By Gordon McCraw, Meteorologist for the Tillamook County Pioneer
Another day, so another cold front pushes thru leaving post-frontal showers to move over the area. Luckily this front was not as cold as the previous ones so the snow level remained above 2000’. Winds today becoming westerly 8-12 gusting to 20, highs near 47. More showers tonight, winds westerly 10-15 gusting to 20, the lows down to near 36 and the snow level drops to near 1500’.
Tomorrow, Friday, we see a more zonal flow that will push in more scattered showers, winds becoming southwesterly 8-12, the afternoon high near 43. The shower chance remains tomorrow night as a low pressure area drops southward along the Washington coast that also gives us a slight chance of thunderstorms, breezy south winds 14-18 gusting to 25, the low near 35 so the snow level drops to near 1000’ after midnight. At that temperature it is possible that there is a rain/snow mix, or possibly all snow and graupel all the way to sea level, in the heavier showers as they move thru. As the surface is warm, no or only brief accumulation is likely.
Saturday morning the low settles off the Oregon coast, so we see that chance of showers persist, possibly some snow showers, until daytime heating pushes the temperatures and the snow level higher. There is also that slight chance of thunderstorms as the upper atmosphere remains unstable. Winds becoming southerly 10-15 gusting to 25, the high near 43. More rainshowers Saturday night, then a low level mix as the temperatures drop along with the snow level that night, then all snow as the early morning low temperature falls to near 31.
Sunday looks to be a repeat, scattered snow showers, then a mix until midmorning, the high near 44, continued showers Sunday night with low snow in the heavier showers likely, the lows near 34. The snow level up around 1000’.
With the strong jet stream lingering thru southern Oregon/northern California, the low, or lows, continue to spin off the Washington and Oregon coast which rotate the showers up across our area thru the first half of next week, so not a lot of change in the pattern just yet. This means Monday on we can expect continued mostly cloudy skies with a chance of showers, highs in the mid 40s and lows in the mid 30 with the snow level dropping to near 1000’ at night then climbing up near 1500 during the day, thru at least Wednesday. As has been the case lately, heavier showers can briefly drop some low level snow in the early morning hours when the temperatures are their lowest.
Some of the models are starting to hint of a ridge slowly building in toward the end of next week, fingers crossed!