Our weather reminds me when my children were younger. While on a long trip (or even a short one to the beach), they would ask every now and again, “are we there yet?”
Well, if you’re wondering about your daydream with a week of sunny, warm weather in spring, “no, we are not there yet.”
I was heading to lunch in my car at about noon Wednesday, and the thermometer read 40 degrees while I driving through another downpour. We had similar weather in spring of 2011, and here we are again.
All of that cool, wet weather means there’s a lot of snow in the Cascade mountains. On Monday, when we had that rare, sunny day, one could easily view loads of snow in the Cascade foothills, too.
We should be enjoying high temperatures around 60 degrees — the statistical average — now. But in the late afternoon Wednesday, all we could boast was a chilly 48 degrees.
Another cool day is on tap for today, with scattered showers and maybe a stray thunderstorm, as well.
We expect getting back to “normal” temperatures — and maybe a few degrees more — during the weekend. Saturday appears the driest day of the two, with a chance of showers rolling in on Easter.
Next week, we will be on the warmer side of the jet stream, but a chance of showers is in the extended forecast.
The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting April through June to have below-average temperatures. Its researchers figure the rainfall will be a toss up. It all adds up to another challenging year for the gardeners and warm-weather crops for sure.
But even after the very slow start of summer weather in 2011, in August and September, there was a good bounty of local fruits and veggies at the Vancouver Farmers Market. We rarely have a green-tomato summer, but this past year, I’m sure there were a few. The early variety is the way to go, especially if we have a repeat of last year’s conditions.
I will share March rainfall records with you Sunday.
Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. http://weathersystems.com.
