It doesn’t get much more gray and drippy than Monday as a warm front moved over the area. That foggy, drippy type of moisture makes you want to stay inside.
The outlook the rest of the week calls for rain or showers with maybe a few breaks but not a full bright sunny day. The extended forecast models still indicate a much cooler weekend and maybe some low-elevation snowfall. That would require available moisture when the cold air settles in, so not a sure thing at this point.
The threat of winter weather would begin over the weekend and last most of next week right into early March. So as always, listen to your local weather source for developing details. Might be that the snow stays in the mountains as it should but you can never know about a sneak attack, ha, ha.
Tuesday I will be arriving in the islands but it appears showers are in the forecast there as well, so maybe I won’t escape the rain after all. However, it should be about 40 degrees warmer.
The next Oregon American Meteorology Society meeting is 7-9 p.m. Feb. 28 at the KPTV Channel 12 studios, 14975 N.W. Greenbrier Parkway in Beaverton. The topic will be “Summertime Lightning Forecasting in Oregon and Washington.” The guest speaker will be John Saltenberger, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service meteorologist. Mark your calendars as the public is invited.
So what was I writing about one year ago in this column? “The ever-mounting stream of data including surface observations to our north, satellite photos, and computer guidance tells me there will be snow falling from the skies later this week. And yes, that is my gut feeling as well. Just how much? Well that will vary depending on location and amount of moisture overhead. I am not going to remark about snow levels as are usually in the forecast such as 200 feet or 500 feet. I think everyone will see some snow. And it will be cold as well.” Kind of a similar situation almost one year to the date; we’ll see what happens this time around.
Chat with you from the islands on Thursday.
Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.
