Donning his classic red hooded KIRO jacket, reporter Rick Price was suited up for the snow during our morning newscast today.  Seeing Rick reporting live from Snoqualmie Pass is a familiar sight for KIRO 7 Morning News viewers during the winter season, but here we are on May 1^st and we are still talking snow! 

Over an inch was on the ground when Rick was there this morning.  I just checked the WSDOT camera at the pass and the roads are looking bare and wet. Up to 3 inches of new snow is forecast over the passes today; it picks up again later this evening.    

When we’re seeing snow at Snoqualmie Pass this time of year, it is a pretty good indication that a cold storm is moving through.  We have seen a lull in the rain around the sound this morning with many of you seeing sunbreaks.  Looking at the satellite, you can see the changes ahead as an area of low pressure tracks our way.  It will bring increasing rain around the sound this afternoon and evening. 

This system brings in a reinforcing shot of cold air, so temperatures are running 7 to 10 degrees below average for this time of year.  We typically usher in May with 62 degrees in Seattle; today’s forecast high is at 54 degrees. 

With the jet stream sitting just to our south through the remainder of the workweek, cool air will stick around with showers at times.  Temperatures remain stuck in the 50s through Saturday.  Higher pressure is looking to build in by Sunday, ushering in more sun with temperatures back in the 60s for the second half of the weekend. 

Looking Back at April

Overall, this past April was not too bad if you were looking for some sun and mild weather.  The sunniest and warmest weather also landed on the weekends, so that is always a bonus!

As far as rainfall goes, we were right on spot with normal.  The average April rainfall at Sea-Tac is 2.71 inches.  We were just a shade below that with 2.68 inches recorded last month. 

Temperatures ended up being warmer than normal this past April.  If you average the high and low temperatures throughout the month, we came out at 48.9°.  That is 0.6° above the average April temperature of 48.3°. 

When you compare April 2012 to April 2011… we were much warmer this year.  April 2011 recorded an average temperature of only 43.7°.  That is 5° cooler than this year.   Thinking about last spring might make today’s cool weather a little easier to get through. 

Have a great day! 

-Sam Argier, Morning Meteorologist