Weather Eye: 80-degree days arrive early; dry weather to continue

We finally reached our first 80-degree day on Thursday followed by a 79-degree high on Friday. Saturday afternoon temperatures in our local area were already into the low 80s. We will have our warmest day today with highs in the mid-80s.

Did you see how quickly those east-northeast winds came up shortly after noon Saturday? It was calm one moment at my house in Salmon Creek then bam, winds gusting to 25 mph.

Monday we cool down to 80 degrees or so and then in the 70s all week. Remember our average high should be in the mid-60s so this is a bonus! We could see some high clouds from a weather system over California but any showers or thunderstorms should remain well south of us at this point.

Plan on a dry week as high pressure holds off the coast. We may see a change by next weekend, but at this point, who cares? Well, I shouldn’t say that — after all, it will be Mother’s Day weekend, so sunshine would be appropriate.

The Hazel Dell Parade arrives on the following Saturday, May 18, and is recognized as a good weather day with hardly any rain or overcast skies in the past 30 years or so. This will be the 49th year the event has taken place. If I were a betting man I would place bets on fair weather that day.

Long-range climate forecasts are still calling for dry and warm weather this month and beyond. Not to say we won’t have a few bouts of clouds and rain, but the drier-than-normal pattern will continue. The Portland Rose Festival is coming up quickly; odds are better than 50-50 for that pesky low-pressure system to set up over the area as statistics well prove.

Enjoy your sunny Sunday!

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