Weather Eye: Spring is here, celebrate with a couple days of sunny weather

A vigorous but short-lived cold front rushed through Clark County about 3 p.m. Wednesday with a downpour and even some ice pellets mixed in. Fortunately the rain didn’t last too long, as it was falling at the rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour.

Mild air ahead of the front kept us in the 50s cooling into the 40s after the front, with its brisk west to northwest winds. A quick shot of snow in the Cascades, maybe a couple of inches, was expected but things will be drying out nicely today.

Friday through Sunday look quite pleasant for the first few days of spring with highs in the 60s and plenty of sunshine mingled with bouts of clouds. With clear skies Friday night there could be some frost early Saturday morning.

The beginning of spring officially is upon us today and memories of winter seem so long ago.

Next week is spring break for many students across the river in Oregon. They will get a nice start this weekend and Monday but things go downhill after that. It appears we may be in for a cool and wet period as we round out the end of the month. Too early to tell what the weather will be like for Clark County spring break, so stay tuned.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday my rain gauge shows 4.45 inches, way above average for the month. Seattle hadn’t quite reached 8 inches yet, standing at 7.71 inches. With 12 days left this month and more rain on the way next week they will certainly surpass 8 inches.

Enjoy the sun rays coming up and we will chat on a fair-weather Sunday!

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