Weather Eye: Storms line up in Pacific for unsettled week ahead

Now that the sleet and ice is behind us, we tread through the puddles with rain and more rain. As I write this column Monday afternoon, Vancouver is still over one inch below average with the rainfall, however, heavy rain is coming down Monday afternoon. With steady rain or showers on tap through New Year’s Eve, I’m sure we will catch up and end up with a normal (or above) December rainfall.

Those east winds sure held on for a long time, didn’t they? We still had ice on the ground Christmas Day and temperatures in the low to mid-30s while our friends in our foothill communities were in the 50s. Quite a shallow layer of cold air hovered overhead. As I write this column, it is still only 39 degrees in downtown Vancouver at noon Monday.

A strong winter storm was scheduled to arrive last night and today pushing our temperatures here in the lowlands into the mid- to upper 50s with strong southerly winds. The National Weather Service had issued a wind advisory for today with winds 25 to 35 mph and possible gusts to 50 mph.

Along the Oregon Coast it was to be a different story today with winds up to 80 mph, and on the southern Washington Coast, 65 mph and, of course, high wind warnings were flying. Add in king tides and 30-foot swells reaching the coast it will be a notable December storm.

There are other storms lined up in the Pacific so expect an unsettled week. After high snow levels today, we cool aloft and snow levels drop back down to pass levels and by New Year’s Eve, 2,500 feet. Our highs locally after a brief surge into the 50s will lower to more seasonal numbers in the mid-40s. With passing clouds, I don’t expect any freezing temperatures overnight the next several days.

Buckle up today and watch out for garbage cans blown into the roadways along with heavy rains. We’ll chat on Thursday and take a look at how the weather is looking as 2023 arrives. Take good care.