Windier Next Couple of Days, Staying Dry Through Saturday

Good morning! It’s a mostly clear & chilly start to the day across the Portland/Vancouver metro area. A breezy east wind is keeping most locations clear of fog, but there are some wind-sheltered spots that could see patchy dense fog by sunrise. Points to south, such as the central Willamette Valley, are already seeing some of that fog form. Due to the foggy start for some, areas to the south will see sunshine later than locations to the north that are exposed to the east wind. That dry & breezy east wind will be the main story today. Locations near the mouth of the Gorge will likely experience gusts between 30-40 mph, especially late today. The windiest spots will be on the west end of the Gorge, with gusts between 40-60 mph. Generally speaking though, most of the metro area can expect gusts between about 20-30 mph. Temperatures will rise into the low to mid 40s, but the wind will make it feel colder than that. Expect the wind to turn a bit stronger between tonight & Friday.

Sunshine will prevail west of the Cascades as long as the east wind is around. Friday is going to be another bright & chilly day with highs in the low 40s. The wind looks to subside Friday night, leading to our coldest night of the season. Expect lows to fall into the mid 20s for many locations. Outlying spots should fall into the low 20s (and possibly the upper teens). Fog could be a bit more widespread on Saturday morning as low temps drop closer to the dew point. Otherwise, expect a fairly pleasant day with highs near 40 degrees.

Computer models and their ensembles are still showing a variety of scenarios for the Sunday-Tuesday time frame. We’re starting to get more model consensus for Sunday though. It looks like we’ll stay clear of wintry precipitation in the lowlands west of the Cascades. I’d expect a few showers though with highs in the low 40s. Most guidance suggests we’ll stay too warm for wintry precipitation on Monday, but there’s a pretty high likelihood of frequent showers. Temps should start off in the mid 30s, with highs in the low 40s. Tuesday now looks like the day in which we could see some kind of wet snow near sea level. If that were to happen, it would either occur early in the morning or late in the day. Temps should rise to about 40 degrees during the afternoon.

Bottom line: computer models are having a tough time figuring out how far south and west the cold air will go. There’s still a chance we’ll make adjustments to the forecast for early next week. But at this time, no major snow storms look imminent.

Have a great Thursday!

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