Winter has arrived a bit earlier this year, as our meteorological winter usually begins on December 1. However, cold, dry air from Canada has settled in over the region and will allow us to bask in sunshine during the day and freeze at night.
Speaking of night, overnight lows early Wednesday were in the 20s in most of Clark County and officially 27 degrees at Pearson Field in Vancouver. I had 26 degrees in Salmon Creek and weather observer Phil Delany above Dole Valley had 22 degrees. Early morning lows today were expected to be in the lower 20s, with temperatures in the upper teens in the colder outlying areas. This will last into the weekend. Highs Wednesday were only in the mid-40s locally, upper 30s in northern Washington and barely cracked freezing in Eastern Washington in some locations. Brrr!
East winds will pick up in intensity as the inversion east of the mountains increases. That is — warmer air aloft and cold air in the lower 2,000 feet of the atmosphere.
So the outlook the next five days goes like this: East winds gusting 30-50 mph at the east end of the Columbia River Gorge near Troutdale and Corbett and 80 mph — maybe 100 mph — at Crown Point. I know die-hard weather geeks will be up there at Crown Point, where there will be a bitter-cold wind chill, this weekend.
