Weather Eye: Break in weather over; October rain continues to add up

Monday was a welcome interlude to our wet weather regime with some blue sky and sunshine and mild temperatures well into the 60s. Today will be much different, with periods of moderate to heavy rain.

Rainfall reports from observers around the county that I have seen are very impressive so far this month. Phil Delany above Dole Valley had nearly 15 inches of rain this month as of Monday morning. Although rainfall amounts were generally less than an inch here in the city Sunday, weekend amounts in the Cascades were very impressive, ranging from 5-10 inches.

We have had more rain in the past couple of weeks than we have had in the past four or five months combined. Rainfall amounts total over five inches at Portland International Airport, making it the wettest October in 15 years. With a potent storm today and Wednesday we will be over six inches heading towards the seven-inch mark. I mention Portland airport because the weather station at Pearson Field had some technical problems earlier this month and some rainfall amounts are not available.

Looking at the webcams Monday all the snow is gone from Timberline and Mount Hood Meadows, only a small patch here and there from the 20 inches on the ground a few days ago. Timberline had nearly 10 inches of rain from Saturday morning to Monday morning.

Of course all of this is certainly nothing to write home about considering the massive storm on the East Coast. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our fellow Americans during this major weather event.

Looking ahead to Halloween, it looks damp for any outside activities in the evening; the steady rain may be over by then but showers will be around regardless. The next week or so could bring wet or dry and mild conditions with high freezing levels, so we wait a while for the snow to return to the mountains.

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at Weather Systems.