Weather Eye: Rain, leaves will fall; get used to gusts and ready to rake

Another weather system brought more blustery rain to the Pacific Northwest on Saturday. As colder air aloft moves in today, there will be scattered showers, maybe intense at times, and snow in the mountains.

There could be enough instability for scattered thunder and small hail. Temperatures will slowly drop; we might flirt with highs around 50 degrees in the next couple of days.

The Cascades should pick up 8 to 10 inches of snow above 5,000 feet and the lower passes; Government Camp should get 4 or 5 inches by Monday evening. Nothing extraordinary, but if you are traveling there, be advised.

We have a break late Monday and Tuesday, then rain again midweek and more snow in the mountains. Freezing levels pop up above the timberline Friday before falling again next weekend.

Saturday’s rainfall as of late Saturday afternoon totaled between one-third and one-half inch here in the city and a little more in the foothills. Vancouver had tallied about three-quarters of an inch of November rain as of 4 p.m. Saturday, about one-third inch below average. The average mean temperature is 50 degrees, close to average.

I’m surprised by how many trees still have leaves despite some gusty winds and rain this month. So we enjoy the colors a while longer, but keep the rake in hand.

Many of us have had our first frosts, but officially, the weather station at Pearson Field off state Highway 14 has dropped only to 34 degrees. It won’t be long until that statistic will be by the wayside.

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

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