Friday may have been the first day of fall, but the weather was more summer-like. Both Friday and Saturday featured sunshine and temperatures in the low 80’s. Then it was as if Mother Nature looked at the calendar, woke up and instantaneously ushered fall into the Snoqualmie Valley in the wee hours of Sunday.
A weather pattern shift has us saying goodbye to our “better late than never” summer weather, as the first of two fall weather systems moved in early Sunday morning. Behind the first storm front, Sunday afternoon featured showery and blustery conditions – as well as sunshine. Rain showers and 15 – 25mph wind gusts are predicted for the remainder of Sunday.
The second weather system moving in Monday, September 26th, is stronger, bringing a little more wind and a lot more rain. The Puget Sound lowlands could see 1/4 to 3/4 inch of rain. Spots in the mountains could see up to two inches of rain. The wind is expected to pick up Monday afternoon. With high pressure to our east and low pressure off shore, the valley gap wind scenario is also in play. The national weather service says no flooding is predicted, but rivers could rise sharply Monday night. NOAA predicts winds in the 15 – 30mph range, with gusts up to 50mph. They say “winds of these speeds don’t generally cause many problems, but could knock a tree or power line down.” Longtime valley residents know this is not much in the way of valley wind storms – more just a precursor to our windy fall weather.
Summer and fall obviously have different personalities this year. Summer practiced the art of patience, making us hold on until the end for the best it had to offer. Fall seems to be more like a 3-year-old, impatiently waiting its turn. The calendar finally says its time has come so it rushes in to center stage, excited to put on a show.
Time to pull out the crock pot and sweater, dry out the pop up pool and store it away in the garage. Happy Fall Snoqualmie Valley!
