We have had a long stretch of really calm weather, and looking ahead it seems clear this calm weather is here to stay for about 6 more days. Check this 24 hour precip chart for Salem.

By the time 3PM rolled around most of the Willamette Valley was in the sun. This satellite image shows fog hanging out south of about Albany with sun to the north.

The bottom line is we should continue to see either sun or fog now through next Thursday. It’s tough this time of year because it’s still winter time and the sun angel simply isn’t high or strong enough to break up the fog unless we get help from the wind – like we did today. This makes forecasting the high temps difficult as a foggy day could very easily stay in the 30s; however, the days we manage to breakout of the fog (like today) have the chance to reach the lower 50s. Excellent weather along the coast for the most part during this time as well.

Fairly strong signals we will move back into a much cooler/colder weather pattern by the time we enter February. Way too far out to mention much about snow, but I’ll be watching things closely. Just something to keep in the back of our minds as we close out the month….

Okay, take care and have a great rest of your weekend!

Seems like the weather has gone postal. Salem is experiencing it’s wettest day in years, possibly decades??? Hard to know as we still have 6 more hours to go before the day ends. As of 6PM the airport had recorded 2.27″ of rain!! Fortunately the snow levels were low or else flooding could have been much worse. Even so, I see many of the local rivers including the Mary’s River, Pudding, River, and Luckiamute River are all rising quickly today. The Willamette here in Salem is also forecast to top out a good 10 feet higher than it is right now by the time Friday rolls around. I could see the road from the Independence bridge closing for a couple of days if the water gets high enough. And then there was the wind. A number of power outages were reported last night with the gusty winds. Gusts reached 45 to almost 50mph in some locations.

Meanwhile I-84 through the gorge has been closed since last night due to heavy snow and freezing rain. Some locations out near Hood River and Cascade Locks have picked up close to 2 feet of snow!! Highway 20 (Santiam Pass) is also closed due to heavy snow. In fact at this point it would be wise to check your route before going anywhere far as we have cool air moving in tonight causing snow levels to drop back down close to the valley floor again…

Anyone could see a slushy inch or two of snow tonight with the heavier showers. I’m not expecting it for most of us, but know it’s a possibility.

We for sure switch to regular rain by tomorrow mid morning at the latest. More rain Tuesday, showers on Wednesday, and another powerful and very moist storm moves in for Thursday and Friday. By the time we reach Sunday we could be looking at a grand total of 5+ inches of rain for the week (counting today’s total)! I hope you all own boats….

Stay safe out there! You just endured one of the darkest days we have had this winter. Very minimal sunlight this time of year anyway. Add in heavy rain most of the day, and it’s no wonder there was not much sunlight making it through the clouds, so treat yourself to something nice tonight haha, you made it!

There is a lot to cover tonight. I’ll start with the highlights and details for the Salem area.

Highlights and details for Salem

1.) Winds will become increasingly strong Sunday afternoon ahead of a potent cold front. Wind gusts of 35 to 45mph seem likely beginning around 2 or 3PM Sunday, and should last until just before sunrise Monday morning. Expect localized flooding again across the valley and the entire region for that matter. Flooding could be worse than what we saw in December with nearly 2 inches expected to fall with this storm here in Salem and up to 4 inches of rain (or melted snow) in the mountains. The heavy rain plus melting snow from the Coast Range will cause a sharp rise on area rivers and streams.

2.) Another half inch of rain falls on Tuesday along with more mountain snow.

3.) Wednesday should be fairly tame with a few sunbreaks and not much in the way of rain at all.

4.) Another wet storm system moves in Thursday and Friday bringing another inch plus of rain and more mountain snow.

The coast

High winds and powerful waves will create hazardous conditions for all communities along highway 101. Could be a great couples of days to storm watch as long as you are protected from the surf. Coastal flooding is likely Sunday afternoon through Monday. Waves will range from 30 to 40 feet!

The Coast Range

Heavy snow will fall Monday above about 1500′ The lower passes like highways 22 and 18 between Salem and the coast should see more in the way of heavy rain or a rain snow mix than accumulating snow (subject to change), but that’s not to say travel won’t be awful along those highways still. The higher elevations could end up with 8 to 12 inches of new snow. Snow will continue through Tuesday before warmer air moves Wednesday.

The Cascades

Heavy, heavy snow Sunday night through Tuesday with 30 to 40 inches of new snow falling during this time frame! Terrible driving conditions with gusty winds to boot. Not a good time for mountain travel at all. Below is a map showing total snowfall now through 4AM Tuesday morning. Keep in mind the snow continues up in the mountains for the remainder of Tuesday.

I’ll keep on eye out for any changes. As you can see from this map snow levels will be quite low over the next few days, so any changes in temps could lead to major changes in who does or doesn’t receive snowfall.

It’s just been one thing after another lately, and there is no sign of things slowing down yet…. Maybe some hope for dry weather next weekend and the week after, but let’s not get too excited as we have a busy week of crazy weather to get through first.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Phew! It’s been a busy week both in my personal life being Christmas time and all, and of course in the weather department too! First things first. There shouldn’t be any accumulating snow here in Salem that will effect travel or your life in any way. Portland and areas north of us could see some snow briefly before changing to rain, but this particular storm is mostly going to effect areas north of us. The Gorge and the Cascade passes will also be extremely snowy Thursday, so use caution if you’re heading those directions.

Okay, looking back over the past few days I’m happy with how the forecast panned out overall. As time went on it became clear that we weren’t going to be quite as cold as originally thought, but we still managed 4 days in a row with highs in the 30s with 1 or 2 more sub 40 degree days still to go this weekend before things “warm up.” Fairly impressive for our somewhat mild climate.

In regards to the snow I was very happy to see everyone in the mid Willamette Valley saw at least 3 or 4 inches of snow, and many of you saw even more than that. In fact I’ve heard reports from faithful viewers that a few (lucky) spots got close to 8 inches of snow. This map shows total snowfall in inches over the past 7 days.

You can see the swath of purple to the south and west of Salem indicating totals over 6 inches. Tons of snow up in the Coast and Cascade Ranges too! Remember when I posted this snowpack map from December 6th?

Very little snow to begin the month, but now look at where we are at as of the 29th….

Looking much better as most of the state now has an above normal snowpack!

Extended outlook

A very cold rain on Thursday with mountain snow.

Thursday night and Friday morning could be quite icy again with lows dropping below freezing as another weak push of cold air moves back into our area. Please lookout for black ice when traveling Friday morning.

Friday through Sunday look mostly dry (maybe a few showers), but basically dry and cool. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the 20s. Lots of sun and some really good weather for get togethers and new year plans.

I won’t even talk about next week yet, but look out for more updates as next week is looking stormy.

Take care!