Here comes the rain again!

Three weather systems from the Bering Sea, brewed in a strong area of low pressure, are bringing cooler temperatures, some gusty winds and up to an inch of rain each, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.

The strongest winds will be felt early Saturday along the coast, the islands and the western portions of Skagit and Whatcom counties, where gusts from the south will be up to 40 miles an hour and a wind advisory has been issued, weather service meteorologist Carly Kovacik said Friday.

Seattle’s temperatures are expected to drop into the high 50s, and the area could see sustained winds of 15 to 20 miles per hour with gusts up to 30 mph.

The area could see thunderstorms Saturday afternoon and into the early evening, Dana Felton, a weather service meteorologist said Saturday.

“We’ve got a cool and unstable air mass moving into the area,” Felton said. “If you get unlucky, underneath one of the showers it’s going to rain pretty hard on you for a few minutes.”

Temperatures at Paradise, in Mount Rainier National Park, dropped to near freezing by late Saturday morning, Felton said, with the snow level falling to 5,500 feet.

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Another round of rain is likely through around Sunday afternoon and into Monday, the weather service said.

The third weather system will hit Tuesday, Kovacik said.

Though they are distinct systems, they could feel to us like one long, rainy shower with little breaks in the downpour here and there, she said.

Cooler-than-normal sea surface temperatures along the equator mean this year is looking like it will be a La Niña year, with cooler and wetter conditions than usual.

That doesn’t mean the lowlands will necessarily get a lot of snow this year, Kovacik said. It’s too early to tell. There’s lots of room here for active weather, coldness and wetness without freezing temperatures and snow, she said.

But snow showers are expected in the mountains — above 5,000 feet — over the weekend.


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