January 29, 2021

Forecast: January 29th, 2021

By Chris Thomas

Good morning, Huskies!

Today is an interesting day in weather history – it marks the 100 year anniversary of the Great Olympic Blowdown, one of the most devastating windstorms in the Pacific Northwest.

On January 29, 1921, a strong area of low pressure off the Washington coast tracked northeastward into Vancouver Island, bringing hurricane force winds to portions of the Washington Coast.  These strong winds devastated forests in the Olympic Peninsula, where up to 40% of trees were blown down in certain areas.

(Photo credit: https://www.historylink.org/File/5249)	(Photo credit: https://www.forksforum.com/life/remembering-the-21-blow)

Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about any severe winds heading our way today.  In fact, winds should be quite light – only about 5 – 10 mph in the Seattle area. A few scattered showers this morning will give way to partly to mostly cloudy skies and temperatures topping out in the mid-40s.

Enjoy the dry weather while you can – rain is on the way tonight.  Showers will persist into tomorrow before a stronger system brings steadier rain to the area Sunday and into next week, giving us a wet start to February.

Snow lovers will be disappointed to know that there isn’t any lowland snow or major cold snap heading our way in the next week or so.  The mountain passes will see some snow over the weekend though, so be sure to check road conditions if you are planning to travel to or from central or eastern Washington.

Have a great day!

Reach forecaster Chris Thomas at theuwdawgcast@uw.edu. Twitter:  @chrisevanthomas

7 DAY FORECAST	THIS DAY IN WEATHER HISTORY