“As baseball great Yogi Berra once said, ‘It ain’t over till it’s over.’ Even though I put the fork in winter a couple weeks ago, Old Man Winter is taking me to school.” Those were the words of KATU meteorologist Dave Salesky on Monday.
In my column Sunday it appeared Saturday afternoon forecast models were keeping snow accumulations light. But I did mention maybe a surprise late in the day. In these kinds of setups quite often we get the Clark County convergence zone, which I penned decades ago.
We have a low move through and wrap around moisture near the Columbia River, which sets up a deformation zone and stalls the movement of the precipitation, and hence Clark County scores the white stuff.
Even more surprising is Hazel Dell, Felida and Salmon Creek often get the most snow. Again, Sunday the east side of Vancouver had an inch or 2 and on the west side up to 3 inches. Of course, amounts varied.
So, the big question is “Snow or no show?” Today, another cold low drops down the British Columbia coast and snowflakes will be in the air. Yet another low comes in tonight and could set up for a good 2 to 4 inches over the county somewhere. Then again, we may only get a lighter amount. But we have today, tonight, Wednesday night and Thursday for another round of winter weather. This weekend forecast models show a stronger low and if things set up just right, more snow again. Old Man Winter is in control the next seven days here locally.
Meanwhile, clouds hung on Sunday night and kept temperatures from falling. Even so we only managed 40 degrees for a high temperature Monday, the same along the coastline. Chilly.
We now are setting a snow pattern on the eve and days of Christmas, Valentine’s and Presidents Day. I can only imagine what St. Patrick’s Day will bring (green snow? Ha-ha).
Who would have thought a couple weeks ago that we would have such a sudden change like this? We enjoyed so many balmy days and sunshine. Must be payback. Keep warm and safe and prepare for cold and possible snow all week. The forecast may and most likely will change quickly.
Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://patricktimm.com.
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