Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Seattle/Tacoma, WA

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131 FXUS66 KSEW 132052 AFDSEW Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Seattle WA 152 PM PDT Thu Jun 13 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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Ridging will slide east with troughing developing offshore into Friday. A weak front will move through on Friday. Troughing overhead over the weekend will bring unsettled weather, including potential thunderstorms. Troughing will then slide east into the middle of next week.
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&& .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/...
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Dry weather this afternoon with high clouds overhead as southwesterly flow increases aloft. Ridging over the area will continue to slide east tonight and Friday with troughing developing offshore. Clouds will increase later tonight into Friday morning, with a weakening front bringing light rain on Friday. Temperatures will be a few degrees cooler on Friday with highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s. An upper low will slide over the Pacific Northwest on Saturday, with reinforcing troughing on Sunday. This will lead to continued unsettled weather and cooler temperatures over the weekend. Given the colder air aloft, precipitation on Saturday and Sunday will become more convective in nature. Instability will increase Saturday afternoon, with forecast sfc CAPE currently ranging 200 to 400 J/kg on NBM, sufficient for isolated thunderstorms. Probabilities range 20 to 35% across Western Washington for t-storms Saturday, with highest probabilities across central Puget Sound, due to likely convergence activity during the afternoon and evening hours. The main threats for any storms that do form will be lightning, heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and small hail. Coverage in showers dissipates a bit on Sunday, with the highest likelihood for thunderstorms mainly south of I-90 and over the Olympics (probabilities less than 20%). Otherwise, locally breezy onshore winds over southern Puget Sound expected on Saturday. Temperatures over the weekend will be cooler in the mid 50s to low 60s. .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...Troughing will continue to deepen over the Pacific Northwest on Monday, with ensembles generally consistent on the location of troughing being interior Pacific Northwest. Continued shower potential will exist Monday and Tuesday as the trough moves slowly eastward, with the highest chance of precipitation over the Cascades. Uncertainty increases in ensembles Wednesday and Thursday, with ECMWF showing a bit more of a ridging influence, and continued weak troughing shown on GFS ensembles. Given this pattern, have continued with NBM guidance suggesting perhaps drier conditions at times, with precipitation potential mostly confined to the Cascades. Otherwise, a slow warming trend is likely Monday through Thursday, although the degree of warming continues to be uncertain given the fluctuation in guidance during this period. JD
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&& .AVIATION...
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Southwest flow aloft will increase over Western Washington ahead of an approaching upper trough. Low level onshore flow will increase through this evening. VFR prevails through this evening under increasing high level moisture. Ceilings will lower to MVFR along the coast early Friday morning with shower activity developing ahead of a weak frontal boundary. Shower activity will spread into interior areas Friday afternoon, but ceilings over interior terminals are expected to remain mainly VFR. KSEA...VFR. Increasing mid to high level cloud cover through the afternoon and evening hours ahead of an incoming system. Surface winds light W/NW backing to S/SW near after 03Z this evening. 27
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&& .MARINE...
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Weak surface ridging over the coastal and inland waters will weaken tonight as a broad trough and associated weak frontal boundary moves into the coastal waters on Friday. A sharp increase in onshore flow this evening is expected to produce low end westerly gales for a few hours in the central/east strait. Broad troughing will remain over the waters on Saturday for relatively benign conditions apart from the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm. Weak surface ridging rebuilds on Sunday ahead of another trough that is expected to pass well south of area waters. Heading into early next week, surface ridging offshore and lower pressure inland is expected to produce varying degrees of onshore flow. 27
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&& .SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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WA...None. PZ...Gale Warning from 5 PM this afternoon to 1 AM PDT Friday for Central U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-East Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca. Small Craft Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 1 AM PDT Friday for Admiralty Inlet.
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&& $$