Snowy, soaking storm train to continue rolling in the Northwest
By
Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Jan 8, 2021 10:36 AM EST
Following what has been a seemingly endless onslaught of storms battering the Pacific Northwest, the daylight hours on Thursday offered a temporary break. Unfortunately, the dry weather will be just that: temporary.
Although this is typically a wet time of year in the Northwest, the persistence of rain (and mountain snow) has been impressive.
Measurable rain fell each day between Dec. 29 and Jan. 6 in Seattle and Vancouver, Washington, and Portland and Astoria, Oregon. In fact, Astoria had 3.20 inches of rain on Jan. 2, which tied the record for the date originally set way back in 1903.
"Seattle has already received 69 percent of its monthly average rainfall in just the first six days of January. With three weeks left and multiple storms en route, it's likely that places like Seattle end up with a wetter-than-average first month of 2021," stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert.
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On Thursday, there was enough distance between storms that the streak of days with consecutive rainfall ended in many locations in Washington and Oregon.
Rain came ashore from the Pacific late Thursday night and will continue to spread inland from there into Friday night. As the moisture works into the higher elevations, that rain will fall as snow in the passes. Snow levels will be between about 2,500 and 3,500 feet. Therefore, accumulating snow is expected in many of the mountain locations.
"While this storm looks to be less potent when compared to the past few systems, another round of drenching rain and mountain snow may lead to additional travel issues for the West Coast. Travelers on interstates 5, 84 and 90 will need to keep a close eye on changing conditions and any potential traffic slowdowns," said Gilbert.
This storm is likely to lose much of its moisture over the northern Rockies by Saturday, as this system does not look as strong as its predecessors.
Generally light snow is expected in the northern Rockies on Friday night and into Saturday.
However, as the storm dives into the central and southern Rocky Mountains, a disturbance in the upper part of the atmosphere will infuse energy into the system. This will cause precipitation to increase in intensity over the southern part of the Rockies by Saturday night and Sunday. This system is then expected to bring significant snow to Texas, Louisiana and other parts of the South later in the weekend and early next week.
Meanwhile, more rain and mountain snow will move into Washington and Oregon on Saturday night and Sunday. Precipitation will likely remain west of the Cascades as high pressure builds over the northern Rockies.
Yet another round of rain and snow is expected Monday night, and it is likely to persist right into Wednesday.
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
Snowy, soaking storm train to continue rolling in the Northwest
By Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Jan 8, 2021 10:36 AM EST
Following what has been a seemingly endless onslaught of storms battering the Pacific Northwest, the daylight hours on Thursday offered a temporary break. Unfortunately, the dry weather will be just that: temporary.
Although this is typically a wet time of year in the Northwest, the persistence of rain (and mountain snow) has been impressive.
Measurable rain fell each day between Dec. 29 and Jan. 6 in Seattle and Vancouver, Washington, and Portland and Astoria, Oregon. In fact, Astoria had 3.20 inches of rain on Jan. 2, which tied the record for the date originally set way back in 1903.
"Seattle has already received 69 percent of its monthly average rainfall in just the first six days of January. With three weeks left and multiple storms en route, it's likely that places like Seattle end up with a wetter-than-average first month of 2021," stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
On Thursday, there was enough distance between storms that the streak of days with consecutive rainfall ended in many locations in Washington and Oregon.
Rain came ashore from the Pacific late Thursday night and will continue to spread inland from there into Friday night. As the moisture works into the higher elevations, that rain will fall as snow in the passes. Snow levels will be between about 2,500 and 3,500 feet. Therefore, accumulating snow is expected in many of the mountain locations.
"While this storm looks to be less potent when compared to the past few systems, another round of drenching rain and mountain snow may lead to additional travel issues for the West Coast. Travelers on interstates 5, 84 and 90 will need to keep a close eye on changing conditions and any potential traffic slowdowns," said Gilbert.
This storm is likely to lose much of its moisture over the northern Rockies by Saturday, as this system does not look as strong as its predecessors.
Generally light snow is expected in the northern Rockies on Friday night and into Saturday.
However, as the storm dives into the central and southern Rocky Mountains, a disturbance in the upper part of the atmosphere will infuse energy into the system. This will cause precipitation to increase in intensity over the southern part of the Rockies by Saturday night and Sunday. This system is then expected to bring significant snow to Texas, Louisiana and other parts of the South later in the weekend and early next week.
Meanwhile, more rain and mountain snow will move into Washington and Oregon on Saturday night and Sunday. Precipitation will likely remain west of the Cascades as high pressure builds over the northern Rockies.
Yet another round of rain and snow is expected Monday night, and it is likely to persist right into Wednesday.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo