Unseasonably Cold Nights Ahead for Western Washington

 FastCast--Wednesday, Mar. 6 to Saturday, Mar. 9:

Unseasonably cold nights are ahead for Western Washington, with clear skies allowing for temperatures to drop well below typical overnight lows. On Wednesday morning, expect lowland lows in the mid 20s, with areas near the water remaining in the upper 20s to low 30s. Highs on Wednesday will only reach the low to mid 40s, with partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies. Another cold morning is likely on Thursday, with lows in the mid to upper 20s. Thursday will be mostly sunny and a touch warmer, with highs reaching the mid to upper 40s. Clouds (and temperatures) increase on Friday. With a chilly morning (lows in the low to mid 30s), temperatures will climb to the low to mid 50s, under cloudy skies. Some showers will try to move into the area late on Friday. Wetter and more active weather will arrive for the weekend and the start of next week, so stay tuned.

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Continue reading the full blog below!

The next couple mornings will be quite chilly across the state, with overnight low temperatures dropping far below normal. This could have negative impacts on any plants that are starting to grow, so be aware if that will impact your plants. Let's take a look at the forecast!

First, let's take a look at the European model forecast for lows on Wednesday morning.

Expect the lowlands to drop into the mid 20s, with some areas near the water remaining in the upper 20s to low 30s. The coast will only drop to the low to mid 30s. In Eastern Washington, expect lows in the low 20s, except in the mid to upper 20s in the Columbia Basin. Mountain towns and the passes will drop all the way to the single digits!

You might be thinking to yourself that these temperatures seem quite cold for March, and you are right. Below is the European model forecast, showing temperature departure from average at 7 AM Wednesday (the coldest time of the day).

At the coldest time of day on Wednesday, temperatures across Western Washington are 10-20° below average, with temperatures in Eastern Washington being 10-15° below average. Mountain towns will be a whopping 15-25° below average!

Wednesday's highs won't be too warm, either (although it will be partly to mostly sunny). Below is the European model forecast for highs on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, expect highs across Western Washington to only reach the low 40s, with Eastern Washington remaining in the upper 30s to low 40s, except in the mid 40s around the Tri-Cities.

Thursday morning will be another cold one, as seen below in the European model forecast.

Expect Thursday morning's lows in the lowlands to be in the mid 20s to low 30s, coldest east of I-5. The coast will again be in the low to mid 30s, while Eastern Washington will drop to the low to mid 20s (upper 20s in the lower Columbia Basin). The passes and similar mountain towns will again drop into the single digits to low teens.

Finally, despite the cold temperatures, we will get a nice break in the rain. Below is the European model forecast for total rain through Friday night.

All the rain that is shown in this forecast will likely fall late on Friday, with the most being over the North Coast. Areas along the I-5 corridor will receive light amounts of rain, with up to 0.15" around Bellingham. 

However, much more rain and a few days of active weather are expected from this weekend into early next week, so stay tuned (and enjoy the calmer & drier weather)!