National Weather Service warns of possible high winds Sunday
Published 2:12 pm Saturday, March 10, 2012
The National Weather Service is warning of the possibility of winds reaching 40 mph with gust up to 60 in the east Puget Sound lowlands late Sunday.
The following is a “Special Weather Statement” from the weather service:
SAN JUAN COUNTY-WESTERN WHATCOM COUNTY-SOUTHWEST INTERIOR-
EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS-WESTERN SKAGIT COUNTY-
EVERETT AND VICINITY-SEATTLE/BREMERTON AREA-TACOMA AREA-
ADMIRALTY INLET AREA-HOOD CANAL AREA-LOWER CHEHALIS VALLEY AREA-
OLYMPICS-EASTERN STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-
WESTERN STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-NORTH COAST-CENTRAL COAST-
WEST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES AND PASSES-
WEST SLOPES CENTRAL CASCADES AND PASSES-
400 AM PST SAT MAR 10 2012
…A VIGOROUS PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM MOVING THROUGH WESTERN
WASHINGTON LATE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY COULD PRODUCE LOCALLY
DAMAGING WINDS…HEAVY MOUNTAIN SNOW…AND EVEN SOME SNOW OVER THE
HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE LOWLANDS…
LOCALLY DAMAGING WINDS OF 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH ARE POSSIBLE
ALONG THE CENTRAL AND NORTH WASHINGTON COAST LATE SUNDAY NIGHT
AND MONDAY…AS WELL AS IN WESTERN WHATCOM COUNTY…SAN JUAN
COUNTY…AND THE ADMIRALTY INLET AREA.
THE STRONG WINDS WILL BE THE RESULT OF THE SURFACE LOW OF THE
SYSTEM…WHICH WILL DEEPEN RAPIDLY AS IT MOVES NORTHEAST ACROSS
THE WASHINGTON OFFSHORE WATERS AND THEN NORTH TOWARD COASTAL
BRITISH COLUMBIA.
THE FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL ALSO BRING ROUGHLY ONE TO TWO AND HALF
FEET OF NEW SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS…STARTING SUNDAY NIGHT AND
CONTINUING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL BE MOSTLY IN
THE 1000 TO 1500 FOOT RANGE AS THE STORM MOVES THROUGH…SO WINTER
DRIVING CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED NOT ONLY ACROSS THE PASSES BUT
ALSO DURING THE APPROACH TO THE PASSES. THERE WILL ALSO BE DELAYS
AND POSSIBLY CLOSURES FOR AVALANCHE CONTROL.
THE LOW SNOW LEVELS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FRONTAL SYSTEM COULD
RESULT IN SOME SNOW OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE WESTERN
WASHINGTON LOWLANDS…ESPECIALLY AS THE SNOW LEVEL FALLS TO AROUND
500 FEET MONDAY NIGHT.
BE SURE TO CHECK BACK FOR THE LATEST STATEMENTS…WATCHES…
WARNINGS AND FORECASTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
