Brief end to persistent storminess in sight for Pacific Northwest
By
Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Dec 22, 2020 7:29 PM EST
Watch as this car quickly disappears under deep snow in Binghamton, New York, as captured in this time-lapse video. The National Weather Service reported the city received 42 inches of snow.
Periods of rain and snow have provided drought relief to portions of the Pacific Northwest for the better part of the past two weeks. Although it has been an active period, precipitation amounts have actually been slightly below normal as none of the systems have been particularly strong. By the middle of this week, the rain and snow is expected to temporarily cease altogether.
As one storm departed the Pacific Northwest on Friday night, another was on its heels. This system was stronger than most that have dampened the region so far this month. Heavy rain soaked the coasts of Washington and Oregon on Saturday night. Rain continued into Sunday and dumped over an inch of rain in locations such as Vancouver, Washington, and Portland and Salem, Oregon. Flood watches were in effect along much of the coast of Washington and northern and central Oregon. Those watches were discontinued as the rain became lighter on Sunday night.
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Another aspect of the system was temperatures well above normal. This caused rain to fall in many of the mountains, instead of the snow that is typical in December. Heavy rain falling on top of snow led to some localized flooding.
The difference in pressure, known as the pressure gradient, between low pressure associated with these systems and high pressure farther east created strong winds over the Rockies through the weekend.
The caboose in the long train of storms in recent weeks pushed inland during Monday night with drenching rain on the coast and snow over the high country. Snow levels will begin to fall over the Cascades behind a cold front, however. A few inches of snow accumulation will be possible in the mountains.
Ahead of the front, southwesterly winds ushered in warm air on Monday afternoon and Seattle set a record high of 59 degrees, breaking the record of 56 degrees set in 2005.
Following the passage of the front, winds quickly shifted to a northerly direction. In fact, the temperature fell by 7 degrees in a mere 16 minutes in Seattle. The temperature continued to fall and, on Monday evening, rain changed over to snow. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, one-half inch of snow was reported. This was the first time snow fell this season in Seattle.
Snow will push into the northern Rockies on Tuesday. In its wake, high pressure will build into the West.
This will promote an end to the storm train for a few days, giving the Northwest a chance to dry out. Unfortunately, this will also mean no precipitation in other areas in the West still mired in extreme to exceptional drought conditions.
The dry weather is expected to last through Christmas Eve, meaning that many places in the West will have three consecutive dry days for the first time since the beginning of December. However, indications are that the next disturbance will come ashore just in time for Christmas Day.
Precipitation with that system is forecast to make it as far south as Northern California, and possibly to areas just north of Los Angeles during the weekend.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Brief end to persistent storminess in sight for Pacific Northwest
By Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Dec 22, 2020 7:29 PM EST
Watch as this car quickly disappears under deep snow in Binghamton, New York, as captured in this time-lapse video. The National Weather Service reported the city received 42 inches of snow.
Periods of rain and snow have provided drought relief to portions of the Pacific Northwest for the better part of the past two weeks. Although it has been an active period, precipitation amounts have actually been slightly below normal as none of the systems have been particularly strong. By the middle of this week, the rain and snow is expected to temporarily cease altogether.
As one storm departed the Pacific Northwest on Friday night, another was on its heels. This system was stronger than most that have dampened the region so far this month. Heavy rain soaked the coasts of Washington and Oregon on Saturday night. Rain continued into Sunday and dumped over an inch of rain in locations such as Vancouver, Washington, and Portland and Salem, Oregon. Flood watches were in effect along much of the coast of Washington and northern and central Oregon. Those watches were discontinued as the rain became lighter on Sunday night.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Another aspect of the system was temperatures well above normal. This caused rain to fall in many of the mountains, instead of the snow that is typical in December. Heavy rain falling on top of snow led to some localized flooding.
The difference in pressure, known as the pressure gradient, between low pressure associated with these systems and high pressure farther east created strong winds over the Rockies through the weekend.
The caboose in the long train of storms in recent weeks pushed inland during Monday night with drenching rain on the coast and snow over the high country. Snow levels will begin to fall over the Cascades behind a cold front, however. A few inches of snow accumulation will be possible in the mountains.
Ahead of the front, southwesterly winds ushered in warm air on Monday afternoon and Seattle set a record high of 59 degrees, breaking the record of 56 degrees set in 2005.
Following the passage of the front, winds quickly shifted to a northerly direction. In fact, the temperature fell by 7 degrees in a mere 16 minutes in Seattle. The temperature continued to fall and, on Monday evening, rain changed over to snow. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, one-half inch of snow was reported. This was the first time snow fell this season in Seattle.
Snow will push into the northern Rockies on Tuesday. In its wake, high pressure will build into the West.
This will promote an end to the storm train for a few days, giving the Northwest a chance to dry out. Unfortunately, this will also mean no precipitation in other areas in the West still mired in extreme to exceptional drought conditions.
The dry weather is expected to last through Christmas Eve, meaning that many places in the West will have three consecutive dry days for the first time since the beginning of December. However, indications are that the next disturbance will come ashore just in time for Christmas Day.
Precipitation with that system is forecast to make it as far south as Northern California, and possibly to areas just north of Los Angeles during the weekend.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo