Gusty east wind, more rain later today

Good morning! It’s a cool & breezy start to our day across northwest Oregon and southwest Washington. Similar to Tuesday, spotty light showers are still passing through the metro area around 3:00 A.M. Most of the showers should taper off by sunrise. The big story today will be a strengthening east wind. The gustiest wind will impact the western Columbia River Gorge and the central/east metro area. At times, gusts will exceed 65 mph in the western Gorge. Peak gusts on the east side of the metro area could reach 50+ mph. Elsewhere in the metro area, gusts should be in the ballpark of 30-45 mph. Basically the farther away you’re located from the Gorge, the lighter the wind should be. East winds will also impact much of the coastline, as well as the higher slopes of our mountains. Isolated power outages will be possible, but this shouldn’t be quite as impactful as our previous wind event. Expect another round of rain to pass through the region this afternoon and evening. Precipitation will overrun cooler air in the central Gorge, resulting in a mix of snow and freezing rain. Roads will turn icy/snowy tonight around that part of the Gorge (especially the upper Hood River Valley). It’ll be a close call along I-84 / river level.

Gusty east winds will continue on Thursday as a strong low pressure system brushes our coastline. This system looks like it will stay far enough offshore to keep damaging winds away. However, our wind will veer out of the south later in the day, with gusts nearing 40-50 mph along the beaches & headlands (weaker inland). It would be wise to keep your devices charged up today and tomorrow in case there are isolated power outages. On & off showers will occur Thursday with temperatures getting close to 50 degrees in the metro area.

Showers will continue on & off through at least the next 5 days, and temperatures will turn warmer. Expect highs between the upper 40s and low 50s Friday through Tuesday, with overnight lows in the low to mid 40s. Warmer temperatures will lead to a rising snow level (bouncing back & forth between 4,000-6,000 feet).

Have a great Wednesday!

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