Washington Weather Outlook: Colder, Wetter Months Ahead

SEATTLE, WA — It's been a relatively dry winter so far for western Washington, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says to expect that to change over the coming months.

Good news first: for the short term it will remain comparatively dry, at the very least. NOAA predicts that dry weather will remain the norm through this week — unfortunately after that the wet season will begin, with meteorologists predicting above average precipitation beginning in mid-December and lasting through to January.

That wetness can be blamed on La Niña. A La Niña Advisory has been issued, and will remain in effect through February:

"There is a 95% chance that La Niña conditions will continue through Winter," writes Reid Wolcott, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for NOAA. "La Niña is typically associated with cooler and wetter than average conditions across the PNW and can increase the odds of impacts from wind storms and winter storms."

And when they say wet, they mean wet — not snowy. The weather will be soggy, with a very small chance of giving us the gift of a white Christmas.

Fortunately, the above-average rainfall is expected to taper off as we move into the spring.

Less fortunately, the wet winter weather will be joined by cooler temperatures as well. NOAA's three-month outlook shows cooler than average winter temperatures for northern states, but particularly in western Washington. North Dakota and southeastern Alaska.

NOAA's latest predictions show that temperatures won't really dip until the new year. When they do, the cooler temperatures will likely peak from January to March, and, like the wet weather, will probably evaporate sometime during the early spring.