Christmas Day is just a week away, and weather-wise. it should be mostly dry and cool. No white Christmas is a safe bet at this point unless there is a miracle on 34th Street.
The stubborn ridge of high pressure is forecast to hold on, letting just a few weak weather systems penetrate to bring a risk of showers Sunday, maybe midweek and then by Friday. Otherwise, bouts of fog, low clouds, maybe some sun where the wind blows. Kind of boring, eh?
Amazing what a difference a few miles can make. Saturday, Salmon Creek was socked in most of the day while at times downtown Vancouver and east county got to see that bright orb in the sky. Almost forgot what it looked like. This time of the year the sun is fairly low in the horizon and isn’t out for very long.
Meanwhile, the mountains enjoyed clear skies and temperatures in the 50s. Spring-style skiing, maybe? Along the coast, Saturday was an outstanding day. Highs were in the mid-50s to 60 degrees there and in Central Oregon.
December is the driest on record so far and one of the coolest as well. So when will the big change be? That is the million-dollar question — which means I can’t afford to answer it, ha, ha, so stay tuned!
Joe Bastardi from AccuWeather, who’s known for sticking his neck out on long-range predictions, issued a few words Saturday on Twitter. He thinks the pattern will change big-time, with the massive high pressure moving westward and the Hudson Bay low doing likewise, and settle the Pacific Northwest into a deep freeze — maybe the coldest in 70 years. That would relate to the winter of 1949-50, which old timers will recall as a bear of a winter. I remember my father telling me awesome stories of that period.
So meanwhile, enjoy the peace and quiet and get the last-minute holiday errands accomplished. At least there shouldn’t be any big holiday travel impairments other than some foggy areas.
Take care and we will chat again on Tuesday and see if we can see anything on the horizon.
Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.
