Weather Eye: Welcome to spring, the season of fickle weather
By Patrick Timm
Published: March 21, 2021, 6:04am
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Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at ptimmwriter@gmail.com.
March madness is all I can say about our weather, and I’m not referring to the sports page. Yes, spring officially arrived Saturday in the early-morning hours, and today is the first full day of spring. I have warned you that March can be a fickle month, and it is not disappointing in that matter.
We had scattered showers Saturday, and some were on the heavy side. Downtown Vancouver had a heavy downpour around 4:30 p.m. Saturday. I had a few reports of hail and gusty winds. Despite those showers, March is still running 1.64 inches behind normal as of 5 p.m. Saturday. There was only three-quarters of an inch in the rain gage for the entire month.
Of course, lingering showers Saturday and more steady rain later today will help catch us up a bit. With cold air over us and more on the way, mountain snow will be moderate at times. The snow level will bounce around at times but generally remain between 2,500 and 3,500 feet.
The nasty weather we had Saturday made its first appearance at the ocean beaches Friday before arriving here.
There were a couple reports of waterspouts. A possible waterspout that moved inland as a small tornado after 8 p.m. Saturday damaged several homes just east of Ilwaco near the airstrip on Highway 101.
Heavy downpours with visibility that appeared like going through a car wash and gusty winds to 53 mph with scattered power outages were in the mix Friday along the Long Beach Peninsula. So, what else can we expect? This week’s weather will remain cooler than average and unsettled at times.
Tuesday may be a mostly sunny day. The timing of the rainy periods is always a challenge in spring. March rain has its own character and disposition. Let’s wear a smile while outside, and perhaps it will help calm the atmosphere down a bit.
This will be a warm-jacket-and-umbrella type of week. I don’t see our high temperature getting close to normal until Saturday. But with more showery weather, I don’t expect a string of frosty mornings like last week.
