Ah, the sun is still shining as I write my column Monday afternoon — but it is sure chilly! Looking out the window can be very misleading, for sure. I had a morning low temperature below 20 degrees for the fourth day in a row.
The forecast is for a change to somewhat warmer and wetter weather beginning late tonight and Wednesday. Most precipitation stays north of us, but we will get some. It could be a wintry mix, at first lingering in the Columbia River Gorge for a while. We’ll see an inversion, with cold air at the surface and a layer of freezing air above us.
It was 45 degrees Monday afternoon on Larch Mountain and in the upper 20s near Cape Horn.
Extended forecast models are somewhat wishy-washy, with earlier trends toward much colder weather by this time next week or maybe seasonal temperatures and wet. So, as always stay tuned to daily weather forecast updates. Things could change daily.
Forecast lows in Siberia were approaching 90-95 degrees below zero this week, while Fairbanks warmed up and had a high of 41 degrees Sunday, the same as Sedona, Ariz. Go figure.
The year ended on a sad note, with several dozen tornadoes reported through several states along the Mississippi Valley.
According to the National Weather Service, Dec. 31 will now rank as one of the top ten days in 2010 for tornado activity. Amazing, considering most tornadoes occur in the spring and summer months.
Gatherings
Some weather events for you to consider this month: The Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society will host their January meeting at OMSI from 7-9 p.m. Jan. 20 and will discuss the Aumsville tornado that struck Dec. 14. Meteorologists from the Portland National Weather Service will be there with all the details. Also, George Miller, retired Meteorologist, author and weather historian, will present some history of tornado activity in the Beaver state. It is open to the public. The other event is Weather Fest, an interactive science and weather fair being held by the American Meteorological Society on Jan. 23 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.
Pat Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.
