Public Information Statement
Issued by NWS Seattle/Tacoma, WA

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NOUS46 KSEW 222304
PNSSEW

WASHINGTON PRECIPITATION SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
300 PM PST THU JAN 22 2015

...HOWS THE WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK DOING?...

IN SEPTEMBER...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLIMATE PREDICTION
CENTER INDICATED INCREASED ODDS ON WARMER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
AND BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION THANKS MAINLY TO A DEVELOPING WEAK EL
NINO. IN THE MIDST OF THE WINTER SEASON...HOW HAS THIS SEASONAL
WEATHER OUTLOOK BEEN DOING IN WESTERN WASHINGTON?

AFTER A WET OCTOBER...NOVEMBER THROUGH MUCH OF JANUARY HAS HAD BELOW
AVERAGE PRECIPITATION WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE CENTRAL COAST INTO
THE OLYMPIA AREA. AFTER A RECORD WARM 2014...THE MILD WINTER HAS
CONTINUED INTO JANUARY. THE COMBINATION OF WARM AND RELATIVELY DRY
WINTER WEATHER HAS CREATED A WELL BELOW MOUNTAIN SNOW PACK.

ACCORDING TO THE NORTHWEST AVALANCHE CENTER...SNOW DEPTH RANGES FROM
JUST 13 PERCENT OF NORMAL AT WHITE PASS TO 54 PERCENT AT PARADISE ON
MT RAINIER. NATIONAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE MOUNTAIN RIVER
DRAINAGE PRECIPITATION TOTALS SHOW PRECIPITATION HAS BEEN CLOSE TO
SEASONAL NORMAL...BUT SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT IS WELL BELOW NORMAL
MEANING THE SNOW PACK IS NOT IN GOOD SHAPE.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR THE REST OF THE WINTER? THE LATEST
SEASONAL FORECAST CONTINUES THE WARM TREND THROUGH AT LEAST THIS
SPRING WHILE PRECIPITATION ODDS REMAIN IN THE DRIER CATEGORY BEFORE
IMPROVING THIS SPRING TO EQUAL ODDS OF WETTER...DRIER OR CLOSE TO
AVERAGE. THIS TREND DOES NOT BODE WELL FOR THE MOUNTAIN SNOW PACK.

CAN THE MOUNTAIN SNOW SITUATION TURN AROUND? LAST YEAR...IT DID.
AFTER A DRY DECEMBER AND JANUARY...PRECIPITATION RETURNED IN EARNEST
WITH A VERY WET FEBRUARY AND MARCH. BY EARLY APRIL...THE MOUNTAIN
SNOW PACK HAD RECOVERED TO ABOUT AVERAGE SNOW DEPTHS. IF THE LATEST
SEASONAL WEATHER OUTLOOK CONTINUES TO BE ON TRACK...THIS SEASONS
MOUNTAIN SNOW PACK MAY NOT MAKE THAT KIND OF COMEBACK.

MONITOR WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE/ FOR THE LATEST AREA FORECASTS AND
USE THE SEASONAL WEATHER OUTLOOK HEADLINE TO VIEW THE LATEST 8 TO 14
DAY...30-DAY AND SEASONAL OUTLOOKS.

BUEHNER
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