PacificNW Spring-time Temptations.

[jssailem]

Over the next few days, Mother Nature will tempt us and the flowers into thinking spring has arrived. Warm afternoons with sunshine, blue skies, and white puffy clouds. The long-range forecast is for these mild conditions to hold as weak Pacific High tries to position itself over our coastline. The current prognosis is that the nice dry weather will hold till the 5th of March. With temps above 50, you may be able to sneak in a boat project or two. If working with paint or resin, the cure time will be challenging. The nights will be cool and below the needed temperatures for a good cure. Keep projects covered from dew and moisture and heated to keep the curing process above 50ºF.

Enjoy the tease. On March 6th, Winter returns for a last reminder that we live in the chilly and wet Pacific Northwest.

 

[jssailem]

I hope you have been enjoying the Spring Tease. It was 65 yesterday, and today looks just as good. I may take the Kayak out on the river.

As with all things, the Weather is always changing. Here are Rufus's observations of the near future in the Pacific Northwest.

Friday February 28​

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Last call for the 2nd month of 2025. What does early March hold for weather? Let’s take a Mug assisted gander.​

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The next couple of days will continue the delightful ’Spring tease’ pattern we have enjoyed this week. Temps could pop into the 60s again (65 yesterday here at home base). Precipitation will return overnight Saturday into Sunday —mostly over OR & possibly SW WA. The cooler temps will get noticed Sunday.​

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Mon March 3 will be dry. Not so on Tue, as additional moisture moves onshore in the afternoon; this system will wet western OR, WA & BC. Showers decreasing Wed afternoon; cooler. Looks dry on Thu, then more moisture arrives Fri to set up a mostly wet Mar 8,9 weekend (from Salem north to BC). Expect rain to move in over Vancouver Is & southern BC first, drifting south overnight Fri. Moderate-to-heavy rain for NW WA & BC. Again, for now, model solutions limit the rainfall to just north of Salem early Sat, as the rain field shifts back north. Looks like a short rain-break for much of Sunday Mar 9 (continued damp over NW WA/BC) before a cold, wet storm arrives overnight Sunday.​

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Week of Mar 10-14 is trending rather wet and notably colder! Rain/snow mixed at the surface possible, but snow above 1,000-2,000 ft quite probable. It could be quite WINDY Monday night, Mar 10! Cold showers through early Thu, is our call for now. Lots of mountain snow (although mostly in the US Cascades, so not much help with the snowpack in BC - at least this round). Drier as the week ends (Mar 14), with a dry Mar 15,16 weekend possible, although on the chilly side.​

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Throughout the next couple of weeks, California will continue to receive on/off rain and mountain snow, with a ‘big’ storm on the 10th, esp for southern CA.​

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“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” - Mark Twain​

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-Rufus​

 

[jssailem]

SKIERS TAKE HEART.
My last post encouraged boat owners to get out on the water if they can. Dry days and warm temperatures tempt us to leave the couch and play with our boats. The coming Spring Equinox is not quite ready to say Spring is here and winter is gone.

The Pacific High in the Eastern Pacific has played itself out. Winter winds are not yet ready to acquiesce to Spring and Summer temptations, which is good news for snowpack watchers and skiers. There is one more hurrah left in the season, and it looks to be a cold, wet one. Vancouver Island and the NW corners of Washington are the target of this wet, cold, sloppy forecast.
Here is the Monday Noon alignment that is setting up the coming weather patterns.

Here are Rufus's words on the subject.

Monday March 3​

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Let’s peek ahead at what March wx may present between now and the Spring Equinox. Hot Mug time.​

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Dry break on tap today, with the next system charting for early Tue morning. Not a super wet one, but it may be breezy - mainly over NW WA & southern Vancouver Is. Turning dry again on Wed and on through the rest of the week. For the weekend of Mar 8,9, a Pacific storm has been charting to impact the far NW corner of WA, along with central Vancouver Is. with plenty of moderate rainfall for a couple of days. Wet City there, but the rest of the PNW should stay dry this coming weekend.​

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Showers are likely to pop up over the Cascade Range Mon afternoon Mar 10 as a cooler air mass works inland off the eastern Pacific.​

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Enough with the regional dry stuff. Here’s comes the wet cycle and notably COOLER TEMPS —>> by Tue Mar 11 a long-lasting chilly westerly flow will shove moisture into the PNW, along with relatively low snow levels - below the passes, maybe even teasing a few flakes out over the higher areas of the coast range, both states. Later on Wed Mar 12, temps will drop another few degrees, with plenty of moisture continuing to fall on through Thu the 13th. Possible for rain/snow mix at the surface in many locations. Foothills likely to get a ‘dusting' of The White. ​

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A strong Pacific storm arriving around midnight Thu Mar 13 is suggested by some model solutions - if verified, it will turn WINDY in Oregon, with cold air drawn from the east over the Puget Sound generating fairly low elevation snow or snow/rain mix. We’ll monitor this closely. Continued wet through that weekend, Mar 15,16.​

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As noted, a wet, chilly cycle is charting for Mar 11 on through the first day of Spring, March 20. Great addition to the PNW snowpack is foreseen at this time.​

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“Some people stand on the promises; others just sit on the premises."​

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-Rufus
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