Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Seattle/Tacoma, WA

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240 FXUS66 KSEW 140350 AFDSEW Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Seattle WA 850 PM PDT Thu Jun 13 2024 .UPDATE...
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Evening forecast on track with increasing southwesterly flow aloft ahead of approaching upper level trough. Evening 00Z sounding from KUIL shows moisture remaining AOB 700 mb this evening and still mostly very dry in the lowest levels. Expecting temps to cool well into the 40s again in many areas for another comfortably cool mid-June night.
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&& .SYNOPSIS...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. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/...
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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 /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...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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An approaching upper level trough of low pressure will bring increasing southwesterly flow aloft over Western Washington overnight. While low level onshore flow will also strengthen, VFR conditions are expected to prevail with the moisture remaining at higher levels. A weak front will approach the area Friday, with some MVFR cigs along the coast but elsewhere it should remain primarily VFR with mid to high level cloudiness. Shower activity will increase after 18Z Fri. KSEA...VFR conditions. S/SW winds AOB 10kts will persist. Increasing mid to high level clouds tonight ahead of an incoming upper level low pressure system. Increasing shower activity in the 18Z Fri - 00Z Sat timeframe but largely remaining in VFR conditions. Johnson
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&& .MARINE...
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A weak ridge of surface high pressure over the NE Pacific will gradually weaken through late Friday as a weak frontal boundary pushes into the area. Gale conditions in a strong onshore in the overnight hours in the central/eastern strait will be isolated as winds diminish early Friday morning. Aside from a chance of thunderstorms Saturday, marine conditions will be rather quiet for the next few days. 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/Johnson
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&& .SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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WA...None. PZ...Gale Warning until 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 until 1 AM PDT Friday for Admiralty Inlet.
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&& $$