Weather Eye: After Saturday’s brief snow, typical midautumn weather systems return

After that brief brush with winter weather over the weekend, we have settled back more like a midautumn weather pattern. We enjoy a pleasant day today then clouds increase as a weak weather system slides by to our north. Sound familiar?

It should as that was our basic weather picture last month and brought us a great lack of rainfall for November. Our highs will inch up near or at 50 degrees and with more clouds expected, the overnight lows will rise from near freezing into the 40s.

I expect less than a tenth of an inch of rain Wednesday and perhaps about a quarter of an inch with a stronger storm Thursday night and Friday. The weekend could be cloudy and showery or if some forecast models have their way, less moisture and more sunshine. We’ll see.

The big news is with the next two weather systems, snow levels will be high. Timberline may get some slushy snow Wednesday, Thursday night and Friday as snow levels drop some. At this point in the season, our snow pack should be building at a good clip.

Unfortunately, unless the weather pattern changes soon, we may be getting a bit anxious about snow in the mountains. If traveling over the passes this week, no problem, just rain will be falling.

The brief snow that fell locally Saturday night was only a trace in Vancouver. I know some of you had a fraction of an inch or so to maybe a half inch in the higher elevations. It was just a tease of more winter weather to come if we ride on the averages.

Remember we are in the midst of the Christmas shopping season and there are numerous electronic gadgets such as weather stations, outdoor thermometers and even handheld wind gauges for these stormy visits to the coast or in the east wind episodes in the Columbia River Gorge.

Many of the waterfalls in the Gorge had an icy covering and a touch of snow too last week. Maybe winter will arrive soon.