Camano Community

Wind on the way for Monday

From NOAA:

WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 1 PM PST MONDAY.

SOUTHEAST AND SOUTH WINDS WILL INCREASE LATE TONIGHT...REACHING SPEEDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 45 TO 55 MPH ON MONDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL START TO SUBSIDE AROUND MIDDAY ON MONDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS:

A WIND ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 39 MPH OR GUSTS OF 45 TO 57 MPH ARE LIKELY. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN SNAP SMALL TREE BRANCHES...TOPPLE SMALL OR SHALLOW-ROOTED TREES...AND CAUSE LOCAL POWER OUTAGES.

Cliff Mass: Crazy Weather?

Heavy showers one minute and sun the next. Followed by more showers. The reaction one often hears is that NW weather is crazy and unpredictable! Such things don't happen over the east coast! But it turns out that showers and sunbreaks are an essential aspect of NW weather and if you are aware of what is going on (and can see a radar image on the web), you can take advantage of it.

via cliffmass.blogspot.com

Cliff Mass: Incredible Thunderstorms, Coastal Waves Increasing

Generally the NW gets wimpy thunderstorms, but not last night and today. Right now it is pouring and thundering outside my window, but last night between 11 and midnight one of the most intense lines of thunderstorms I have seen moved through.

via cliffmass.blogspot.com

More wind on the way for Thursday

From NOAA:

A STRONG PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL IMPACT WESTERN WASHINGTON ON
THURSDAY. BREEZY SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL
BECOME SOUTH-SOUTHWEST ON THURSDAY FOR THE NORTH INTERIOR AND
COAST INCREASING TO 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUST AS HIGH AS 50 MPH.

WINDS JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE WILL BE VERY STRONG ON THURSDAY.
RIDGETOP WINDS FOR THE OLYMPICS AND LOWER SOUTH FACING SLOPES WILL
RANGE FROM 45 TO 65 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS POSSIBLE. RIDGETOP WINDS
ALONG THE SOUTHERN SLOPES OF THE CASCADES WILL ALSO BE
WINDY...WITH SUSTAINED WINDS UP TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE. THE STRONG
WINDS WILL ALSO BE ACCOMPANIED BY HEAVY RAINS...COMBINING FOR
DANGEROUS CONDITIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS.

Cliff Mass: Somewhat of a forecast bust

The approaching front was somewhat stronger than forecast and moved in more quickly, so that there were some light showers during the midafternoon.  Not the forecast bust of the century, but it shows how things can go wrong.

via cliffmass.blogspot.com

Cliff Mass: Sun and Fog

Better than average weather is in store this week.  Virtually no rain in the models until late Thursday, and even that is not a sure thing.  High pressure will be dominant the next four days and in fact on Wednesday there should be strong offshore flow, and temps may climb to 60F and above.

via cliffmass.blogspot.com

Snohomish County warns: Prepare now for flooding

County officials are warning thousands of residents in low-lying areas to start preparing now for the possibility of floods.

Snohomish County has more than 200 square miles of floodplain area with more than 8,600 homes at risk.

via www.komonews.com

Farms, other businesses prepare in case floods return

First comes the rain, then the floodwater.

Arlington business owners remember last winter's flooding all too well, right down to the sandbags stacked high around their shops — and how long it took for the floodwater to creep in past the bags.

Now, the chance of another stormy winter has Snohomish County business owners cringing. Forecasts predict it won't be another harsh winter. But that doesn't mean rivers will keep to their banks.

via www.heraldnet.com

Storm might make things go bump in the night

The first and greatest wind speeds will be focused in the Northwest Interior -- figure Everett north to the Canadian border and west to Port Townsend, including Whidbey, Camano and the San Juan Islands. There a Wind Advisory in effect here from 5 p.m. Friday through 2 a.m. Saturday. Here, we are looking at southeast winds sustained from 30-35 mph with gusts as high as 55 mph.

via www.komonews.com

Wind Advisory

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WIND
ADVISORY FOR THE LOWLANDS NORTH OF SEATTLE INCLUDING THE STRAIT OF
JUAN DE FUCA.

STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF AND ALONG A COLD FRONT THAT WILL
PASS THROUGH WESTERN WASHINGTON EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. AREAS
NORTH OF SEATTLE ARE EXPECTED TO EXPERIENCE THE STRONGEST WIND
SPEEDS. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH WILL
BE POSSIBLE BEGINNING LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EASING BEHIND THE
COLD FRONT EARLY SATURDAY MORNING.

Cliff Mass: Serious Wind ahead

It will be quite windy tomorrow evening...particularly over NW Washington and along the coast. The latest model run show this clearly. Strong southeasterlies after roughly 3-4 PM building into the evening from Everett to the San Juans. Sustained winds of 20-35 mph with gusts to 50-60 mph. Batten down the hatches!

And the rain will pick up in the evening as well as the cold front approaches.

via cliffmass.blogspot.com

Cliff Mass: Warm, wet and breezy

I am finally ready to talk about the upcoming wet weather--I had to wait until the solutions settled down. This week there were major shifts and changes in the forecasts, not only of the winds but for precipitation as well.

The reason for the lack of predictability have been ETs--extratropical transitions. This is when tropical systems move northward into the midlatitudemidlatitude or extratropical systems and this transition is very sensitive and can induce weather disturbances far afield. Sort of like a freeway entrance....hard to judge exactly what car you will be behind as you accelerate into the traffic.

As the tropical systems move poleward they transition into...

via cliffmass.blogspot.com

Flood watch cancelled

The National Weather Service in Seattle has cancelled a flood watch for Snohomish County and other parts of Western Washington.

Heavy rains that were predicted to swell rivers here late this week now are predicted to fall north of the Canadian border, forecasters said.

A cold front still is expected to bring a short period of heavy rain Thursday night and Friday morning.

Showers and damp weather likely will stick around through Halloween. Forecasters say there’s an even chance that trick-or-treaters will come home soggy.

via www.heraldnet.com

NOAA Flood Watch issued for Thursday

Editors note: We've already had a wet month - 4.47 inches so far.

HEAVY RAINFALL IS LIKELY TO DEVELOP OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND COASTAL REGIONS OF WESTERN WASHINGTON THURSDAY AND CONTINUE
THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY. MANY RIVERS ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON MAY GO
TO FLOOD STAGE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY.

FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT...

Some PUD customers still without power

A two-day-old power outage lingered for fewer than 100 people in the Stanwood and Camano Island areas early Sunday afternoon, the Snohomish County Public Utility District said.

The rest were expected to have power restored by Sunday night, PUD spokesman Mike Thorne said.

At its peak on Friday, the outage had affected about 6,500 people after heavy rain and high winds knocked down tree branches.

Most customers had power back later the same night.

via www.heraldnet.com

Cliff Mass: The Disappearing Windstorm

Yesterday, a few of you were noting the potential for a major windstorm later in the week, with the National Weather Service GFS (Global Forecasting System) model indicating an amazingly deep low pressure system right off our coast. The graphic (sea level pressure-solid lines) is shown above for you amusement (132 h forecast starting 5 AM Saturday). SCARY! Hurricane-force winds offshore! Gales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca! The TV stations would have field day if this was true.

via cliffmass.blogspot.com

PUD working to reconnect power to 350 customers

Snohomish County Public Utility District crews continued to work this afternoon to restore power for about 350 customers, PUD spokesman Mike Thorne said.

Crews were trying to restore power to relatively isolated homes in Stanwood and on Camano Island, he said.

“We’re doing individual houses,” Thorne said.

Rain and wind knocked down branches during Friday’s storm, causing outages for about 6,500 customers. Power was restored to all but 750 customers by 10 p.m. Friday, Thorne said.

via heraldnet.com

Heavy winds causing spotty power outages in county

Gusty winds early Friday evening were causing power outages throughout Snohomish County and on Camano Island.

In the Alderwood Manor area near Lynnwood High School and in the Lake Goodwin area near Stanwood more than 6,465 Snohomish County Public Utility District customers were without power before 8 p.m., said PUD spokesman Mike Thorne.

People living north of Stanwood were without electricity for awhile, but the power was restored in that area, Thorne said.

Heavy rain and moderate winds are causing tree branches to fall on power lines, he said.

North County Fire Battalion Chief Christian Davis said crews are working to clear downed trees from at least six roads in the fire district.

via www.heraldnet.com

Cliff Mass: Atmospheric River Observatories and the Green River Valley

There is a great deal of interest and concern about flooding in the Green River valley. Before the construction of the Howard Hanson dam in 1962, that valley flooded regularly, which was of minor concern when it was predominantly agricultural. But the dam afforded protection for nearly all heavy rainfall events and allowed the development of the Valley, from Kent and Auburn to Renton.

via cliffmass.blogspot.com

Cliff Mass: Amazing Rain Intensity

An hour ago, an amazingly intense line of thunderstorms passed through central Puget Sound. At my house there was nearly .4 inches over 15 minutes--and my gutters did not do very well with that volume of water. Many lowland locations have gotten 1.5-2 inches over the last day. Some areas received over two. Scattered urban flooding has occurred. No issue with the Green River--early in the season and its watershed did not get sufficiently large amounts of precipitation for any concerns.

via cliffmass.blogspot.com