Storms to aim at northwestern US following stretch of record warmth this week

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

November 7,2016; 11:06PM,EDT

 

 

Following multiple days with record-challenging warmth in coastal areas of Washington and Oregon, wet weather will return to parts of the western U.S. this weekend.
Temperatures will climb well into the 60s F in Portland, Oregon, Seattle and other coastal areas of the Northwest through Thursday.
"At this level, records in the books as far back as the 1940s could be broken," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Chyna Glenn.

Some locations east of the Cascades could also flirt with record highs one or more days through Thursday.
Seattle is on pace to have its greatest number of days with temperatures of 60 or higher for November. The record is eight days in 1976. Typically, people in Seattle can expect highs in the 60s on only two days of the month in November.
"Regardless of the number of records broken, temperatures will average 10 degrees above normal," Glenn said.
Above-average warmth will also be experienced farther south in California. Highs will range from the 70s around San Francisco and Sacramento to the 80s and lower 90s around Los Angeles. Record highs could be challenged in the Los Angeles area during Wednesday and Thursday.
The pattern producing the warmth will break down later this week. The jet stream, which is a fast river of air high in the atmosphere, will shift southward for a several-day period into next week.
This southward shift will allow storms to move straight across from the northern Pacific Ocean and into the Northwest.

"While the upcoming pattern will bring cooler air and moisture back into the Northwest, it will prevent record cold conditions from moving in," according to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams.
The storms are likely to be less severe than that of October, but they can still pack a punch. Locally heavy rain will fall on the coast and the lower west-facing slopes of the Cascades with the potential for isolated flash and stream flooding.
Snow will return to the high country, but accumulating snow is likely to remain above pass levels.
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The first storm is likely to roll ashore on Friday and will be followed by another storm during Saturday night into Sunday. A third storm will arrive during Sunday night into Monday.
While one or more of the storms could bring showers as far south as San Francisco and Sacramento, rain is unlikely to reach Southern California this weekend into early next week.
The storms forecast for the Northwest this weekend follow an exceptionally wet October in some areas. Last month was the wettest October on record at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with 10.05 inches.
Brookings, Oregon, received a whopping 26.37 inches of rain, which was more than five times that of average for October.
Following the upcoming barrage of storms, warmth may return to the region for another several-day stretch around the middle of the month.