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!