Weather Eye: It’s nearly spring, but winter weather isn’t done with us just yet

The fleeting hours of winter will certainly give the Pacific Northwest one last bout of its fury with a strong cold front later today and tonight with high winds of 50-60 mph along the coast and maybe 30-40 mph in the inland valleys. Rain will be heavy along the coast and we should see nearly an inch here in the local area, more in the foothills. Snow levels drop Wednesday down to 1,500 feet.

After Thursday the weather forecast gets iffier but we keep a chance of showers or light rain in the forecast for good measure through the weekend. I’m thinking any showers that fall in that time period will remain as snow in the ski areas.

After the cold front that moved through Saturday afternoon Phil Delany reported periods of wet snow above Dole Valley. One could see a snow cover down to very low elevations Monday afternoon when the clouds lifted over the foothills.

There were a few good sun breaks Monday afternoon sprinkled among the dark clouds around the horizon.

The National Weather Service has declared this week Flood Safety Awareness Week. Although we are out of the woods for general widespread flooding, we still have to watch out for flash flooding as the summer months approach, mainly east of the mountains.

Not sure how March will go out since it came in as a lamb, so in reality keeping with the old folk lore, a lion should be appearing.

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at Weather Systems.