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Showers, clouds and mild temperatures will envelop the Puget Sound region for the final days of 2023.
The National Weather Service forecasts call for a high of 53 degrees, and rain after 9 a.m. Wednesday, up to one-tenth of an inch.
Winds are light at 5 mph to 10 mph, except in the Cascade foothills, where easterly gusts of 45 mph or more could show up until Wednesday afternoon.
The weather service observed foothill gusts of 53 mph early Wednesday in Enumclaw, and gusts of 45 mph to 55 mph are emerging midmorning in the Cascade foothills. Gusts of 40 mph aren’t out of the question for Issaquah and Bellevue, but the strong east winds should subside by midday.
Overnight, the metro area can expect gusts around 21 mph, and up to a quarter-inch of rain.
After that, occasional rain and showers are predicted through New Year’s Day, within a tight temperature band of 43 to 51 degrees, about five degrees warmer than average for December.
Communities west of Puget Sound can expect up to one-tenth of an inch of rain daily, while Seattle will receive lesser amounts from occasional showers, said weather service meteorologist Steve Reedy.
“This does look like it may have an atmospheric river component to it,” said Reedy. He said this pattern could be related to El Niño, a periodic climate pattern in which warm tropical ocean water pushes east toward the Americas.
Meteorologists described the atmosphere early Wednesday as “a race between another warm front” arriving from the Pacific Coast, and an “upper level ridge” of colder air amassing to the east. The result is a compromise in the clouds, where the inland air limits the Puget Sound precipitation, the NWS online synopsis says.
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