Get ready to rumble: Weekend weather brings chance of thunderstorms
Ah, summer. The time of year in Washington where you can be sweating from non-stop sunshine one day then shivering after being stuck in a storm the next.
And it looks like the fickle season is kicking us off with another one of its wild cards this weekend.
A low pressure system moving from the Gulf of Alaska brings thunderstorm risks to the South Sound area beginning Thursday night, National Weather Service Meteorologist Maddie Kristell told The News Tribune.
Though Friday’s thunderstorm risk is greatest in the Olympics and north Cascade ranges, Kristell said, there’s still a 10 to 15% chance for precipitation in the Seattle and Tacoma areas.
The storm system will begin to move over Tacoma Friday night, jumping the chances of a storm up to 30%, Kristell said.
Fear not, for by Sunday the system will dissipate into the usual PNW mix of scattered rain and clouds. It’ll also be slightly warmer than Saturday, with temperatures in the upper 50s to low 60s.
In general, western Washington is not a highly thunderstorm-prone location, Kristell said. A lot of that has to do with geography.
Washington sits along the cold Pacific Ocean, which blows chilly air incongruous with the warmth and humidity needed to stir up thunderstorms.
When these types of systems do hit the Evergreen State, they are most likely to occur in the late spring and summer months around the immediate Pacific Coast, Kristell said.
Tacomans who plan to brave the weather risk this weekend should remember the proverbial saying, “When thunder roars, go indoors.” And after taking shelter, wait at least half an hour from the last rumble to return outside.
