Charlie Phillips

Since Christmas, the storm track has shifted south to California, bringing heavy rain and mountain snow to the Golden State. Parts of the Sierra Nevada have seen over 20 inches of liquid-equivalent precipitation, […]

Freezing rain is finally over for most of Western Washington. I went out for a walk around Sandpoint Way earlier this evening, and though temperatures were above freezing and the roads were bare and wet, the […]

Quick forecast update. The storm tracked slightly further north than modeled, meaning that mild southerlies (and rain) extended to the King/Snohomish County line instead of staying south of Seattle. The Everett […]

I’ve always said that there are far more snow days forecast for the Pacific Northwest than appear in reality. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that there are multiple weather models, running m […]

Snow is falling over Western Washington and parts of NW Oregon this morning. I’ve been riding the train down from Seattle to Portland and saw close to an inch in the higher elevations near Centralia. I’m now in […]

November 2022 started out with a bang. A very strong, westerly atmospheric river came through the area on Friday, November 4, resulting in extreme rainshadowing for the Seattle area but widespread flooding over […]

After a record-hot and dry summer/autumn, storm season has finally arrived to the Pacific Northwest. A moderate cold front on Friday brought the first measurable rain of October to Western Washington, and on […]

Back in June, most extended forecasts were calling for near or slightly cooler-than-average temperatures for the Pacific Northwest with near or slightly below-average precipitation. It was a reasonable forecast; […]

October is a month of changes. Leaves turn from green to red, the weather turns from sunny to stormy, and the Mariners – at least for the last 21 years – hang up their cleats until the following spring.

But not […]

5:30 pm

This weather event has played out as expected so far, with gusty, very dry easterly winds over parts of Western Washington and Western Oregon and rapid growth on existing fires. Smoke has also spread […]

A critical fire weather event is now underway for SW Washington and Western Oregon. Satellite imagery shows two large smoke plumes emanating from the Double Creek Fire in Central Oregon and the Goat Rocks Fire in […]

Summer 2022 is one that Pacific Northwest seasonal forecasters would like to have back. On the heels of a very wet and cool spring, and with La Nina conditions persisting in the Tropical Pacific, forecasters […]

6:30 pm EDT

Most wildfire starts during Pacific Northwest summers occur on just a couple of days, when large dry lightning outbreaks impact the region. The most extreme dry lightning outbreaks can cause […]

7am Sunday

As you’ve probably heard by now, the Pacific Northwest will experience a significant, prolonged heat wave this week. Excessive Heat Watches are currently in effect for the Willamette Valley, N […]

11 pm Saturday

After the coldest spring on record for portions of the Pacific Northwest, true summertime warmth has finally arrived! Seattle reached 77 Friday and 86 today, and Portland hit 84 Friday and 93 […]

We are finally starting to see some summer-like weather over the Pacific Northwest. I went for a nice bike ride on Sunday down to West Point in Discovery Park, and the weather was absolutely perfect, with highs t […]