Scattered Showers Today, Drier New Year’s Day

Good morning! Scattered showers are passing through northwest Oregon and southwest Washington, and will continue to do so through about sunrise. There should be a bit of a lull in the shower activity around midday, but don’t be surprised if an isolated shower passes through. A weak shortwave will kick up a few more showers this afternoon. Most of the activity will wind down this evening. Temperatures will be slightly warmer than a typical New Year’s Eve, reaching about 50 degrees in the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Our snow level is around 4,000 feet this morning, but should lower to about 3,000 feet late in the day. Little to no snow accumulation is expected in the Cascades.

Mother Nature is going easy on us as we ring in the new year. We’re expecting a dry day on Sunday, but low clouds & fog could be around through at least the early afternoon. Due to cloudier skies, temperatures will struggle to reach the mid 40s. Overnight lows Saturday night and Sunday night will range between the mid to upper 30s.

A weak Pacific front will swing through the region on Monday, bringing a round of light to moderate A.M. rain to the coast. Our snow level will be around 1,000-1,500 feet to start the day, so be prepared for a brief round of wet snow in parts of the Coast Range. As the front moves inland, precipitation will be battling a dry east wind. As a result, we’ll probably only have scattered showers between the late morning & afternoon in our western valleys. Highs will only reach the low 40s.

We’re keeping an eye on the mid to late week time frame as a series of weather systems brush across the Pacific Northwest. Some of these low pressure systems could be rather strong. Depending on how close they get to the coastline, we could have either breezy winds or rather gusty winds (like we had earlier this week). Showers will be around at times, but it will probably be too warm to support any kind of wintry precipitation in our western valleys. Having said that, this is the type of setup that brings cold air through the Gorge. The potential for some light snow accumulation and/or freezing rain will exist for at least a few days. We’ll get a better handle on that part of the forecast early next week.

Have a safe & fun holiday weekend!

Copyright 2022 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.