West Slopes Northern Cascades and Passes

... Winter Storm Watch in effect from late Thursday night through
Friday evening...

The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a Winter Storm
Watch for the Olympics and central and northern Cascades... which
is in effect from late Thursday night through Friday evening.

A cold front will pass across the region during the pre-dawn
hours Friday. In advance of this front... heavier snow is expected
to develop shortly before midnight over the Olympics and a few
hours after midnight across the Cascades then continue into the
morning hours.

After the front passes... strong west to northwest flow will
likely generate heavy snow showers throughout the Cascades through
the day Friday and possibly into Friday evening. There is the
potential for an extra boost to the snow across the central
Cascades Friday evening due to convergent flow around the
Olympics and Vancouver Island.

Storm total accumulations over 12 inches is possible with this
system... especially in the central Cascades. The snow level will
generally range from 1500 to 2500 feet which will affect all the
mountain passes.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

A Winter Storm Watch means there is a potential for significant
snow accumulations that may impact travel. Continue to monitor
the latest forecasts.



Cerniglia

Rainfall in Washington during the month of October was above normal
for the entire state. The northern part of the state averaged around
200 percent of normal for October precipitation.

For western Washington... the percentage of normal precipitation
ranged from 130 for the southwest interior to 212 for the northwest
interior. The greatest amount of precipitation recorded at climate
stations for the mountains and foothills... coasts... and interior
lowlands was 18.84 inches at Hoh vistor center... 15.41 inches at
Clearwater... and 12.38 inches at Grays River respectively.

For eastern Washington... the percentage of normal precipitation
ranged from 137 for the Palouse and Blue Mountains to 205 for the
Okanogan area. The greatest amount of precipitation recorded at
climate stations for the mountains and foothills and The Lowlands
was 3.70 inches at plain and 2.51 inches at Newport respectively.

The outlook for November and beyond... the outlook for the next two
weeks is for above normal precipitation for the west side and near
normal precipitaion for the east side. The outlook for November
through January is for below normal precipitation for the west side
and near normal precipitation for the east side.


The Table below gives precipitation figures as a percent of normal
for regions of Washington. The current water year ended September
2009.

                              Oct water year past 3 past 12
                              2009 to date months months
western Washington
coast 150 150 122 90
Olympics 144 144 128 74
northwest interior 212 212 149 109
Puget Sound lowlands 160 160 135 97
southwest interior 130 130 110 90
west foothills Cascades 164 164 136 102
Cascades 152 152 124 99

Eastern Washington
east slopes Cascades 177 177 129 96
Okanogan 205 205 99 75
Central Basin 174 174 100 93
northeast 180 180 107 95
Palouse and Blue Mountains 137 137 96 124



The Table below expresses precipitation in inches and as a percent of
normal for a variety of locations around the state. Occasionally
missing data at a site are estimated using observed data from
surrounding stations.

                    Oct 2009 water year to date past 12 months
                  inches pct inches pct inches pct

Quillayute 12.27 125 12.27 125 83.66 82
Hoquiam 10.09 165 10.09 165 61.26 89
Bellingham 6.95 233 6.95 233 35.45 102
Seattle 5.54 174 5.54 174 37.35 101
Olympia 5.32 127 5.32 127 47.23 93
Longview 3.44 91 3.44 91 43.51 88

Concrete 13.53 218 13.53 218 76.05 107
Snoqualmie Falls 8.51 162 8.51 162 60.07 98
Diablo dam 11.51 154 11.51 154 71.94 91
Stampede Pass 9.59 149 9.59 149 56.86 68
Paradise 14.17 166 14.17 166 83.10 69

Winthrop 2.17 233 2.17 233 10.02 67
Mount Adams 3.02 94 3.02 94 32.74 75
Wenatchee 1.22 249 1.22 249 6.34 70
Yakima 0.89 168 0.89 168 7.26 88

Republic 2.01 231 2.01 231 19.08 113
Spokane 2.31 218 2.31 218 17.68 106
Pullman 2.08 141 2.08 141 22.12 105
Dayton 2.23 146 2.23 146 22.18 114

* = estimated