Wet and mild this week, lingering ice concerns in central Gorge

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - The warmup continued today with metro area temperatures ranging from the low 40s to the low 50s. The Portland International Airport topped out at 43 degrees. By the middle of this afternoon, whatever was left of those ice pellets in many areas were totally gone- lots more widespread melting!

Unfortunately, cold air is still trapped in the Gorge, which means more freezing rain is possible tonight and tomorrow morning as showers pick up. By tomorrow afternoon, temperatures should be warm enough for everybody to see a transition to rain, which will hopefully help with the thawing process out there. There is an ice storm warning tonight through Monday for the western and central Gorge, but the biggest risk for ice accumulation is going to be east of the Bonneville Dam to about Wasco. Another half inch of ice accumulation is possible in that area.

Those of us in the valley should continue to see temperatures warming early this week. Plan for a very wet day tomorrow, with rain expected all day long and metro area temperatures in the upper 40s and low 50s.

It’s going to be more wet than dry this week, with another very wet day on tap Tuesday. Temperatures will warm into the low 50s. Some stronger systems come through Monday night and Tuesday morning, which will make for windier conditions.

We won’t be seeing much dry time until we get to next weekend, when our shower chances start to dwindle. There’s still a possibility we see some rain on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, but it’s still too early to say for sure.

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