Happy New Year! We had plenty of sunshine to start 2016, and it was much more inviting looking out the window than venturing outside. The wind chill was biting, to say the least. With overnight lows in the teens to low 20s in wind-sheltered areas, it sure felt like an arctic air mass. I had 18 degrees here Saturday morning in Salmon Creek.
There was no arctic air coming into the area, just cold air from a deep cold air mass in the Columbia Basin. Low clouds pushed against the east slopes of the Cascades, causing some light snow to fall in Hood River to The Dalles and in the Tri-Cities area.
Today, we see some increasing clouds moving up from the south as an upper-level low spins off the northern California coast. Some light precipitation is forecast to fall, bringing a wintry mix. The dry air mass will evaporate any moisture that falls at first. If we get enough overriding moisture, we could see some light snow or sleet. This may continue into Monday morning.
Highs today will struggle to surpass the freezing mark.
Amounts would be light, but with the frozen ground surfaces, any liquid precipitation would freeze, causing icy roadways. We could even get a trace to a couple inches of snow. Stay tuned to the latest forecasts.
