Early Week Rain to Drench Northwest, Miss Drought-Stricken Southwest

By Brian Lada, Meteorologist

March 22,2015; 10:34PM,EDT

 

 

A continual flow of moisture from the Pacific Ocean will fuel rounds of rain across the Northwest through the first half of the new week.
Wet weather can be expected over the region each day through at least Tuesday, putting umbrellas, raincoats and rainboots to good use several days in a row.

The heaviest rain is forecast to fall along and west of the Cascade Mountains with some areas picking up as much as 4 inches of rain before the end of Tuesday.
Bouts of heavy rain across this area could result in flooding with low-lying areas and upslope regions of the Cascades being at the highest risk.
Some rain, while not nearly as heavy, will reach down into northern California, but will mainly stay north of San Francisco and Sacramento.
Any rain that does fall this far south will likely only be enough to dampen the ground, not bringing much in terms of rainfall totals.
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In addition to rounds of rain, low snow levels over the mountains will blanket the Cascades with snow.
Snow levels could fall low enough to create snow-covered roads through some of the mountain passes, including Snoqualmie Pass and Stevens Pass in Washington.
Motorists who need to drive through these passes should check road and weather conditions before driving into the mountains.
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Those in the Pacific Northwest looking for a break in the dry weather will have to wait until the middle of the week as much of the rain departs the region.
The only exception to this will be a batch of rain that tracks across Washington and southern British Columbia.
High pressure will build over the region for Thursday, allowing for the full return of dry weather to the region that will last through the rest of the week.