January 25, 2022

Forecast: January 25th, 2022

Last updated 8:35 A.M. Monday, January 25th, 2022

By Raphael Bakin

Good morning Huskies!

Over the past few days, the atmosphere has found itself “turned around”, with warmer air up higher and cold air down low. The temperature difference has been so great that many atmospheric scientists call it a super–inversion. Up aloft, a ridge is still over the Northwest, which is contributing to dry conditions, and sunshine – but only at decent elevations (at least 1,500 feet). Most cities in the Northwest are near sea level, and will be stuck under gray clouds and fog, with temperatures in the lower to mid 40s. Yesterday, there were some signs of the inversion finally breaking, but that hasn’t quite happened. (If the inversion were to break, the result would be a sunny day at lower elevations.) This inversion also has decreased air quality, resulting in some Air Stagnation Advisories being issued.

Wednesday and Thursday will look much like today, where depending on the strength of the inversion and thus the thickness of the cloud layer, the temperature will remain in the 40s with low clouds and fog. But on Friday, a major change in our weather will occur – the ridge will be pushed away overhead as a trough comes in, which will end any remaining foggy–but–dry days, and rain will start to occur. There will most likely not be a fourth dry weekend.

Beyond the weekend, we will transition back to a normal Pacific Northwest weather pattern, with clouds and some rain showers amid temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s. Also: the first 5 PM sunset in Seattle this year will occur TODAY. This means there will be more daylight for your outdoor activities!

Enjoy the rest of the week, Huskies!
Hopefully, the email from the UW President on Monday will hold true, and Zoom University will come to a close after this week!

Reach forecaster Raphael Bakin at theuwdawgcast@uw.edu or on Twitter @britishmtric144.