Weather Eye: Weather to remain cool, wet; ‘chunky rain’ is possible

“What a cold and rainy day where on earth is the sun hid away?”

— Natalie Merchant

I am sure many are asking that same question. Where on earth is the sun hid away? Believe me it is up there above the dark and gloomy clouds, basking in the heavens for those in sunny climates to enjoy. Meanwhile our weather forecast includes lots of cold rain showers mixed with snow at times, maybe a dusting here and there.

Our early spring weather is looking cool and damp, at least so far. Just to show you that colder air is heading our way, Saturday at 4 p.m. Vancouver had 46 degrees and light rain. Contrast that a hundred miles or so to our west, where the southern Washington Coast was 36 degrees with a mix of rain and snow.

Yep, lower snow levels today through early Monday, so don’t be surprised if you see wet snowflakes. A chunky rain, as we like to call it. Our friends in the Clark County foothills may have another coating of white on their doorsteps between now and Monday morning.

When will it ever end? We warm a bit midweek but forecast models show colder air quickly returning by the end of the week. So unsettled weather is on tap, to say the least. Snow levels do go up above the passes before dropping lower by the weekend.

As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said long ago, “The best thing we can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.” And rain it will.

Rainfall totals for February are coming in from our troop of weather watchers around the area and they are quite impressive for February. Of course we know it was a really wet month. Vancouver had over 10 inches of the wet stuff but some weather observers are reporting more than twice that amount. Stay tuned for that column.

Spring is getting ready to burst with bulbs budded and beginning to flower and tree buds just waiting for a warm, sunny day. When it happens it will be an explosion of spring in the air. Maybe some pollen, too. Chat with you on Tuesday!

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

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