March 15, 2022

Forecast: March 15th, 2022

Last updated 11:15 AM, Tuesday, March 15, 2022

By Raphael Bakin

Happy Tuesday, Huskies! Today is an auspicious day in ancient history: It is the Ides of March. While there won’t be any soothsayer this time around saying that people will die, he instead has decided to tell us that the weather forecast this week will primarily be wet, wet, wet! Most of the days this week will feature cloudy skies with rain showers, with temperatures climbing to the upper 40s to low 50s during the day, and falling to the low 40s at night. 

Today is one of the most intriguing weather days we have had in a long time, thanks to some CAPE present in today’s morning sounding. This means that there could be heavier rain today, and potentially even a thunderstorm in select areas! There will also be wind from the southwest with gusts that could exceed 20 mph, so be careful of that. Tomorrow may be the one day this week where the chance of rain is at its minimum, but even then, a rainy morning could occur. Other than that, tomorrow will remain cloudy throughout the day, and the temperature will climb into the low 50s during the day and drop to the low 40s at night. 

Thursday also looks like the classic Pacific Northwest forecast of showers everywhere… there will be no rainbow or pot of gold madness this St. Patrick’s Day. Looking ahead towards the weekend, the forecast mostly remains the same: rain, rain, rain. Temperatures will climb to the upper 40s. This will not be a good week to be outside, so maybe use that time to study for – and take – finals, Huskies! 

While this week may not be that exciting in the weather world (except for some potential thunderstorms today), in the astronomical world, some notable things are present. First, being that we are approaching the spring equinox, the time between sunrise and sunset is increasing… we are gaining almost 3.5 minutes of daylight EVERY DAY. That means that on Thursday, for St. Patrick’s Day, the Sun will rise at 7:18 and set at 19:18, meaning EXACTLY 12 hours of daylight – equal day and night! Some of you may be wondering, “why doesn’t this happen on the spring equinox”? The answer involves refraction, but I won’t go into that here. One other fact that most people don’t know is that while the equinox is perceived to be a full day, in reality, the moment lasts just an instant – it is only when the Sun crosses the exact celestial equator, which will happen at 8:33 next Sun-day (get it?) morning.

Anyway, good luck on finals, Huskies, and spring break is coming up really soon! You can do it! Yes, this was a tough quarter for everyone, but thankfully it’ll be over before you know it. Good luck, Huskies!

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