Steady rain in Clark County expected throughout week

Over the next week, at minimum, Clark County residents will notice a common pattern for this time of year: a sustained period of rain.

Several weather systems coming from the Pacific Ocean are expected to succeed each other this week, according to the National Weather Service in Portland. Precipitation amounts are not expected to rival those created by the atmospheric river that passed through the area in December, but a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch may fall by Wednesday morning.

“It’s going to be a pretty active weather pattern here for the next seven to 10 days,” said Dan Miller, a meteorologist with the weather service. “There’s, kind of, just a rapid procession of weather disturbances.”

High temperatures near 50 degrees and lows near 40 degrees are expected through Thursday, according to the weather service. The first of the weather systems was expected late Sunday night and into today, followed by other ones arriving most other days this week. If any snow falls on Clark County in that time, it likely would only be seen above 2,500 feet.

But cold northerly winds are expected to drop temperatures later in the week, Miller said. Urban areas of Portland and Vancouver might see snow over the weekend and the first few days of next week.

Miller cautioned, however, that while projections indicate a chance of snow, meteorologists won’t have a firm idea for a few days.

“This gets really tricky because it is five to six days out,” Miller said. “It’s definitely within the realm of possibility that we see some snow in the metro areas.”

For those who are curious about if, and how much, snow will appear, Miller suggested repeatedly checking updated forecasts throughout the week.

“We are in the heart of winter now. We rarely have a winter around here without some snow on the valley floor,” Miller said. “It’s certainly not a slam dunk at this point. I know people’s antennas go up when they hear the word snow out here.”