One More Dry Day, Light Rain Returns Tomorrow

Good morning! We’re kicking off our Thursday with dry & cloudy conditions. Outside of our western valleys, I’m seeing more clear sky than cloud cover. Similar to Wednesday, clouds will struggle to clear out of our interior valleys. Air is stagnant, so there isn’t much to clear us out of the temperature inversion. Temperatures will gradually climb through the 40s, making a run at 50 degrees this afternoon. Take advantage of the dry time because wet weather is returning tomorrow.

High pressure has been acting as a blocking pattern for most of the week, keeping conditions fairly dry in the Pacific Northwest. That ridge will back off to the west as we wrap up the week, opening the door to a couple of weak disturbances moving in from the north. The first disturbance will produce light rain from time to time, along with Cascade snow. Our snow level will start off around 4,000 feet early Friday, but should fall to about 3,000 feet by the evening. We’ll pick up about 2-4 inches of new snow at & above the passes.

A second system will drop into the Northwest on Saturday. This system looks like it will spend more time over land than over the ocean. Our forecast has been trending a little bit drier, but it still looks like it will turn quite cold between Saturday night and early next week. Light, scattered showers will transition to a wintry mix / light snow between the evening and nighttime. Most of the metro area will only have a brief window to see snow, so significant snow totals don’t seem likely. The best chance to see an inch or more of snow will be in the Gorge (and of course the Cascades).

Cold & dry air will surge through the Gorge between Saturday night & Sunday, dropping lows in the 20s and daytime highs into the 30s. Both Sunday and Monday look like they’ll be mostly sunny, but it’s going to be chilly out there! Luckily, the east wind should only last through Sunday. Calmer conditions will lead to very cold morning temps by sunrise Monday. Temperatures should drop into the low 20s in the metro area, with outlying spots dipping into the teens.

Conditions will gradually warm up by midweek, with a few showers possible by Wednesday.

Have a great Thursday!

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