Today was chilly! Cloudy, breezy, and cold. Temperatures at noon looked like this:

Brrrr! barely 50° in the middle of April! The next few days will continue to feature winter like conditions.

Details

Tonight through Wednesday morning

Steady rain increases tonight and lasts through much of the night. Nearly an inch just tonight! Winds will gust around 35mph and up to 40 in some spots as the cold front approaches. A windy night! Maybe a power outage or two as trees have regained much of their foliage.

Behind the cold front, temperatures drop dramatically. Probably 8 to 10 degrees within a few hours putting us into the low 40s or even upper 30s Wednesday morning. This next image for 6AM shows the snow level falling quite low behind the front. I’m willing to bet that Silver Creek Falls and locations in the foothills on the east side of the Willamette Valley (Mill City, Gates etc.) will see at least snow falling in the air, and perhaps a slushy coating during the early morning hours. The rest of us, just a cold rain.

Wednesday afternoon and evening

Plenty of moisture, sunbreaks, and cold air aloft will provide us with the right atmosphere for downpours, thundershowers, and showers with small hail. It will be an active afternoon around here with the weather changing frequently throughout the day. Temps ranging from the mid 50s under the warm April sunbreaks down to the lower 40s under the heavy showers of rain, hail, and graupel.

This image for 7pm shows lots of heavy showers roaming around the mid valley, and gives us a decent idea of what the afternoon and evening will look like. It also shows large gaps between the showers indicating nice sunbreaks at times. Again, plan on rapid changes throughout the day.

Wednesday night

A late season frost is expected Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Lows will range from 32 to 37 degrees depending on your location. Be sure to protect your sensitive plants from the frosty/freezing temperatures. I know I’ll be covering a few things up that night.

Thursday

Numerous sunbreaks, but a few showers and downpours are still likely, especially during the afternoon. High of 57°. Plan on another frosty night Thursday night.

Friday

Morning fog and spots of frost. Afternoon sunshine will warm us up to the low 60s.

Saturday

A dry morning is possible, but showers and rain increase as the day goes on. Highs reaching the low 60s.

Sunday and Monday

Showers. Highs in the lower 60s.

The Cascades

Lots of snow up in the Cascades. 14 to 24 inches with more falling the higher up in elevation you go. Not good weather for hikes or early season fishing trips to the Cascade lakes. Be prepared for snowy passes tonight through Thursday morning. Temperatures will be in the 20s at night and low 30s during the day. Snow level near a 1000 feet early Wednesday morning, but climbing to 2000 feet during the day.

Lots going on. Enjoy the wintry weather the best you can, and have an excellent and safe Wednesday!!

New post tonight highlighting what looks to be a decent chance for late day thunderstorms Friday. Here’s the basics with details below.

Highlights

Friday: Warm and sunny start. Increasing clouds during the later afternoon. Decent chance for thunderstorms from roughly 4 to 8pm. High of 73° before cooling down with the late day showers/storms. Some storms could be strong with heavy rain, gusty winds, and frequent lightning.

Saturday: Showers and thundershowers. Sunbreaks at times. High of 67°.

Sunday: Scattered showers, but a few sunbreaks at times. High of 63°.

Monday: Partly cloudy. An isolated shower, but mostly dry. High of 58°.

Tuesday: Increasing clouds with showers and rain arriving late in the afternoon and lasting through the evening. High of 57°.

Wednesday: Showers decreasing throughout the day with frequent rain showers in the morning, mostly dry during the afternoon, and totally dry by evening. High of only 56°.

Thursday: Dry and mostly sunny. High near 60°.

Details

We have a pretty good setup to see thunderstorms right here in the Willamette Valley. This pattern doesn’t happen too often, but when it does, it can send storms up from the south/southeast, and that’s exactly what I’m expecting tomorrow.

Tonight through early Friday morning

Lots of clouds move in overnight as the energy from dying storms moves northward over us. Happening right now actually as I type this up. As a result, very warm temperatures (for April) will persist during the overnight hours. Some rain or a few sprinkles are possible, but honestly, I don’t expect much. The main impact will be the very mild nighttime temps. Here’s where we were at as of 7PM.

Friday afternoon and evening

After a warm start to the day, the action really starts to pick up late in the afternoon through the early evening hours. This is important and will likely effect any late afternoon or evening plans you have. Several models are showing nearly an inch of rain falling in just a few hours between 4 and 8pm Friday. This heavy rain could also be accompanied by gusty winds and frequent lightning strikes. This could be a hazardous time to be outside. Here’s another model showing what the radar might look like around 6pm tomorrow.

I see very heavy rain showers and storms rolling right up the Willamette Valley, so take note, and just be prepared if you have to be outside or traveling during this timeframe.

Saturday and Sunday

Both days look wet, but not a complete washout. There’s a decent chance we see a few dry hours in the middle of both days before more bands of rain move through. In a nutshell: plan on the weekend being wet, but know that there will be sizable breaks between showers. I plan/hope to get some yardwork done during those breaks.

Next week

Monday, and Tuesday morning should be mostly dry. The wettest time now appears to take place late Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning. Thursday now looks dry. Seasonable temperatures.

Have a great and safe Friday!

Well, our luck with nice, dry weekends was bound to end eventually, and apparently this weekend is going to be that time. We have a few more mainly dry, albeit partly cloudy days ahead with mild afternoons. Showers return Friday evening with wet weather dominating both Saturday and Sunday.

• WED & THU: Dry. Highs in the low 70s.
• FRI: Mostly dry, but chance of a late day shower/thunderstorm. High near 70°.
• SAT & SUN: Wet. Highs in the upper 50s to near 60°.

Details

Here’s the big picture for this weekend. Western Oregon will be under the influence of a cutoff upper level low Friday through Sunday. At first we will be under a southerly flow as depicted here. This type of flow is how we get thunderstorms in the Willamette Valley during spring and summertime. Note the flow up at around 18,000 feet heading into Oregon from the south Saturday morning.

Friday

Partly cloudy skies will turn mostly cloudy in the late afternoon and early evening hours as a few showers and maybe even a thunderstorm roll in from the south. This map is for 2pm Friday.

Saturday

By Saturday evening, it’s raining pretty good across most of western Oregon with snow in the Cascades.

Sunday

Wet weather continues for Sunday. This is for 5pm Sunday, and it shows a lot of steady rain falling from the B.C. border down through the entire Willamette Valley. High around 58°.

We are still several days away, and while some details may change, it’s becoming clear this coming weekend is going to be a wet one. Not just a quick shower, but probably over an inch of rain between the two days! Yes, a spring soaker is on the way!

Next week looks wet at times too. Monday and Tuesday will probably be dry, but as of right now, it looks like another very wet system arrives Wednesday the 15th and could last through next Thursday bringing rain to the middle of our work week.

We need the rain though, and this is good news. Yes, it’s a real bummer for baseball games and track and field, but it’s needed. With virtually no snowpack to speak of, it’s wet systems like these that could save us from a drought disaster this summer. We can’t fix the snowpack at this point, far too late for that, but we can keep the ground water filled up, the streams and rivers running at normal levels, and our forests well watered.

That’s it for tonight. Stay safe and have a wonderful rest of your week!

Highlights

Very wet weather is arriving now, and rain will fall the majority of the time through Saturday morning.

Some minor flooding is expected, but nothing close to the extent we saw back in December.

Steady rain will keep temps stuck in the mid 40s to low 50s. I don’t see us warming up above 55 degrees until Monday afternoon. It’s going to be a chilly several days!

Details

The heaviest periods of rain for the Salem and the mid valley area:

1.) Wednesday afternoon through Thursday evening.

2.) Friday night through early Saturday morning before drying out Saturday afternoon.

Additional rainstorm details

Keep in mind that the time frames mentioned above are the heaviest periods of rain. Rain is likely at any point now through early afternoon Saturday. Take a look at the estimated precip totals through Saturday. Over 3 inches for Salem, but “only” one inch down in Eugene. Portland is looking at over 4 inches of rain.

Some localized areas of flooding in the usual flood prone locations is possible. No major flooding is expected at this time here in the mid Willamette Valley, but pay attention to any new warnings or updates. This much rain in just a few days can cause problems.

Cascades

The snow level is low right now, and heavy snow has begun to fall in the Cascades.

Heavy snow continues through mid day Wednesday. A warm front causes the snow level to rise above pass level for Hoodoo and Willamette Pass by noon Wednesday.

The following forecast is for the pass going to Hoodoo (highways 20 and 22). Mount Hood will likely stay colder for a longer period of time this week which means more snow and lower snow levels on Hood. On the flip side, Willamette Pass and points south will most likely stay either as rain, or mostly dry as the brunt of this storm focuses on northwest Oregon.

• Wed AM: Snowy
• Wed PM: Rainy
• Thu: Rain/snow mix. Snowy roads at times, but only near the top of the passes.
• Friday and Friday evening: Rainy
• Sat: Rain turning back into snow early. Dry evening.

That’s all for now. Plan on rain returning Sunday afternoon. Rainier the further north you go, so Portland can count on a rainy Sunday, Salem will likely see some rain, but Eugene and points south could see a dry Sunday. Something to keep in mind.

Have a safe rest of your week!

March has always been a battleground month. Just look at today. The first half of the day was so nice with ample sunshine and mild temperatures. At 3:30pm we were at 57°, but then clouds thickened up, winds shifted direction, and a few showers moved through. Temps are down to the mid 40s as of 10pm, and will continue to drop through the night. I’ve got a look at the week ahead, plus another update for the Cascades below that.

Details

Mon: Showers with sunbreaks. A few heavier showers possible including showers with small hail. Morning low of 37°, high of 49°.

Tue: Very similar to Monday, but slightly colder start to the day. Low of 34°, high of 47°.

Wed – Fri: Frequent periods of rain, and cloudy even when it’s not raining. This will be a gray and gloomy three day stretch. Steady rain and thick cloud cover will keep temps in the mid 40s at night and low 50s during the daytime hours. Terrible weather for outdoor sports, activities, practice, etc. The rain will have a sharp south to north gradient. Locations further north will see more rain this week whereas the south Willamette Valley may actually stay fairly dry.

The map below shows precip totals through 11AM Saturday morning. Eugene coming in with just under an inch of rain. Salem at 2.5″, and the Portland metro around 4+ inches!

Wet weather continues right on through the weekend. Saturday afternoon and evening could be mostly dry and even sunny, so not all hope is lost, but rain seems likely for Sunday.

The Cascades

The first half of the week looks great for the northern OR Cascades with low snow levels, and frequent snow showers adding up to 6 to 12 inches of snow through Wednesday morning. Plan on snowy roads through at least mid day Wed. The map below shows us 5AM early Wednesday (green is rain, blue snow, and the star is roughly our location in Salem) artistic, I know. 😉

But then the jet stream lifts north Wednesday afternoon and remains north through Friday night. Periods of light rain will fall at our ski resorts Thursday and Friday leaving the passes wet. Saturday could be rainy too, but there’s hope on some of the weather models that the cold air will push south again turning the precip back into snow up there just in time for the weekend. Hoodoo is back down to just 18″ at their base as of Sunday evening. My goal is to update you all midweek with better details concerning the weekend.

For now, have a safe and great week!

Highlights

We have a few days of wetter weather, lots of clouds, and then a return of much cooler weather next week. The weekend should be mostly, if not totally dry, but with plenty of clouds around. No early season tans just yet lol…

Details

Wednesday details

This estimated radar image depicts my thoughts pretty well. Scattered showers roaming around Wednesday afternoon with sunbreaks in between and plenty of mountain snow. This is for 3pm tomorrow. Remember, don’t focus on exact details, but look at the overall idea. 🙂

Cascades

Snowy roads most of the day Wednesday through Thursday morning. Thursday afternoon through Friday morning will be better with spots of slush, and Friday afternoon through Sunday should feature bare and or wet roads. 6 to 12 inches of new snow through Thursday night with most of that falling tonight and Wednesday. Hoodoo is down to 18 inches, but I’m pretty hopeful this will be enough to keep them open through the coming weekend.

Short and sweet tonight. Have a great rest of your week and stay safe out there! 🙂