Riding the atmospheric river: Heavy rain, wind return for repeat visit [View all]
EVERETT — If you exhaled a deep sigh of relief when the smoke cleared out of Snohomish County two weeks ago, it might be time to start holding your breath again.
Western Washington’s rainy season is well underway, having broken a months-long dry spell that contributed to historic wildfires and hazardous air quality this summer. But the welcome rainfall now poses risks in the burn scar left by the nearly 15,000-acre Bolt Creek fire, and experts say that will be especially true in the next few days.
On Wednesday, the National Weather Service’s Seattle office predicted heavy rain and powerful wind gusts across the region on Friday and Saturday. An atmospheric river is expected to bring a burst of warm air, followed by “sharply colder” temperatures as rain tapers off into the weekend, said Dustin Guy, a meteorologist at NWS Seattle. Atmospheric rivers are a weather term to describe relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics.
Also on Wednesday, the National Weather Service placed Snohomish, King and Mason counties on flood watch. Guy said that while experts can’t yet predict if or how much flooding will happen, locals should keep a close eye on river forecasts going into the weekend.
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