Weather Eye: Beautiful weekend to follow round of April showers

We managed to pull off some decent weather for most of Wednesday, with the sun peeking through at times and mild temperatures. Just about a normal April day.

Of course that wasn’t going to last as another cold front moved inland Wednesday night and we will see plenty of those April showers today, maybe a thunderstorm. Snow levels in the Cascades were forecast to be at pass levels today.

The good news I can offer is beginning Friday we dry up and temperatures rise. They will climb quite a bit over the weekend — into the 70s and 80 or better Monday. This weekend will be a big April bonus. I can hear those lawn mowers going and crowds screaming at the local play fields. Baseball anyone?

It will be nice at the coast as well, with warm temperatures and some sunny skies, especially Sunday, where it could reach 70 degrees or better. A great weekend for recreation.

Looking ahead to next week, Monday will be warm — into the 80s and record territory. Tuesday may be nice and warm too, depending on how forecast models handle another incoming weather system. Wet or dry for Tuesday? Stay tuned.

April is almost halfway finished and it is turning out to be a warm and dry month. As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Vancouver had recorded just .28 of an inch of rain, more than an inch below average. The average mean temperature is running 5.6 degrees above average, at 56.3 degrees. Can we finally say we have broken the string of wet months that began in November?

Time will tell as the next few weeks go by. The extended forecast models indicate drier and warmer than average. Scientists now say as the El Ni?o is waning a La Ni?a — a cooling of the ocean waters — is forming. We’ll see what kind of weather we end up with this summer and winter. I like a La Ni?a better than an El Ni?o, if offered a choice. It seems like we are always under some spell of nature.

We’ll chat Sunday morning as you sip your morning beverage out on the patio.

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

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