The stormy pattern will result in several more days of much-needed rain and mountain snow in parts of the West, but forecasters say some areas that could really use the rain won’t be in luck.
Published Nov. 4, 2021 7:59 AM EST | Updated Nov. 6, 2021 4:49 AM EST
November is beginning the same way October ended in the Northwest: stormy.
AccuWeather forecasters say that the storm train is likely to keep chugging through the region for at least several more days. This stormy pattern is sending much-needed precipitation in the form of rain and mountain snow to areas from the Pacific Northwest to Northern California.
Both Seattle and Portland, Oregon, have recorded measurable rain on the first five days of the new month. As the next storm continues to move inland this weekend, the rainy streak will continued.
AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Senior Meteorologist Paul Pastelok noted that a dip in the jet stream across the Bering Sea through the northern Pacific Ocean will continue to push waves of energy toward the Northwest through the rest of this week.
The next system moving across the Northwest on Saturday and Saturday evening will primarily affect portions of northern California, Washington, Oregon, northern Idaho, and mountainous regions in western Montana and Wyoming before it diminishes.
Temperatures during the weekend in Seattle are also forecast to settle at below-normal levels with highs ranging in the upper 40s to lower 50s. A normal temperature this time of year there is in the mid-50s. A similar temperature outlook is in place for Portland, where highs are forecast to hover near 50 on Saturday and Sunday. The average high temperature typically hovers in the upper 50s for early November in the city.
More rain and mountain snow are expected to start the weekend, with precipitation potentially getting as far south as the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada in California. Besides precipitation making it a bit farther to the south, this system will also have more wind as well as colder air to work with.
"Another storm could bring snow to some of the major passes in the Cascades," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo.
With snow levels between 3,000 and 4,000 feet, snow could make for difficult travel in locations such as Snoqualmie Pass and Stampede Pass in Washington.
Pesky, but mainly spotty, rain and snow showers can continue in the Northwest Sunday and Monday before a stronger storm arrives once again Monday night or Tuesday. This storm may once again pack more of punch farther south, directing heavy rain back into northern California and into the San Francisco Bay Area, with a round of heavy snow again in the Sierra.
While this system looks to move in and out more quickly, there could still be a decent dose of heavy rain and snow to further help chip away at drought conditions and modestly raise reservoir levels again.
While the wet pattern is helping to alleviate the drought in northern portions of the region, little to no precipitation has fallen recently farther to the south.
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In the days since nearly a half-inch of rain fell in Los Angeles on Oct. 25, no rain has fallen there since, and very little to none is in the forecast for the coming week, forecasters say.
Reservoir water levels across California as of Friday, Nov. 5, 2021.
According to the United States Drought Monitor, nearly 40% of California is still in an exceptional drought, which has significantly affected the state's reservoir levels. Exceptional drought is rated as the most intense form of drought, according to the drought monitor.
By late next week, it appears that the active storm track may lift even farther to the north, largely focusing precipitation on northwestern Washington and southwestern Canada.
"There is a long way to go in order to ease drought and water usage concerns," cautioned AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.
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