Weather Eye: Wet October fills rain buckets, blankets mountains with snow

A wet weekend? Yes of course, our rainy season is finally well underway and October will leave with an abundance of water in the rain bucket. With over four inches for a monthly tally already and a brief visit from the Pineapple Express today and Monday, we will surely be over five inches, maybe even six inches, before all is said and done.

So much for thinking October was going to be cool and dry — ha, ha! Never a dull moment in the weather department it seems.

The early season snowfall in the higher ski areas is turning to slush and much of it will be gone as the week wears on, as we continue with a southwesterly flow of air. The good news is that by the weekend we may see a switch in the air mass and cool down once again as a storm drops down from the Gulf of Alaska.

I flew to Bellingham and back Thursday, the one dry day last week, and the view of the Cascades was nothing short of spectacular. Fresh snow was coating the craggy peaks and the lower regions as well, with snow clinging to the trees from timberline down to about 3,000 feet. It was awesome to see this from the air.

And speaking of melting snow and heavy rains, it is a good thing that most rivers are rather low as the runoff surge flows down the mountains. I would expect many rivers to be bank full and perhaps some streams overflowing their banks and, of course, local street flooding with leaves clogging the storm drains.

I think of the wild fires just a few weeks ago and man’s struggle to control and extinguish them. Mother Nature slams a couple of wet weather systems inland and takes care of it almost overnight.

Bundle up, keep dry and we will chat on Tuesday!

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.