Although temperatures Saturday afternoon were in the mid- to upper 40s, with even a 50-degree reading here and there, that strong east wind made it feel closer to the freezing mark.
Yes, it is December. At least the weather was dry and there was no snow or ice.
An upper-level low that dropped along our coastline Friday is moving across the Oregon and California border today. It will push some clouds and moisture northward toward the Columbia River with its wrap-around effects.
With cold and dry east winds out of the gorge, there was a possibility that we could see some light snow, flurries or a rain/snow mix today. Forecast models Saturday afternoon indicated some parts of Clark County could get upward of an inch of wet snow.
I wouldn’t expect too much of anything, as the east winds are quite dry and the energy of the low-pressure system over us will be rather weak. The clouds will, however, keep our high temperatures in the 30s. This isn’t a major snowstorm and may end up being pretty to look at but not a large inconvenience.
We’ll see how things develop this morning, but as any moisture falls, it will evaporate at first, cooling the air and dragging the snow level lower. We’ll be cooler at mid-day than in the morning hours as that occurs. Maybe one of those 33-degree snowfalls?
We tend to dry out Monday through Wednesday before another cold low drops down from the Gulf of Alaska. Snow levels will remain between 1,000 and 2,500 feet all of this week.
More good snow will fall in the mountains Thursday and Friday.
November was one of the cooler ones in the past 20 years, with an average temperature of 42 degrees, 4 degrees below normal. Thanks to a couple of moisture-laden storms, we almost managed to reach the average rainfall of 5.51 inches for the month. The final tally was 5.25 inches. Temperature extremes ranged from a balmy 59 degrees on Nov. 4 to a chilly 24 degrees on Nov. 19.
Keep an eye outside the window today and see if we receive any of winter’s offerings.
