Weather with Cliff Mass

It's nothing like the major storms across the midwest and eastern U.S., but western Washington is tasting a little bit of winter, finally.

"After one of the most boring winters that I can ever remember, we are going to be getting heavy rain, good snow. We'll be getting some winds gusting up to 30 to 50 miles per hour, and big waves along the coast," says KPLU weather expert Cliff Mass, a professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington.

Morning clouds should give way to afternoon sunshine Friday in many Puget Sound neighborhoods. But some unpleasant weather is headed our way for Saturday, especially in the Seattle-to-Everett area.

That's the immediate forecast from KPLU weather expert Cliff Mass, a professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington.

  [Feb. 11th Update -- Audio problem fixed]

While the Northeast struggles with a massive snowstorm, the same forces are keeping it mild on the West Coast, says KPLU weather expert Cliff Mass, a professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington.

What are those forces? High pressure and low pressure. Okay, it's more complicated than that, but there is a high pressure "ridge" over the west, which forces a "trough" toward the east.

Several days of drizzle are giving way to a pleasant--and unseasonably warm--weekend.

The best day for outdoor plans should be Saturday, says KPLU weather expert Cliff Mass, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington.

For a weather forecaster, this weekend is looking "pretty boring," says Cliff Mass, professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Washington and KPLU's weather expert.

Some showers will blow through, but nothing dramatic. The mountains should get a little snow, but not enough to snarl traffic on the passes. Sunday should be a bit drier.

And what about snow in the city this winter?

In some places, such as eastern Washington farms, they actually use giant fans to disrupt the inversion that causes stagnant air (which is what we've been experiencing for a week, and can leave frost on fruit trees).

But, KPLU weather expert and UW professor Cliff Mass says those fans won't work in western Washington, because the natural forces creating the inversion are too strong. Instead, he suggests taking a hike.