Weather Eye: We might see some moisture from Japanese typhoon

Typhoon Roke hit Japan on Wednesday with winds of 100 mph and heavy rains, causing some casualties. This would be equal to a category 2 hurricane. Amazing how we hear about it now and perhaps we will hear about it again, as moisture entrenched in the jet stream may bring that very same moisture into British Columbia and maybe as far south as Clark County.

Too early to tell at the moment, but stay tuned as we could have a major pattern change as early as Sunday with clouds and rain. The heaviest rains would be into B.C. and the Olympic Peninsula at this point. This may be good timing, because work on updating the National Weather Service Doppler radar sites should be completed.

Meanwhile, the week has been very pleasant, some clouds on Wednesday but it still was warm, above seasonal normals with afternoon temperatures in the low 80s. Early-morning lows Monday and Tuesday dipped into the 40s around the county, and there was quite a chill in the air, really fall-like. I had an overnight low Tuesday morning of 44 degrees.

Once again I would like to remind any weather enthusiast out there that you are welcome to attend the Saturday meeting of the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society at Stark Street Pizza in Portland. It begins at noon for lunch pizza, and the meeting starts at 1 p.m.

In the rainfall department, Vancouver September rainfall stands at 0.28 of an inch, over one-half inch below average. So it has been a relatively dry month, but we shall see if we add to that by next week. The cooler temperatures the past week have lowered the average mean temperature down to 67.4 degrees, still about 2 degrees above average.

I mentioned the other day about the appearance of woolly bear caterpillars, and I had a few inquiries as to what to look for on these furry little critters. The old folklore says that the wider the middle orange band, the milder the winter weather will be. And, of course, a narrow band would indicate a cold winter. I consider four or fewer orange bands trending toward a cold winter, and five or more a mild winter, at least from my many years of seeking out these caterpillars. But then again, nothing scientific about this, but a good field project for the youngsters. Search on the Web for the woolly bears, and you can read all about it.

See you on Sunday.

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.