This is really turning into an extraordinary event. I can't remember over many years seeing this situation...a very deep system, slowly dying, that is sitting right off our coast for days. The models are having a very hard time with this storm as well.
Today a batch of very unstable air rotated around the low, bring lines of strong convection with heavy rain. With the low sitting out there and the strong winds remaining over the offshore waters, the waves have gotten huge. To show this, here are the significant wave heights (average of the top 1/3) for Buoy 46005, located at 130W off our coast. Update 8 AM Monday....40-45 feet!
Here are the sea level pressure forecasts starting at 5 PM tonight through 5 PM tomorrow. As the low moves eastward, the north-south pressure differences will increase and the winds over Puget Sound should crank up. And big waves will be striking our coast--right now they are 25-30 feet and they will get higher.
Here is a great web site showing coastal cams and providing a wonderful interface to buoy and coastal reports:
http://www.surfwa.org/Surf-Report-WA-OR-BC.html
And finally the rain. A few of you complained that the rain was a disappointment. But check out the 48-h rainfall total from Seattle rainwatch below. A band of 1-2 inches across the Sound with some places near the Olympics getting 3-4 inches. An an amazing rain shadow NW of the Olympics...nearly dry there. Want HUGE rainfall...head to northern CA...bet that will be on the news tomorrow.
