Already colder than usual. Forecasters say get used to it

Temperatures could be cold enough Monday morning that Tri-City residents might wake up to a skiff of snow on the ground.

It may be just a taste of what November has in store for the Tri-Cities, as the National Weather Service predicts a colder and wetter November than usual.

Both snow and rain are expected in the Tri-Cities from about 4:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the weather service. Little or no snow accumulation is expected in the morning.

The rest of the day could be rainy.

As temperatures drop overnight to below freezing, a 50 percent chance of rain or snow is forecast from 11 p.m. Sunday night to 4 a.m. Monday. If there is snow, less than a half inch could stick to the ground, according to the weather service.

Temperatures will be below normal for early November.

The high could drop to 40 degrees Sunday and remain in the low 40s through Tuesday. The lowest temperature through the end of weekend and coming work week for the Tri-Cities is forecast at about 24 degrees Monday night as skies clear.

The weather service issued a winter weather advisory for areas north and west of the Tri-Cities for Saturday night through Sunday. The weather advisory starts near Sunnyside to the west and near Connell to the north.

The Yakima Valley could receive 2 to 4 inches of snowfall and the east slopes of the Washington Cascades could receive 2 to 4 inches, according to the weather service.

Snoqualmie Pass is expected to get 2 to 4 inches of snow accumulation Saturday night and again Sunday.

The weather service already has predicted a second Tri-City winter in a row with a La Niña system that will mean colder than usual weather and more precipitation, with cold air coming down from the gulf of Alaska turning it to snow.

But the La Niña system is not expected to affect the Tri-Cities until late December, making this just a preview of what the winter could be like.

Temperatures are expected be lower than the normal Tri-City November highs that fall from about 57 degrees at the first of the month to about 43 degrees at the end of the month. Lows fall from about 37 to about 30.

Precipitation could be greater than the average precipitation of about an inch or slightly more for November.

October temperatures were close to normal in the Tri-Cities. Richland temperatures averaged 0.4 degree above normal, and Kennewick temperatures averaged 0.1 degree above normal.

At the Pasco airport, temperatures were recorded that fell below freezing on seven days. The Pasco location also reported the coldest temperature of the Tri-Cities for the month, 24 degrees, on Halloween.

Precipitation totaled just more than a half-inch for the past month in the Tri-Cities, which was close to normal. Much of it fell on Oct. 21, a Saturday that saw .33 inch of rain in Richland.

Precipitation for the year has reached about 7 inches in Richland and 8 inches in Kennewick, which is about 2 inches more than normal.

The peak wind gust for the month in the Tri-Cities was 44 mph on Oct. 22 in Kennewick. Pasco had no data available for that date, but recorded a 44 mph gust on Oct. 20.

The Hanford Meteorological Service reported that no new daily temperature records set for the month.

This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Already colder than usual. Forecasters say get used to it."