April Showers Return

April showers have been celebrated in music and verse, and after a lapse in the April-shower department, it is evident that they have returned for at least the next fortnight.
When April showers may come your way
They bring the flowers that bloom in May

The forecast of the European Center model is enough to get a May-flower enthusiast excited, with 1-2 inches in the lowland and perhaps twice that in the mountains.   Southern California, sodden from unending precipitation during the past month, will dry out completely.


As indicated by the "plume diagram" showing precipitation at Seattle for the remainder of the month (this is from the National Weather eEnsemble system of 21 forecasts, the black line is the average of all of the predictions), there will be several light precipitation events.  Enough to keep things moist.  Flowers like that.

Our April shower regime is the result of the shrinkage and southward shift of the ridge of high pressure, which was protecting our region from Pacific weather systems.In the new configuration,  the Northwest is in the path of moderate,  moist southwesterly flow (see upper level map for next Tuesday to see what I mean), which will bring rain to the western side of the Cascades.


So when it is raining think about the upcoming flowers and next few lines of that famous song:

So when it's raining have no regrets
Because it isn't raining rain you know
It's raining violets


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