Well folks, you knew this spring has been bad, but the new numbers for the average March through May temperatures at Sea-Tac are in, and by any reasonable measure (average temperature, average maximum), this has been the coldest March through May at Sea-Tac since dependable records are available (1956).
Lets begin by viewing the 5 coldest springs ( average daily temperature for March-May) in the last 55 years from 1957 through 2011 at SeaTac:
1) 2011 47.6
2) 1975 47.8
3) 2002 47.9
4) 1964 48.0
5) 1962 48.0
We win. (some of you might count this as a loss!)
Here is a graph of average daily temps over the same period courtesy of Mark Albright, our local expert on NW cold spells:
There was a warming trend into the late 1990s and the last decade has been relatively cool.Now out of the refrigerator to warmth.
A very unusual pattern is setting up whereby a strong upper low moves southward and parks off a central California for days (see graphic for 5 AM on Saturday of the upper flow at 500 mb).
This is very unusual for this time of the year. California is going to be cool and wet, with more Sierra snows. But ironically, California's loss is our gain. Easterly flow on the northern side of the low will bring warming conditions to us over the entire weekend.Friday will be the transition day, with highs in the upper 60s, and drying.
Saturday will be warmer still, with temperatures over the lowland climbing into the mid-70s. Here are probcasts temperatures for Saturday's high temps:
Eastern Washington will be torrid--reaching well into the 80s in the lowe basin.And Sunday...even warmer...upper 70s in reach for the western side of the mountains.
Monday-- still in the 70s, and then clouds and showers back on Tuesday.
And tomorrow (Friday) AM I will release a new videopodcast on the weekend weather.
KUOW Information:
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