Snowstorms over the Puget Sound lowlands

Abstract

Snowfall over the Puget Sound lowlands is the product of complex interactions between the synoptic-scale flow and the mesoscale topography of the region. Although heavy snowfall is relatively infrequent in this region, when it does occur it severely impacts transportation and commerce. The typical synoptic evolution of such snowstorms is characterized by high-amplitude middle- and upper-tropospheric ridging over the northeast Pacific Ocean and the passage and/or development of a short-wave trough over the northwest US and southwest Canada. -from Authors