Late October was alive with nasty weather, and the Pacific Northwest was not spared. Despite it’s position on the drier side of the Cascades, even Wenatchee saw a rain/snow mix on Friday the 23rd. This was well anticipated, but the clouds that suppressed temperatures on Friday were not as well foreseen and sunk a few forecasts. The outlets that had cooler highs also correctly called for snow, and snagged the best scores. At the top of the heap was WeatherNation. Actuals: Thursday 10/22, High 50, Low 36 Friday – .06 inches of precipitation for rain/snow, High 36, Low 31
It’s not often we spent a road trip on the west coast, but that’s the plan for this journey. It will take a day and a half to get from the North Bay to western Washington. We’ll cover 798 miles at a pace of only 57.3mph, thanks to most of our drive being spent off of the main freeways, as well as through some rebuilding areas after this year’s wildfires. Enjoy the lackadaisical pace.
DAY ONE (Thursday)
Santa Rosa, California
By JLankford – wikitravel, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37654846
While you may not recognize it in northern California, where fires are still burning, particularly northeast of Santa Rosa, and further north in the Mendocino National Forest, but it is a time of rainy change in the Pacific Northwest. Northern California will be all too dry and haze tinged as we travel north along I-5, but north of Klamath Falls on US-97, we will start to see a change. First, some clouds will stream overhead, and then around Crater Lake, the northeast chilly wind will pick up. Models suggest a dry drive tomorrow afternoon, but make no mistake. We’re crossing a cold front in Oregon tomorrow. We will stop in the resort community of Sunriver, south of Bend, at the end of the day.
DAY TWO (Friday) The next round of wet weather to barrel into Washington is coming in the morning on Friday. It will particularly impact Puget Sound and eastern Washington near Spokane, mostly sparing the Yakima Valley. Don’t count on that lasting all day, though. Just because there won’t be as much rain or snow doesn’t mean there won’t be any. Precipitation will mostly be rain from Yakima northward, but some snow may mix in around Ellensburg, and again as we approach Wenatchee.
Western Washington is our destination for today’s forecast. Not Puget Sound though, but rather an entirely different climate on the east side of the Cascades.
At 1155AM, PT, Wenatchee was reporting fair skies with a temperature of 49 degrees. The jet was nearly directly overhead, and was bringing some striated high clouds to the Pacific Northwest in general, but specifically some fog and light precipitation at the higher terrain of the Cascades. This will dissipate, and aside from the continued high clouds, Wenatchee will remain in the clear through Thursday. The next feature out of the Gulf of Alaska will arrive early on Friday and bring a swift bout of showers to the region, some of which will likely snake its way to Wenatchee, even as most gets wasted in the Cascades. Expect a gloomy end to the week, thanks to the persistent clouds on Friday. Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, High 51, Low 31 Friday – Cloudy, chances of rain through the day, High 41, Low 32
TWC: Tomorrow – A few passing clouds, otherwise generally sunny. High 53, Low 33 Friday – Periods of rain and snow. High 40, Low 35
AW Tomorrow – Mostly sunny and chilly High 49, Low 31 Friday – Colder with snow beginning in the late morning, accumulating an inch or two, Low 33
NWS: Tomorrow – Widespread frost before 8am. Otherwise, sunny High 53, Low 33 Friday – A chance of snow before 8am, then rain and snow. Snow level 800 feet High 35, Low 33
WB: Tomorrow – Sunny, Widespread frost in the morning. High 51, Low 35 Friday – Snow. Moderate snow acumulations possible. Colder. High 38, Low 35
WN: Tomorrow – Partly cloudy with widespread frost, High 53, Low 32 Friday -Mostly cloudy with light wintry mix, High 36, Low 31
FIO: Tomorrow – Clear throughout the day. High 54, Low 31 Friday – Rain throughout the day. High 43, Low 33
It looks like a pretty grim day on the eastern slope of the Cascades on Friday. Here is the satellite with clouds streaming across the PAcific Northwest associated with the jet.
