rain and snow showers occurred in locations such as Flagstaff, Arizona, after highs in the lower 40s. Temperatures at Flagstaff will trend upward later this week, but there will still be the chance of spotty shower activity, especially during the midday and afternoon hours.
West faces another pattern shift this week
As this week progresses, the jet stream will take on a more typical west-to-east configuration that will allow storms to roll in from the Pacific across the Northwest and clouds to evaporate in the Southwest with building warmth in the deserts.
Highs in Seattle will be mainly in the low to mid-50s, around the historical average, for the second half of March. Meanwhile, highs will trend upward into the 70s in Las Vegas and 80s in Phoenix. Temperatures cold surpass the season-high mark of 84 in Phoenix, reached on Feb. 25.
The buildup of warmth over the Southwest this week could trigger marine layer conditions along the California coast with areas of low clouds and fog in the mornings.
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