High Wind in Washington, December 8, 2016

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Seattle WA
322 PM PST Thu Dec 8 2016

.SYNOPSIS...A front will move through Western Washington tonight.
Snow will turn to rain on the coast this evening and the snow
will change over to rain for most of the interior lowlands overnight.
The Bellingham area could see a mix of winter precip through Friday
morning as Fraser outflow decreases. Rainy milder weather will
persist
for the remainder of Friday through the weekend. Cold air over
British Columbia will likely drop south again around Monday.

&&

.SHORT TERM...The first band of snow is pretty narrow so far but
the precip will march north through evening and the front seems
to be in a good region relative to the jetstream and the upstream
upper trough. The satellite picture looks more impressive than
the radar and I think the front will develop a bit through evening
and the forecast for much of the lowlands is for 1-3" of snow. The
Hood Canal area is the only forecast zone with a winter storm
warning and up to six inches is expected in that area. Most of
Western Washington has a winter weather advisory, and that goes
for the mountains too where windy conditions will make for poor
visibility.

The models have been consistent in warming the air up through Friday
and whether you look at 850mb temps or 1000-850mb thickness the
lowlands of Western Washington will be back into rainy showery
maritime air for the weekend. The stretched out nature of the front
is a little unusual and snow lovers can imagine the front stops its
northward progression, but the global models clearly show the broad
upper trough offshore amplify a little and sweep in over the region
--so moist and milder air is unavoidable. The exception will be the
Bellingham area which can flirt with freezing temps in even shallow
Fraser outflow. 19

.LONG TERM...An upper level trough and cold front will cross Western
Washington on Monday maintaining a cool and unstable air mass.
There is a chance of showers across the region with snow showers
possible in the north interior and in the East Puget Sound
Lowlands where snow levels will remain low. Snow accumulations
look light at this point as the precip will be fading out. Strong
high pressure over interior B.C. will bring another blast of
Fraser river outflow to western Whatcom county.

Dry but cool weather will prevail through the rest of the period
as we remain in an offshore flow pattern. Temperatures will remain
below normal with highs only in the 30s and lows mainly in the
20s. 33

&&

.AVIATION...Warm front will lift northward through western
Washington this evening, with precip spreading northward through
the region. Precip will start as a few hours of snow, then change
to rain late this evening and overnight. In a few pockets where
surface temperatures remain at or below freezing, a little
freezing rain is possible overnight. The TAF for Olympia is the
only one reflecting this. An upper level impulse will enhance
rainfall around mid-day on Friday.

KSEA...Radar shows the leading edge of snow between OLM and TIW
advancing north. The 22z HRRR shrivels up the first round of snow
just as it tries to reach SEA around 430 pm. A few flakes are
possible, but will likely have to wait for another surge of precip
around 03z-05z to bring accumulating snow to the terminal. Snow
will last for a few hours before transitioning to rain overnight.
Not expecting freezing rain at the terminal as temperatures
overnight will be slowly rising into the mid 30s (Fahrenheit).
Otherwise, easterly winds are expected with gusts near 25 knots,
but speeds will ease a bit as the direction takes on an increasing
southerly component. Occasional rain will prevail Friday with
prevailing cigs from 020-030.		Haner

&&

.MARINE...Strong offshore flow will ease late tonight as a warm
front lifts northward through the waters. Following the warm
front, winds will become more southerly. A weakening 1000 mb low
will pass eastward across southern Vancouver Island on Saturday
afternoon. It will be preceded by increased southerlies, then
followed by a surge of westerlies down the Strait on Saturday
night. Weak gradients will prevail during the day Sunday. Another
round of Fraser Outflow winds will bring a marked increase in NE
wind over the waters on Sunday night and Monday.		Haner

&&

.HYDROLOGY...no flooding is expected over the next week.

&&

.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...Winter Weather Advisory until 8 AM PST Friday for Admiralty
 Inlet Area-Bellevue and Vicinity-Bremerton and Vicinity-     East
Puget Sound Lowlands-Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca-     Everett and
Vicinity-Lower Chehalis Valley Area-San Juan      County-Seattle and
Vicinity-Southwest Interior-Tacoma Area-     Western Skagit County-
Western Strait of Juan De Fuca.

     Winter Weather Advisory until 3 AM PST Saturday for Cascades of
     Pierce and Lewis Counties-Cascades of Snohomish and King
Counties-Cascades of Whatcom and Skagit Counties-Olympics.

     Winter Storm Warning until 8 AM PST Friday for Hood Canal Area.

     Winter Weather Advisory until noon PST Friday for Western
Whatcom County.

     Wind Advisory until 8 PM PST this evening for Western Whatcom
   County.

     Wind Advisory until midnight PST tonight for East Puget Sound
   Lowlands-North Coast-Western Strait of Juan De Fuca.

     Wind Advisory until 7 PM PST this evening for Central Coast.

PZ...Gale Warning until 3 AM PST Friday for Central U.S. Waters
Strait Of Juan De Fuca-Coastal Waters From Cape Flattery To
James Island 10 To 60 Nm-Coastal Waters From Cape Flattery      To
James Island Out 10 Nm-Coastal Waters From James Island      To
Point Grenville 10 To 60 Nm-Coastal Waters From Point      Grenville
To Cape Shoalwater 10 To 60 Nm-Coastal Waters      From Point
Grenville To Cape Shoalwater Out 10 Nm-West      Entrance U.S.
Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca.

     Small Craft Advisory until 6 AM PST Friday for Coastal Waters
   From James Island To Point Grenville Out 10 Nm.

     Small Craft Advisory until 9 PM PST Friday for East Entrance
  U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca.

     Gale Warning until 10 PM PST this evening for Northern Inland
   Waters Including The San Juan Islands.

     Small Craft Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 9 PM PST Friday
    for Admiralty Inlet.

     Small Craft Advisory from noon to 9 PM PST Friday for Puget
 Sound and Hood Canal.

&&

www.weather.gov/seattle

You can see an illustrated version of this discussion at
www.weather.gov/seattle/gafd/latest_webafd.html

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
1229 PM PST THU DEC 08 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1227 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 3 ESE NORTH BEND        47.47N 121.74W
12/08/2016  M50 MPH          KING               WA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SUSTAINED EAST WINDS OF 25 MPH. 2-3 INCH DIAMETER TREE
            BRANCHES DOWN.

&&

GRUB

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
300 PM PST THU DEC 08 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0259 PM     SNOW             3 SSW YELM              46.91N 122.63W
12/08/2016  E0.0 INCH        THURSTON           WA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            MODERATE SNOW OCCURRING. AMOUNTS LESS THAN AN INCH, BUT
            STICKING TO ALL SURFACES. SNOW STARTED AROUND 225 PM.

&&

GRUB

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
319 PM PST THU DEC 08 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0318 PM     SNOW             1 S WESTPORT            46.88N 124.11W
12/08/2016  M0.8 INCH        GRAYS HARBOR       WA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            3/4 INCH OF SNOW IN PAST HOUR. SNOWING HARD.

&&

ALBRECHT

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
359 PM PST THU DEC 08 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0357 PM     SNOW             1 NE CARLSON            46.71N 122.18W
12/08/2016  M1.7 INCH        LEWIS              WA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SNOWFALL SINCE IT STARTED AT 140 PM. STILL SNOWING HARD.
            28 DEGREES. ELEVATION 1400 FEET.

&&

GRUB

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
434 PM PST THU DEC 08 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0433 PM     SNOW             5 NNW GRAND MOUND       46.88N 123.04W
12/08/2016  M1.5 INCH        THURSTON           WA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            STILL SNOWING.

&&

ALBRECHT

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
502 PM PST THU DEC 08 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0357 PM     SNOW             4 SSE OLYMPIA           46.99N 122.85W
12/08/2016  M1.5 INCH        THURSTON           WA   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

GRUB