A series of storms expected to take aim at the Pacific Northwest this week will keep the stormy trend going for the region in 2012.

High pressure that brought a nice and dry start to the weekend across the Northwest will slide to the south and east near the Four Corners region on Sunday.

Rain has already begun across northwestern Washington early this morning as a weak cold front nears the coast.

The rain will continue to spread across western Washington and Oregon throughout the course of the day as the front moves ashore.

The storm will add to the precipitation totals already received this month. Mountain locations could receive anywhere between 1-3 inches of liquid while towns and communities in the valleys could pick up between 0.25 and 0.50 of an inch of rain.

Snow levels are expected to rise Sunday to between 6,000 and 7,000 feet before falling slightly below 4,000 feet Sunday night.

As a result, most of the precipitation will fall as rain in the mountains Sunday before snow levels come down Sunday night.

As the rain changes over to snow in the Cascades Sunday night, snow accumulations could approach 3-6 inches in the mountainous locations of Oregon with 8-16 inches falling farther north in Washington.

Those traveling through the mountain passes could deal with travel delays or hazardous driving conditions Sunday night as the snow begins.

As the cold front races eastward into the northern Rockies on Monday, scattered valley rain and mountain snow will taper off throughout the day. Many locations should remain dry.

However, another system on its tail is expected to bring more wet weather to the region Tuesday and parts of Wednesday.

Another round of valley rain and mountain snow will be possible again Tuesday and Tuesday night as another system moves into the Northwest.

Windy conditions will be expected along the coast of Washington and Oregon where minor damage to trees and power lines could be possible. With the soil across these areas saturated, the winds could bring down small trees as well.

This system will race off to the east Wednesday as showers and snow showers decrease as a ridge of high pressure builds across the region. However, one last burst of moisture may sneak into western Washington on Thursday before the ridge takes control of the weather through the end of the week.

Weather Woes In Pacific Northwest:

The weather of January 2012 has made residents of the Northwest endure snowstorms, heavy rain, a rare ice storm as well as near record cold.

To show how wet and cold it has been in the Pacific Northwest, we will look at some stats from Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore.

Since the first of the year, at least a trace of precipitation has been reported 23 of the 28 days of the month at Sea-Tac International Airport. A total of 5.53 inches have fallen this month, which is 99 percent of the normal precipitation for the month.

The wet weather has also kept temperatures cool this month. Temperatures have averaged almost 3 degrees below normal for the month of January in Seattle.

Photo of the percentage of normal precipitation thus far this month across the Northwest. Map courtesy of the Applied Climate Information System .

In Portland, at least a trace of precipitation has been reported 20 of the 28 days of the month at Portland International Airport. While temperatures in the Rose City have been 1 degree below normal, a total of 6.38 inches of precipitation has fallen this month which is 131 percent of the average monthly total.

But what has been most impressive this January is the observed snowfall thus far in Seattle. On average, Seattle receives 5.9 inches of snowfall annually. This month alone, Seattle has picked up 9.6 inches of snow.

Although the snowfall has not been as impressive as Seattle this month, Portland is not too far from picking up its annual snowfall this month alone with 1.8 inches of white stuff. Annually, Portland receives 2.4 inches of snow.