You might have noticed a strong gust of wind winding its way through the neighborhood. No, it isn't just you, the National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory lasting from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. tonight. Here's their advisory, in classic all caps:

"...A STRONG PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL WILL BRING WINDY
CONDITIONS TO WESTERN WASHINGTON THROUGH THIS EVENING...

...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO
11 PM PDT THIS EVENING...

* SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS...EVERETT...SEATTLE...BREMERTON...
TACOMA...OLYMPIA...SHELTON...CHEHALIS.

* TIMING...STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP BEHIND A COLD FRONT THAT
MOVES ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING. WINDS WILL BE STRONGEST THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING.

* WIND...SOUTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH.

* IMPACTS...WINDS THIS STRONG CAN BREAK SMALL TREE BRANCHES AND
CAUSE LOCAL POWER OUTAGES."

Cliff Mass has a more palatable version of events on his blog.

"A vigorous low pressure system and attendant front is now moving through the Northwest. ... Strong pressure differences exist west and south of the low and some of that will be moving into the region later this morning and during the afternoon. So expect a major uptick in winds. Very strong pressure gradients and powerful winds west and south of low centers is very typical for oceanic cyclones...lots of names of this--bent-back trough, poisonous tail, and others."

Also, he notes it's the first day of spring today, as of 4:02 a.m. Read his whole blog post.

Zachariah Bryan can be reached at zachb@robinsonnews.com

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