It’s always interesting to see things progressing in real time versus what is forecasted, and on a personal note it’s both exciting and really nice to see things working out at least close to what I had in mind lol. So far so good. Today will certainly be a wild day for some of you with gusty winds, hail, downpours of rain, plus tons of snow up in the mountains. Tonight temps cool off even more dropping the snow level close to the valley floor. Anyone could see snow tonight/Wednesday morning, but the larger and more significant chance for snow comes Wednesday night through Thursday morning. More on that later.

First let me show you a few images which will really help convey our weather for the next 3 days. This first image is for 4PM this afternoon. Basically what I see here are gusty winds as indicated by the tight isobar lines on the map, and it’s true, winds will be gusty today, especially higher up in foothills and mountains. Next, I see lots of blue in the Cascades which equals lots of snow up there, but I also see a skinny strip of blue in the Coast Range telling us the snow levels will indeed be very low.

Next is an image for 4AM Wednesday morning. This shows a bit of pink between the Coast Range and the Cascade Range which indicates even lower snow levels. This could easily be a 2 hour delay type of day as snow falls in the higher hills. This will be a showery setup, so even valley floor locations could see sticking snow in this scenario if a heavy shower were to pass over; however, the higher hills around town are definitely favored in this situation. Overall I expect nothing to an inch or so here in Salem, but probably little more than that.

At some point Wednesday evening a new low pressure system forms offshore. Very cold arctic air will be pulled from the north as well as from the east through the Columbia River Gorge. This sets us up nicely for widespread snow. By the time we reach Thursday morning (roughly 4AM), we are in well within a band of snow thanks to this perfect combo of cold arctic air from the northeast and moisture wrapping around a low pressure system. A storm like this could give anyone in the Willamette Valley several inches of snow. Trying to figure out where the heaviest bands of snow set up is tricky, but for the moment is seems like locations between Albany to Portland have a good shot at scoring some decent snowfall. Check out the image below showing this potential.

Lastly, here’s a quick glance at what temps were as of 7AM this morning across the region.

Have a safe and wonderful Tuesday! 🙂

I’ll have a nice more detailed update either tonight or early Tuesday morning. There is a LOT going on, and the next 3 days are going to be pretty wild by our mellow Oregon standards.

Tuesday

Salem area: Frequent showers/downpours with heavy rain, hail, and graupel (mix of snow and hail essentially) are all likely during the day Tuesday. Sunbreaks in between, and gusty winds 30 to 35mph at times. Some thunder is even possible. A wild day for sure!

The Coast Range: Snow levels will be low Tuesday – roughly 1000′, but lower at times which means Coast Range highways and roads will likely see heavy snow through the course of the day. The jet stream will be ripping Tuesday aiding orographic lift which always helps enhance precipitation in the mountains. 3 to 6 inches of snow on Tuesday in the Coast Range.

The Cascades: These mountains are going to get hit especially hard. High winds coupling with heavy snow all day long Tuesday will make for awful travel conditions. I highly recommend you do not travel this day if possible. Looking at 1 to 2 feet of new snow this day depending on elevation with wind gusts up to 45mph at times.

Wednesday and Thursday

Snow levels will lower to near the valley floor this day as onshore winds lighten up and colder air moves in. All this happening while snow showers move ashore. Anyone could see snow this day; however, accumulations will be spotty below 500 feet. I hold the chances for Salem seeing measurable/accumulation snow this day HIGHER than what we saw last week when we had our flirtation with snow. All day long snow and rain/snow mixed showers will fall with sunbreaks here and there in between.

Meanwhile it will be a second day of very snowy passes both in the Coast and Cascade Ranges. Another 4 to 8 inches in the Coast Range, and another foot or more in the Cascades.

At some point Wednesday evening, we switch to an even colder northeasterly wind which will transport frigid air from the north into our region. A new low pressure system forms somewhere just offshore along the edge of this arctic boundary setting the stage for widespread and heavier snow here in the Willamette Valley.

Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning anyone in the Salem area could pick up a few inches of new snow with this storm as it slides south. Seems like Thursday could end up being a rare snow day around here, but again, timing and the exact location of this low will determine how much snow falls and where it falls, so stay tuned for those updates.

Phew! It’s going to be a wild few days, so get ready!

Lots of talk about next week’s cold and snow, and for good reason. Right now it appears we will see the coldest temperatures we have seen since December, and this time chances for snow are looking better and better. That’s next week though, and plenty of time for things to change in any direction.

In the meantime, I wanted to give the “all clear” signal for this extended weekend – well extended for some. Nothing is really happening now through Monday. Nights and mornings will be cold, days will be chilly, but dry and with sunbreaks each day.

Travel to the coast. over the Cascades, and in central Oregon looks good as well. 🙂

Monday night and Tuesday will be windy and rainy with heavy mountain snow. A terrible period of time for travel, so be home by Monday evening if possible. I’ll have an update this weekend with cold and snow details, but for now it’s still too early to try and pin down specifics. Just keep in mind that we are going to be much colder next week and snow is also looking increasingly likely for much of the valley and even the coast…

Take care and stay safe! 🙂

Good morning! We have a wild 24 hours of weather in store. Here’s my latest thoughts and your extended forecast.

Expect a wide range of showers and downpours today with hail, rain, and graupel (mix of snow and hail) falling at any point with sunbreaks in between.

More cold air moves in tonight while a batch of organized showers moves through giving us a chance for a couple inches of snow. More on this in an update tonight, but plan on Tuesday morning’s commute being potentially snowy for a number of areas around here.

We dry up and “warm” up Tuesday afternoon into the low 40s which means afternoon and evening plans should be mostly good to go.

Very cold night Tuesday night and dry for the rest of the week.

The Cascades will see a foot of new snow or more in some spots through Tuesday morning, and snow will also begin to cover the Coast Range this evening, so keep in mind if you are needing to travel through these regions.

Okay, happy Monday everyone!!! 🙂

Happy Friday to you all. 🙂 It’s been several days since I first mentioned the possibility of colder weather coming, and colder weather is definitely still on track to move in this weekend; however, it’s looking like it will be a quick hitting blast with minimal impact on your daily life. Details below:

Today: A lot of clouds around with a few isolated showers, but still mostly dry.

Saturday: Showers increasing during the afternoon and evening hours. Winds will eventually switch to the north bringing in colder air. Sadly (for all of you snow people out there – myself included), it is currently looking like we dry out pretty quickly once the cold air begins to move in. Honestly I don’t expect more than a few flurries.

Sunday: Some roads could be icy Sunday morning, but even this day should go on as normal.

Monday and Tuesday: Cold, but dry. Overnight lows will dip into the lower 20s (upper teens even in some areas). Highs in the upper 30s to around 40°. Lots of sun at least 🙂

Basically nothing super wild. Colder for sure, but for the moment it looks like it won’t be effecting our daily lives all that much unless your plans take you into the mountains where 5 to 10 inches of snow will fall over the weekend.

Take care and look out for more updates should anything change. 🙂