Photo courtesy of Photos.com. Mar 12, 2012; 6:13 AM ET
While much of the central and eastern parts of the country will be enjoying springlike weather this week, those living in the West, specifically the Pacific Northwest, will be under the influence of a rather wet and stormy pattern.
Widespread above-normal temperatures will be abundant across the eastern half of the country this week with the jet stream positioned to the north. Out West, it will be a much different story.
A sharp dip in the jet stream in the West will be responsible for the stormy weather. It is this dip that will funnel multiple storms into the West this week.
In fact, the wet and stormy weather pattern got underway on Saturday as valley rain and mountain snow fell across portions of the Northwest.
The atmospheric parade of storms will continue today as waves of storms track into the region throughout the course of the week.
According to Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, "none of the storms appear to be powerhouses in terms of widespread damaging winds, but they will bring substantial precipitation as a cumulative effect over time".
Today's storm will bring very windy conditions to the immediate coasts of Oregon and Washington with heavy snow in the mountains, specifically the Cascades and Olympics.
On Tuesday the rain will spread into central California bringing wet weather to the Bay Area and Sacramento Valley.
On Wednesday into Thursday a weaker disturbance will bring more rain and snow to the region.
By the middle of the week, lower elevations in the valleys of western Washington and western Oregon as well as northern California could pick up over 3 inches of rain. When the coming week is all said and done, some locations could have in excess of 5-6 inches of rain with locally higher amounts possible.
Substantial snow will fall across much of the Sierra Nevada making skiers and snowboarders across the region very happy.
However, the considerable rainfall will lead to a heightened concern for urban and flash flooding, especially in poor drainage areas. Many rivers and streams around the region may also reach flood stage at some point this week.
Keep with AccuWeather.com as we detail the storms expected to impact the region over the coming week.
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