We sure had a contrast of temperatures Monday around the Pacific Northwest. I saw readings of 46 to 65 degrees west of the mountains and 32 to 68 degrees east of the mountains. Locally we had a high of 57 degrees and plenty of sunshine after the morning fog.
The wide expanse of temperatures meant that some areas had lots of sunshine and others shrouded by dense fog. Sunday there were many record highs with some readings along the Oregon Coast at 70 degrees or better. Redmond, Ore., set its all-time January high of 69 degrees. Timberline was in the 60s and Government Camp as well.
The snowpack is shrinking and one can see no snow below 4,000 feet in the Cascades to our east. However, a friend of mine went hiking in Indian Heaven in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest on Sunday thinking the trail would be free of snow. The narrow trail in the dense shady areas still had a couple feet of mushy snow. Snowshoes, anyone?
A weak weather system moves through today and there may be a few drips and drizzle around, but not much. Then mild and dry the rest of the week with persistent fog in many locations. So when will the weather pattern change?
