Early in this business, I was told that trying to forecast the weather is like driving a car blindfolded while taking driving instructions from someone in the backseat looking out the rear window. Now, there are much-improved computer models and observational assists such as from satellite technology.
But now and again, the weather surprises even the best. Writing my column Saturday, I expected a few more clouds and a greater chance of showers than Sunday and Monday brought us.
I heard no complaints Monday afternoon with the mild temperatures and sunshine. Wasn’t it nice? Temperatures inched up into the mid- to upper 50s. I noted 58 degrees here in Salmon Creek, almost to that blissful temperature of 60 degrees. We usually don’t strike that until mid-February. Vancouver’s official high Monday was 55 degrees. A quick scan of Evergreen State highs had us as the warmest.
A weak warm front was scheduled to arrive this morning, but rainfall would be on the paltry side. A strong cold front is forecast to reach British Columbia today and to sag southward Thursday, and we should get an inch or more of rain, with the heaviest amounts along the coast and the Cascades. Freezing levels will be high during most of it, so it would be rain in the mountains below 7,000 feet.
