An area of high pressure building into the Northwest through Monday will briefly offer tranquil conditions before a storm system descends on the region by midweek.Quiet conditions over the Northwest have directed the storm track farther north into Pacific
Canada, resulting in heavy rain and mountain snow in western
British Columbia since last week.However, the next Pacific storm will take aim farther south, bringing wet weather back to the Northwest Monday night through Tuesday."Snow levels will be higher than with previous storms, so precipitation along the I-5 corridor from Seattle to Northern
California will fall in the form of rain," AccuWeather Meteorologist Kyle Elliott said.Even though precipitation will fall as a plain rain, motorists may experience a slower Tuesday morning commute along the I-5 corridor.
Along the coast, a building westerly swell will create the threat for sneaker waves along area beaches.Beachgoers are advised to stay away from the shoreline to avoid falling victim to these large waves.The threat for wet weather will extend eastward beyond the coastal lowlands and Cascades from the storm.Kennewick and Spokane,
Washington, and even Boise, Idaho, can expect wet weather to develop during the day on Tuesday.This storm system is not expected to have snow levels as low as some of the recent systems. However, with levels initially around 3,000 feet, area passes such as Snoqualmie and Stevens could still face some travel issues from Tuesday into Wednesday.The persistent pattern of unsettled weather across the Cascades and northern Sierras will continue to keep an elevated avalanche threat in place this week.As the storm system tracks into the Intermountain West by Wednesday, dry and settled conditions will come to an end.Wintry weather is likely for places like Salt Lake City,
Utah, and Yellowstone National Park. While major accumulations are not expected, it will prove beneficial for area ski resorts.AccuWeather meteorologists predict the unsettled pattern will likely continue into late week across the Northwest.A lack of Arctic intrusions will also continue to keep snow levels higher than average for this time of year.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.