By Gordon McCraw, Meteorologist for the Tillamook County Pioneer
It looks like the active winter weather will continue the rest of the week. Today’s rain is from a warm front pushing across the area that will bring us some stronger southerly winds tonight 14-18 gusting to 30, the overnight low only down to near 47, the snow level rises to near 3000’.
We see more rain tomorrow, still with the breezy southerly winds 15-20 gusting to near 35, the high near 53, the snow level climbs to above 4000’. We have the associated cold front pushing in tomorrow night, the winds increasing to southwesterly 20-25 gusting to near 40, then the front passes and the temperatures and snow level starts dropping, the winds becoming westerly 14-18 gusting to 25, the low drops to near 38, the snow level falling to near 2000’.
We transition to showers again Thursday, and like the last system, with daytime heating, we have a slight chance of thunderstorms. The winds southwesterly 10-15 gusting to 25, the high temperature only up to near 47, the snow level falling to near 1700’ so in the heavier showers, the Hwy 6 summit could be seeing some snow again. Thursday night the showers or thunderstorms with possible hail continue, still breezy, and the overnight low drops to near 35. The snow level drops to near 1300’ which would possibly put several more inches of snow in the tops of the passes, and in any heavier showers in the early morning hours, a lower level mix is possible.
Friday, we see a large low pressure trough off the coast that will continue to give us showers with possible thunderstorms along with the persistent breezy winds. The snow level continues to fall, down to near 1000’, the high temperature only around 44. Friday night the low drops to near 33, and this could spell some low level snow with little to no accumulation. Obviously, the passes are looking at several inches of snow again.
Saturday looks to pretty much be a repeat, some scattered showers. The snow level starts out around 700’ then climbs to near 1100’ in the afternoon with the high near 45, then falls again Saturday night to 900’ with the low near 33, still the low level mix possible in the heavier showers, and more snow for the Coast Range.
Sunday the models get mixed on if and when the trough starts to move, but either way we likely see rain or rainshowers for Sunday and Monday with the highs climbing up to around 49 by Monday, the overnight lows in the mid 30s.
A couple of extras here, if you are planning to go across the Coast Range passes from tomorrow evening on through the rest of the week, I suggest you go prepared for wintery weather that makes travel difficult. With the snow and winds, down trees are possible also. Speaking of winds, the beaches could be seeing winds 25-30 gusting to near 50-55 Wednesday night. With these winds, power outages are again possible. And lastly, with all the snow and rain, the rivers will climb with increasing flow rates through the end of the week, but for now, it does not look like we will see any river flooding.
Be sure to check www.tripcheck.com.