Weather

Sun and high temperatures in the 60s will continue through the remainder of the work week, and forecasters are now saying Sunday will bring a strong Pacific storm with rain and wind.

Four more days of warm afternoon sunshine are in the forecast, but so is a change to cool, wet weather starting Friday night through early next week.

National Weather Service forecasters this afternoon said time is running out on the string of bright autumn days.

One of the main reasons people watch the weather forecast is to get an idea just how hot or cold it is supposed to be at some time in the future. Many of us have some type of thermometer either inside or outside the house, and being the weather geek that I am, I check the temperatures numerous times a day. There are many ways of measuring temperature, and also several different scales with which to measure. The simplest technique for measuring temperature, is to take some kind of liquid which expands or contracts in response to heat and cold, and to measure the change in volume of the liquid.

Dry air that has moved over the Inland Northwest following a cold front this morning has set the stage for widespread frost tonight, forecasters said this afternoon.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, we now have La Niña, the cooler-than-normal sea-surface temperatures in the south-central Pacific Ocean. For the last several months, this La Niña has been classified as “moderate” but did show a few brief signs of weakening within the last several weeks. In addition to the cooler ocean waters, solar activity continues to be low. But sunspot numbers have been increasing since August. That may indicate that the sun is becoming more active in terms of solar storms and energy output.

Higher air pressure has settled over the Pacific Northwest this morning bringing a broad area of warmer weather reminiscent of weeks gone by.

Patches of fog and frost showed the cooler side of autumn this morning, but forecasters said a period of mild and sunny weather can be expected in coming days.

Sunday’s cold front has chilled the Inland Northwest today, and forecasters said that temperatures should drop close to or just above freezing tonight.

The beautiful fall weather over the past week, which included a mixture of mild, sunny days followed by lawn-quenching rains, has probably kept most people’s minds off the dire predictions of a snowy upcoming La Niña winter. I thought I’d bring the subject up again, however, since the National Weather Service recently put out some interesting statistics about La Niña, El Niño, and seasonal snowfall totals.

National Weather Service forecasters this morning said a gray and humid day is likely in Eastern Washington and North Idaho as Thursday’s rain storm exits the area.

A storm system that battered the southwestern U.S. earlier this week is sending waves of moisture northward today, and is triggering rain as far north as Spokane.

The last week of September was glorious across the Inland Northwest. Mean temperatures averaged 7 to 14 degrees above normal. Overall, last month was close to normal in terms of temperature and precipitation. The average reading was 59.8 degrees, which was 0.6 degrees above normal. Total precipitation for September was 0.69 inches. That was 0.07 inches below average.

Fair weather returns to the Inland Northwest today with mostly sunny skies and highs in the middle 60s.

Rain showers this morning in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene should give way to breezy weather this afternoon.

I think Mother Nature got her seasons mixed up. While fall officially started last week, the past week’s weather pattern would indicate otherwise. A large upper-level ridge of high pressure dominated the weather across much of the western U.S. Such a ridge is more commonly seen during the late summer months – during the ‘dog days of summer’ – when we see our warmest and driest weather.

The most intense La Niña conditions since 1955 are brewing near the equator, raising the odds of a wild winter in the Pacific Northwest, The Seattle Times reports.