If you’re a thunderstorm enthusiast like me than you probably enjoyed our weather Wednesday.  Between about 4 and 5pm a strong storm moved almost directly over the Salem area bringing some locally heavy hail, very heavy rainfall, and several flashes of lightning.  Here are a couple of radar images showing both the heavy rain and the lightning strikes.

Today:  We have another very decent opportunity at seeing some heavy showers and thunderstorms.  Places that end up seeing the heavier showers will be at risk for localized flooding, so be prepared as you head out today and drive smart if you get caught in one of those big downpours.

Friday:  The vast majority of the day will be dry with just a few late day showers.  Once again, many of the showers will be heavy.

Saturday:  A nice dry & mild day.

Sunday:  I’m still leaning towards a dry and sunny day with rain holding off until at least 6 or 7pm (if not later).  Continue to watch for updates as this forecast will likely change again.

Monday – Wednesday:  Very wet.

Forecast highlights

If you are looking for a dry day (besides today) then Saturday and Sunday are your best bets.  Most of Friday should be dry as well with only a couple late day showers.

Details

Wednesday:  Wet with some heavy showers during the PM hours.

Thursday & Friday:  The majority of these days will be dry with lots of sunbreaks and only a few afternoon/evening showers each day.  Heavy showers with hail, and a rumble of thunder are also possible during the later afternoon hours.

Saturday:  Sunny and dry.  Some late day showers should pop up over both the Coast Range and the Cascade Range, but for now I’m thinking the valley locations will stay dry.

Sunday:  Notice the yellow shading for Sunday indicating lower confidence.  Most of Sunday should be sunny and mild; however if Monday’s storm moves in quicker than currently expected then Sunday’s dry weather could disappear.  I will have a better idea about this forecast in a day or two, so stay tuned.

I hope none of you are feeling short-changed by the lack of posts lately; although, one could say you’re getting what you paid for 😉   lol

Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed the outstanding weather lately as today is now the 4^th day in a row with highs in the 70s!  More typical spring weather is on the way with a mixed bag of both sunny days and showery/rainy days.

Details

I’ve got lower confidence in tomorrow’s forecast as we will be in a weird set up with showers coming in off of the Cascades (moving east to west) which is both very rare for our area and why I’m not sure how it will play out.  Bottom line is be prepared for showers tomorrow and you will be just fine.

Friday may initially start off dry, but don’t let it fool you.  Rain moves in around lunchtime and will last the rest of the day.

Tuesday could likely end up as mostly dry with just an isolated shower or two.

No more 70s for the foreseeable future.

No more frosts or freezes.  We are done with the cold weather which means it’s safe to begin planting if you have not done so already.

Very nice March weather with highs in the 60s and even low 70s will continue through much of next week with Monday and Tuesday being the warmest days.  I’ll try to get a more detailed forecast out later tonight or tomorrow.

For now just enjoy the warm weather!

After almost 5 weeks of colder than normal weather, hard freezes, and a number of little snow events, we are quickly making the transition into milder spring-like weather.  As of 2pm it was 55° in Salem!  This coming weekend will feature the warmest weather we have seen since October with highs in the 60s.  Spring is coming!

A few details

It’s possible both Thursday and Friday mornings start off frosty; however, once we get through this week I doubt we see any more frosty mornings until next fall – a sure sign that the seasons are changing.  🙂

Tuesday:  Lots of clouds, a few sunbreaks, showers, and even some hail is likely in a few places.

Wednesday:  Partly cloudy with a very slight chance of an afternoon shower; otherwise mostly dry.

Thursday – Saturday:  Cool mornings with lots of clouds around.  These days have the potential to be warmer, but for now it looks like cloudy skies will keep us in the 50s.

Sunday & Monday:  Warm & sunny March weather.

I know I’ve said this before, but I need to claim my victories and give myself a pat on the back when I can, because it doesn’t always work out this well lol. 😉   I’m very happy with how the forecast is turning out so far.  Very light (and spotty) sleet & ice early this morning transitioned to snow around 10am.  Since then we have had snow or a snow/rain mix falling nearly all day long with temperatures holding steady in the mid 30s.   

As of 5pm, Salem’s high temp was 37°.  I imagine we are done “warming up” for the day and we should gradually begin cooling back down from here on out setting the stage for the next (and perhaps better) opportunity for accumulating snow.

What’s next?

We get a bit of a break this evening with only a few scattered snow showers.  Tonight we eventually cool off to around 32 – 34°.  Around 4 – 7am a more organized batch of snow showers will roll through.  This could give anyone a quick inch or so of snow.  It all depends on where the heaviest showers end up, but don’t be surprised to see snow tomorrow morning.

During the day Thursday expect more rain & snow showers, but roads should be fine once again.

I don’t want to be known as a broken record, so I’ll just tell you that Thursday night and Friday’s weather will be a near perfect copy of the weather we see tonight and Thursday.  😉

Saturday – Monday will be dry and sunny.  Still chilly, especially in the mornings, but with how it’s been going lately I suppose we should take what we can get.  Lows 28 – 32° and highs 48 – 53°.