WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — Forecasters with the Seattle office of the National Weather Service have issued a wind advisory for tomorrow, Friday, September 17th, due to expected strong winds.
Whatcom News reported Tuesday that forecasters were expecting cooler weather, heavy rain and blustery winds beginning Friday and lingering into the weekend. That forecast has been updated with much stronger southeast winds expected.
The wind advisory in effect Friday between 5am and 8pm warns to expect southeasterly sustained winds of 30 to 40mph with gusts to 60mph. The advisory area is western Whatcom and Skagit Counties along with San Juan County and the Admiralty Inlet area.
Some weather forecast models indicate valleys in the foothills of eastern Whatcom County, not in the advisory area, could see stronger winds than the lowland areas, with gusts above 70mph possible. These weather forecast models also expect the strongest winds to occur closer to midnight Friday as wind direction becomes southerly.
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Click for more informationThe weather system responsible for the expected winds is also expected to produce rain, heavy at times, across Whatcom County on Friday. The mountains are expected to receive 2 to 4 inches of rain and lowland locations should get 1 to 2 inches.
With the heavy mountain rain will come increases in the Nooksack River levels later Saturday. None of the river monitoring station forecasts expect the river level will get near flood stage levels.
High temperatures are expected to remain around 60° through the weekend in most Whatcom County locations.
There remains a possibility for thunderstorms Saturday afternoon and evening while showers continue through the day.