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Weather Eye: Rabbits, some lions and hope for a lamb

The Columbian
Published: March 1, 2011, 12:00am

When I was a little kid, my mom would say “rabbits” on the first day of the month — for good luck, I guess. So I have carried along that tradition. Here we are the first day of March, which we weather and climate folks consider to be within the spring mode.

Of course, the weather doesn’t necessarily follow any of man’s set intentions — or the calendar’s for that matter. Today, we can say the month arrived like a lion, somewhat at least, as the weather forecast does not call for clear skies and sunshine.

Quite to the contrary. While folks here at city levels endured a chilly rain most of Monday, our friends and neighbors in the higher elevations above 500 feet were in a winter wonderland with a heavy wet snow falling. Reports of over a foot at the 1,000-foot elevation came to me late Monday.

There were wet snowflakes mixed in even at the lowest elevations at times as well. A vigorous cold front that brought blustery winds Sunday night decided to stall over Southwest Washington and northern Oregon. Rainfall amounts were impressive, with well over 1 inch falling in Vancouver on Monday alone. And our temperatures hovered in the mid- to upper 30s, while some cities in central Washington were basking in the mid-40s. Seems a little backwards, eh?

Although the winds Sunday where generally less than 40 mph here in Clark County, they hit 137 mph at the 10,000 foot level on Mount Rainier? Winds along the Oregon and Washington coasts were in the 55-75 mph range. February is going out like an angry lion, to say the least. I am so looking forward to that lamb at the end of March.

The snow levels start out low this morning but will rise back up to 3,000 feet or so as the next weather front rolls in tonight and Wednesday. This will be another wind-producer, especially along the ocean beaches. Rain is in the forecast every day this week and probably into next week as well. There will be no break in a succession of storms in the near future. Bundle up and keep dry!

Pat Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.

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