Today’s weather forecast is a repeat of Sunday’s — with more wind and rain. The good news is that the winds should be less than what went through our area with the squall line following the active cold front.
Later today, however, very cold unstable air will follow the front and we could see some very active thunderstorms scattered around the great Northwest. And of course thunderstorms can give locally heavy rain and hail as well as very strong gusty winds. It just won’t be a widespread event in that regard. But look for lots of good powder in the Cascades!
Wind speeds varied around Clark County during Sunday’s storm, with reports of 30-55 mph. I know the rain came horizontally against my house, and I was pelted with ice pellets as well. My peak wind gust was only 31 mph in Salmon Creek but in more-exposed areas it was much higher.
Thank goodness the squall was rather short-lived. Can you imagine rain like that for hours on end? No, thank you.
This week, ironically, is Flood Safety Awareness week as proclaimed by The National Weather Service. On Monday, the agency stated that out of the nearly 4,800 river gauges that they monitor, nearly 300 were at flood stage or close to it.
Lots of regions are inundated in the eastern half of the nation. There are more TADD signs (Turn Around, Don’t Drown) being posted as warnings to drivers on highways subject to flooding.
It is a scary thing, driving through water that is over the roadway and not knowing for certain just how deep or how swift the current may be. You see cars stranded — or worse, swept away — on the evening news all the time, so take heed. For much more information, go to http://floodsafety.noaa.gov.
We will get a break in the action by midweek, as the jet stream shifts to our south and California gets slammed by several weather systems for a while. The moisture will travel as far south as Los Angeles.
Here, we will be cool with scattered showers and maybe some much-needed dry weather over the weekend if things work out.
So despite the illusion of spring with the flowering trees beginning to blossom, it will remain on the cool side.
Pat Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.
