Weather Eye: This will be a good week for outdoor chores

We enjoyed sunny skies Saturday afternoon as a little easterly flow of air pushed the fog and low clouds out. It will be a pleasant week coming up, but according to one advisory, we will be on the ragged edge of stagnant air overhead. This will mainly be for Portland south, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

Otherwise, you can expect high temperatures a little above normal, and chilly overnight temperatures with scattered frost. Light winds will prevail and allow overnight fog to develop. We won’t see precipitation until at least Friday.

We chatted about a possible change in the weather pattern as February arrives; forecast models agree that we will go back to a colder and wetter pattern. This equals heavy mountain snows, possible low-elevation snowfall and temperatures running way below average. An active weather period is coming up next week. Will it be weather like we had right after Christmas? What say you, Groundhog?

On a brighter note, we reached 60 degrees on Thursday, surpassing the old record of 59 degrees set in 1968. Not too shabby for January.

Vancouver is still running above average on rainfall, with 4.59 inches for the month. With the dry spell upon us, we will probably slip below average by the end of the week.

Looking back at the past several Februarys, as we shift to a cooler pattern next week, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get some snow here in the lowest elevations. We will for sure in our foothills. Even the coast has had several bouts of snow over the last few Februarys.

On this date in 2012, the Mount Hood area received 115 inches of snow in just eight days. Even the foothills had a bunch; snow could be seen on Silver Star to our east well into May. So, it can happen. Maybe next week?

Enjoy the dry weather this week, and hope that we stay at least partly sunny during the daytime hours. Get outdoor chores accomplished, or go for some long walks. Next week, we may be back on snow watch. Take care until Tuesday.