The Winter - she is coming
Looking to get the first serious storm of this winter -- snow level down to 2,000 feet and 5 to 10 inch accumulation.
From the
National Weather Service:
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM PST TONIGHT. THIS WARNING
REPLACES THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY
IN EFFECT.
* AFFECTED LOCATION...MOUNT BAKER.
* ACCUMULATIONS...8 TO 14 INCHES TOTAL OF NEW SNOW IS LIKELY
BEFORE THE STORM ENDS.
From
Cliff Mass:
The Weather Takes Its Gloves Off--Strong Winds and Mountain Snow
We are now going into a very different, and much more active, weather period--and it starts today!
A strong front is now approaching the Washington coast and it will result in VERY strong winds in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, possible damage (power outages, localized flooding on Whidbey Island), blustery conditions and rain elsewhere, and snow in the mountains. And I don't even want to tell you what the models are suggesting for next weekend.
And he does hint at next weekend in his final paragraph:
And now let me tell you something that I shouldn't. The last few model cycles are suggesting a turn to colder temperatures on Thursday and the potential for lowland snow late Thursday or Friday. Too early to be sure at this point...so don't get too excited yet. I went to a meeting run by Seattle DOT this week on winter weather response...these folks are really girding up for battle. And this year they will have the new UW snow-weather application: SNOWWATCH...which I will describe this week.
Mt Baker
has the following:
Update: Friday Nov. 11, 2011 morning
After a brief warmup yesterday, the freezing levels are dropping fast at the mountain and it is currently snowing hard all the way down to White Salmon.
This cooling trend with new snow is consistent with the forecast for this coming weekend and next week; the National Weather Service Forecast Office and Northwest Weather & Avalanche Center are calling for significant winter weather to move down from Alaska and the jet stream to bring a series of winter storms to the North Cascades. Freezing levels should drop below 2,500 feet by Saturday with up to 11 inches of snowfall. This is forecasted to be the beginning of a long period of cool and moist northwesterly flow, bringing below normal temperatures and generally wet conditions (snow in the mountains!) all through next week.
If conditions develop as forecasters are predicting, Mt. Baker could POSSIBLY OPEN AS EARLY AS NEXT THURSDAY, NOV. 17th! Stay tuned here or on our snow report phone line for daily updates.
That is fantastic news for the local community -- August through November is the dead-zone for businesses out here -- no more hikers or campers and no real skiers yet. Our local economy is driven by tourism...
Posted by DaveH at November 11, 2011 1:48 PM