Weather Eye: What clogged bathtubs have to do with it

I had to chuckle while writing my column after reading the Portland National Weather Service forecast discussion.

It went like this: “A low is dropping south over the northern Rockies and dragging a very cold and dense air mass to the Intermountain west. This cold and dense air will begin to fill in the Columbian Basin similar to a clogged bathtub. The colder air will spill over the Cascade crest in the metro area through Friday at least.” I say, you gotta watch out for those clogged bathtubs.

This will do two things. Overnight and into this morning the easterly winds crank up with wind speeds in the 35 to 45 mph range, and at the west end I expect gusts to 50 mph or better. Next, the humidity drops between 5 and 20 percent. Overnight lows will be in the teens and 20s here in Clark County.

The strongest winds will be today and Wednesday with wind chills below freezing. If you live in an outlying area away from the Columbia River expect lows possibly dipping into the upper teens in the colder locations.

It will be a dry cold, as no rain or snow is expected all the way through Monday. The air mass today and Wednesday will have a chill in the air despite full sunshine. I expect highs today in Vancouver to remain in the 40s after a cold start.

If this was a couple of weeks into the season, we would be talking highs at freezing and lows of 15 to 20 degrees. It did manage to drop to 29 degrees in Vancouver early Monday.

As I write this column at 5 p.m. Monday, the arctic air has reached Eastern Washington, where snow and subfreezing temperatures were reported at Spokane. There could be record lows and also record-low high temperatures with this third taste of winter this fall season.

Tender outside plants will be toast, and the garden will wither and die. Remove hoses from hose bibs and winterize your house quickly. Although we moderate slowly by the end of the week, we could get a reinforcing shot of cold air over the weekend. Keep warm!