It might look sunny now, but enjoy it while you can, because it could be a completely different story Friday afternoon and over the weekend. A little bit of everything weather-wise may soon be on its way: wind, possible thunderstorms, rain, record cold daytime highs, hail and maybe even a few flakes of lowland snow, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.
With strong April sunshine, a chilly unstable air mass and a convergence zone on deck, the chance of thunderstorms in Puget Sound is relatively high for the region, according to weather service meteorologist Dustin Guy.
A winter advisory will be in effect in the Cascade Mountains from 5 p.m. on Friday through 10 a.m. Saturday for elevations above 2,500 feet, he said. The mountain passes could see anywhere from 2 to 12 inches of snow, but how much and where will depend on the location of the convergence zone.
“It’s not out of the question that we could see a rain-snow mix, and places like North Bend or Enumclaw could see a skiff of snow, especially on Sunday, but in Seattle the chances of it sticking are pretty low,” he said.
It will almost certainly be unseasonably chilly on Saturday and Sunday when temperatures in Western Washington drop a good 10 to 15 degrees, Guy said.
With predicted high temperatures in the 40s both days, we could see some of the region’s Top 10 coldest April days, Guy said. The typical high for this time of year is 57 to 58 degrees, he said.
“It looks sunny out right now, but that’s the thing about spring. Try again in two hours and it could be different,” he said.
The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.