Dry Weekend Ahead, Showers Returning Tuesday

Good morning & happy Saturday!

It’s a cold & breezy start to the weekend across northwest Oregon and southwest Washington. Windier locations are starting off above freezing, while wind-sheltered spots have dropped to or below freezing. Regardless of your temperature, you’ll feel the chill in the air. Wind will gradually ease up today and focus toward the east side of the metro area & the west end of the Gorge. Metro area temps should top out between 46-50 degrees. Tonight is going to be quite cold since most spots will experience light wind and mainly clear skies. Sunday is going to be a beautiful day with filtered sunshine, light wind & highs near 50 degrees.

A weak weather system will push more clouds in toward the end of the weekend. A few light showers will be possible along the northern Oregon & southern Washington Coast. Expect dry conditions inland. I mentioned this several times this week: if we don’t pick up rain through Monday, we’ll set a new record for longest November dry streak at PDX. The current record is 13 days (set back in November 2000). Monday would mark day 14 without measurable rainfall. Conditions have really dried out, which is one of the reasons we’ve seen more wildfires (with that dry east wind fanning the flames).

Showers will finally make a return on Tuesday, but it probably won’t amount to much. We’re expecting about 0.10-0.25″ in our western valleys, and about 0.25-0.75″ along the coast. Snow levels should be pretty high on Tuesday, in the ballpark of 5,000-6,000 feet. Several inches of snow will likely occur above that elevation. Unfortunately, we probably won’t get a lot of snow by next weekend. Hopes for skiing & snowboarding at our local resorts will probably have to wait another couple of weeks.

A big ridge of high pressure will amplify over the West Coast between mid to late week, resulting in warmer than average temperatures and dry conditions. Metro area temps could get close to 60 degrees on Thanksgiving!

Have a great weekend!

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