October 17, 2017
Apparently, the swinging gate let the first of our three storms past Mason County with minimal impact. Saw wind gusts in the mid 20 MPH range for Shelton and Belfair.
The National Weather Service had a briefing today about the second of the three storms forecast to arrive in western Washington State. Nasty weather will pick up Wednesday morning. This storm will be the most active so far this week. Check out the “Atmospheric River” backed up all the way to China.
As with yesterday’s report, the key topics remain:
- Blustery Conditions
- Heavy Rain
- Leaves Still on Many Deciduous Trees
Rainfall will hit, hard, tomorrow afternoon through early evening.
Here are the particulars, not much different from yesterday’s report:
- Wednesday through Thursday will have heavy rain and stronger wind.
- This week’s total rainfall could reach between 4 and 5 inches in Mason County, over 10 inches in the Olympic Mountains.
- Many deciduous trees have not lost their leaves. That creates a “sail effect,” which will most likely result in broken limbs, and possibly downed trees.
- Rising rivers. The Skokomish River may reach flood stage this week.
- With all the rain, we could see some “urban flooding.” Leaves clogging storm drain gratings could aggravate this.
There isn’t enough information about the expected weekend storm for a firm forecast. More data should be coming within the next day or so.
