Once again, the Pacific NW will have a relatively nice weekend while the rest of the country is going to get smacked with yet another series of winter storms. While there will be some sailboat racing around the Salish Sea, conditions, for the most part, will be light and variable because of a protective ridge of high pressure that is linked to a strong high-pressure system (1042MB) inland over the Rocky Mountains.
January 14 500 MB 
January 14 Surface Analysis 
January 15 Surface Forecast 
January 16 500 MB 
January 16 Surface Forecast 
January 17 Surface Forecast 
January 18 500 MB 
January 18 Surface Forecast
Rainfall has clearly been exceptional, with 6.56” so far this month compared to an average rainfall of 2.49”. What is interesting is that last year on this date we had 7.53” of rain. Two years in a row of La Niña conditions bringing cooler and wetter than normal conditions to our area. The good news is that this protective ridge of high pressure will stay in place over the weekend and it will be Monday before the next rainfall gets here.
Take a look at the satellite pic for today and then compare that with the 500MB (upper level) chart for today. You can see two low-pressure systems in the sat pic while the surface analysis chart shows the major low (978MB) in the Pacific but nothing on the surface off of California, while the 500MB chart shows that the strong low-pressure system is also intruding into the upper atmosphere while the other low-pressure system is strictly aloft.
Enjoy the weekend!
Bruce has raced and cruised the Pacific Northwest his entire life. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Washington in Biological Oceanography and learned meteorology “to keep from getting kicked around on the race course.” Bruce spent nearly two decades as Associate Publisher for Northwest Yachting Magazine, retiring in mid-2015, and was the chairman of the board of trustees for the Northwest Marine Trade Association in 2014. (photo of Bruce driving Playstation is a bit dated, but cool)