Spring to arrive early in Washington, here’s when. But wind, rain and snow will hit first
The spring warm-up is almost upon us, Washington, as long as we can get through one last stretch of rainy weather.
A couple of brief warm spells in February may have tricked a few people into thinking spring was coming early, but repeated cold fronts have swept through the Evergreen State, keeping temperatures below normal.
A cold start to March did little to provide hope, but do not fret. After a rainy day on Tuesday, temperatures in Washington will rise throughout the week, culminating in a glorious weekend.
Here’s what’s coming.
A little bit of rain to start the week
Washington residents have endured a blustery couple of days as heavy winds have blown offshore and across the state. Wind gusts in the Puget Sound area exceeded 30 mph on Monday afternoon, while wind gusts of up to 50 mph are expected in eastern Washington through Tuesday.
Rainy weather will accompany those winds. The National Weather Service forecasts up to half an inch of rain by Tuesday night for areas around Puget Sound, and about one-tenth of an inch around the Tri-Cities area in eastern Washington.
Snow is also expected in the Cascade Mountains and associated mountain passes, Weather Service meteorologist Anna Lindeman told McClatchy News on Monday.
“For the mountain passes, snow levels are going to be right around 3,000 feet,” Lindeman said. “And so it looks like we could see some mixed precipitation at times. But models are showing a pretty good chance of six inches through Stevens and Snoqualmie Passes.”
Temperatures west of the Cascades will drop to the low 40s early Tuesday morning, according to the Weather Service. Temperatures will remain uniform from areas farther north, such as Bellingham, down to Tacoma and Olympia.
Temperatures will then drop to 38 degrees early Wednesday morning in Bellingham, and to 35 degrees around Tacoma and Olympia.
A spring weekend in Western Washington
Temperatures will rebound quickly after the wind and rain move out of the area. By Thursday afternoon, western Washington temperatures will range from 53 degrees in Bellingham to 56 degrees in Tacoma and Olympia.
Temperatures are expected to peak in western Washington on Saturday when it reaches 68 degrees in south Puget Sound and 64 degrees up north, closer to the Canadian border.
“Over Western Washington, we’re going to see a high-pressure ridge build northward along the coast,” Lindeman said. “And that’s going to allow conditions to pull in air from the south and bring it northward. And then we’re also going to get offshore flow, which is going to help warm things up as well.”
Although the Weather Service doesn’t forecast beyond Sunday, the Climate Prediction Center’s long-range forecast calls for a warmer second half of March for Washington. The CPC’s 8-14-day outlook provides Washington with a 50-60% chance of above-average temperatures and a 33-50% chance of below-average precipitation.
What about Eastern Washington?
While eastern and western Washington aren’t often in sync, spring is coming to the Evergreen state all at once this year.
“We’ve got one last system bringing in some cool rain, and then after that we have high pressure building in, and we’re going to see a steady warming trend through the weekend,” Weather Service meteorologist Colby Goatley said.
Dry conditions will stick around for the rest of the week once Tuesday’s rain moves out, with temperatures in the upper 50s. By the weekend, temperatures are forecast to reach 66 degrees in the Tri-Cities area, according to the Weather Service.
Nighttime lows are forecast to be in the 30s for the next few days, slowly increasing to the low 40s by next week.
Mid-March is earlier than usual for eastern Washington to enjoy spring weather, so Goatley recommends enjoying those near-70s temperatures while we have them.
This story was originally published March 12, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Spring to arrive early in Washington, here’s when. But wind, rain and snow will hit first."
