³ÉÈËXÕ¾

The three days offering a taste of spring came to an end over the weekend. Cooler weather with intermittent light rainfall is expected to be the rule to start this week.

A series of weak weather systems moving ashore from the Pacific will provide the light precipitation and cooler conditions through Wednesday. By Thursday, higher pressure aloft is forecast to build over the region, delivering some sunshine and drier weather.

Temperatures this week will be much cooler—about 10 degrees or so cooler—than they were during the recent sunshine and glimpse of spring weather. Highs across Western Washington are expected to rise only into the lower 50s, with lows ranging from the 30s to lower 40s, a few degrees lower than early March averages.

The cooler conditions this week will extend into the mountains as well. Snow levels are anticipated to start the week near 4,000 feet and gradually decline to between 2,000 and 3,000 feet from Tuesday through Friday. The mountain snowpack is running about 70 to 90 percent of average for early March. Snowfall amounts this week are expected to total only a few inches.

More from Ted Buehner: How 11 feet of snow led to America’s deadliest avalanche near Stevens Pass in 1910

Almost four minutes of extra daytime

The days continue to get longer, gaining about 3 ½ minutes per day. The first 6 PM sunset of the year will occur on Wednesday evening. This is also the final week on Pacific Standard Time. Clocks “spring forward” this coming Sunday morning as Pacific Daylight Time begins, meaning sunsets will be after 7 PM next week.

Likely no surprise given the four-week-plus cold snap, but weather statistics for the month of February were cooler than average. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) ended up being about 3 ½ degrees below normal for the month. Bellingham finished just over 4 ½ degrees cooler. Olympia and Everett were close to 1.5 degrees cooler, while the coast ended the month close to 2 ½ degrees cooler than average.

Total February rainfall results were mixed. SEA and Olympia were just over a quarter of an inch drier than average, while Bellingham was a half-inch wetter than average.

The coming weekend looks like it will be a wet one as a more powerful, soggy weather system moves onshore. The latest weather outlook into mid-March also points toward a cool and wet period—actually good news for helping build the mountain snowpack closer to its seasonal average.

Following the old weather folklore that dates back to the 18th century, March came in like a lamb. If the extended weather outlook for the rest of March is on track, the month will go out like a lion.

Ted Buehner is the ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio meteorologist. Follow him on Ìý²¹²Ô»åÌý.