NORTH SOUND, FEB. 5: If it felt unusually warm on Wednesday, it was.
Everett-Paine Field hit 61 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking the former daily high temperature record of 59 degrees set in 2012. Arlington was a spring-like 63 degrees, tying the record also set in 2012.
This seemingly early spring weather is expected to hang on through Friday of this week, and more record highs could be broken. The Everett-Paine Field record high for Thursday, Feb. 5, is 56 degrees, established in 2015, and Friday’s record high is 58 degrees, also set in 2012.
Arlington’s record high for Thursday is 61 degrees, established in 2010, and on Friday, the daily record high is 62, set in 2012.
Why the unseasonably warm weather?
Another strong area of high pressure aloft is what is driving this unseasonably warm period. This high-pressure aloft is not as dominant as the one that produced the 2-week dry spell last month, yet it is creating unusually warm temperatures across the North Sound.
This kind of early spring-like warmth has occurred before – hence, the current records. The Monroe weather station has been around longer than the Paine Field and Arlington sites and reported almost summer-like weather in 1941. The record high at Monroe on Wednesday was 73 degrees, set in 1941, and the same high temperature was recorded the following day on Feb. 5.
Impact on the mountain snowpack
This warm, dry weather is not good for the mountain snowpack. Early this month, the Northwest Avalanche Center reported snow depths in the Olympics and Cascades were well below average for this time of year, running between about 30 to 50% of normal.
According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the amount of water in the snowpack was only about 40 to 50% of average, with the exception of the North Cascades at around 80% of average.
Big change coming
A big change to this unseasonably warm and dry weather is forecast this weekend. The strong high pressure aloft is forecast to move inland, allowing Pacific weather systems to again resume their path into the Pacific Northwest with cooler and wetter weather.
Rain is expected to return Saturday and Sunday as the first of a series of weather systems tracks onshore. High temperatures are forecast to cool closer to seasonal averages of around 50 degrees.
Mountain snow levels will be relatively high to start this weekend – around 5,000 feet – before falling early next week close to 3,000 feet. The weather pattern change will permit the mountain snowpack to begin to make a comeback. The usual peak of the snowpack is around April 1.
In the meantime, outdoor bulbs like daffodils are already sprouting out of the ground, responding to this false spring weather. More typical February weather with rain in the lowlands and snow in the mountains is forthcoming heading into next week. A big question is – will enough mountain snow fall to at least reach average by April 1? – no April Fools.
