Warm, Wet and Wildly Windy Is in Forecast for Sunday and Monday

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Stow the patio furniture and tie up the garbage cans. It's going to get windy around here.

That's the takeaway from yet another bomb cyclone circling in the Pacific Ocean. Washington will feel its breath beginning Sunday morning. High winds and rain will last through Monday.

The newest cyclone — the National Weather Service just refers to it as a rapidly occurring low pressure event — will hit Sunday, the Weather Service said. But just how intense will it get?

"It's really going to depend on the track of the system," Weather Service meteorologist Samantha Borth said Saturday morning.

Sustained winds of 15-25 miles per hour could roar through the South Sound. Wind gusts could reach up to 30 miles per hour in Olympia on Sunday and Monday and might reach above 40 miles per hour in Tacoma.

There will be rain, practically guaranteed, on Sunday, but only up to a quarter inch. That figure could double on Monday. Daily rain will fall the remainder of the week.

"We're expecting it to stay wet," Borth said.

Temperatures will be the big yawner of these repeating systems. On average, highs will reach 53 degrees and lows will drop to 48, through Wednesday in Tacoma. Temperatures will be slightly higher in Olympia.

Washington coast



Coastal residents could get a double whammy of high winds and flooding. Plus, of course, rain.

A high wind watch begins Sunday at 8 a.m., the Weather Service announced. Long Beach residents and visitors can expect sustained winds of 25 miles per hour and gusts up to 49 miles per hour. On Monday, sustained wings could reach 35 miles per hour and gusts could reach 60 miles per hour.

Sunday evening, a Weather Service-issued coastal flood warning goes into effect and lasts for a full 24 hours.

Borth said seas could reach 25 to 30 feet high, making for dangerous conditions on beaches and jetties. Low lying coastal areas could flood at high tide.

Temperatures will be slightly warmer on the coast compared with Puget Sound.