As promised our inversion is long gone but not without a few brief pockets of sleet or freezing rain, mainly near the Gorge. It seemed the media made a bigger deal out of it than what occurred or what was on the horizon. Forecast models had the precipitation arriving earlier, during the early morning hours, than midday.
I had some reports of icing from Camas and Washougal and, surprising enough, snow near Yacolt. That is because as the colder air aloft filtered in, temperatures in the lower levels were still cold, thus the reports of snow in our foothills. What a wintry mix, cold rain, sleet, pockets of snow and some freezing rain.
Even more good news is that we will see warmer temperatures here in the lowlands and snow back in the Cascades with the snow level bouncing around between 3,000 and 5,000 feet.
For you snow lovers that like it white down here I have no good news. Looking at forecast models going out a month there is no indication of a solid snow pattern but of course that could change. We still have another four or five weeks to go for the chance of snow or cold. As February wanes you can just about wrap winter up for cold and snow. Of course wet snow episodes can always occur in March.
