Weather Eye: Expect fair skies, highs of 80-85 degrees all week

We have turned the corner from autumn rains to autumn sunshine, and plenty of it. We will have fair skies all week and highs between 80 and 85 degrees all week. As predicted, the east winds will begin Monday. That will help raise our high temperatures above normal, and if — and that is a big if — any smoke still lingers after all this rain in the wildfire areas, some could drift back down over Vancouver and vicinity.

Vancouver received 1.30 inches of rain this past week, which turned out to be the banana belt of sorts. Many reports from our local observers had that amount in only an hour or two last week. The foothills to our east received 3 to 5 inches of rain.

Much of the rain totals varied based on whether one of those scattered thunderstorms came by, or a heavy rain shower. Even the Portland airport had more rain than our official weather station at Pearson Field along Highway 14.

In Clark County, Tom Dixon in Amboy had 2.08 inches of rain on Wednesday alone. Murphy Dennis on Rawson Road had 3.66 inches of rain from our “mini rainy season” as of Wednesday and more the past couple of days.

The rain certainly doused the wildfires, although stumps and roots and underground, I expect, are still hot and smoldering. Probably all winter like the Eagle Creek Fire did in the Gorge in 2017.

The weather will be fantastic even at the coast with highs in the 70s and 80s as the east winds continue to the ocean. The Climate Prediction Center issued their three-month outlook for October through December, which calls for much warmer and drier conditions all along the West Coast with drought conditions persisting in many locations.

I had to chuckle in a kind way looking at their climate map. The warm and dry colors over us were nearly the same as those wide orange bands on the woolly bears. Hey, the woolly bears and the government are on the same page.

There you have it. An easy winter? Nah, never is — we always have a surprise or two. Stay tuned.