Those hoping for a white Christmas may have to settle for a frozen Friday. Cold weather moving into Southwest Washington late in the week will bring temperatures well below freezing and leave plenty of ice on roadways, according to the National Weather Service in Portland.
Meteorologist Clinton Rockey said a cold front from the north is expected to move into the region Wednesday, bringing with it some light rain.
The high temperature today in Vancouver will be in the low 40s with the low around 30 degrees.
Although a similar forecast is expected for much of the day Wednesday, that all changes late Wednesday night.
“Once it goes past us, that will begin to usher in colder air from the north. We will start to see temperatures falling on Wednesday — down into the teens Wednesday night with brisk east winds developing,” Rockey said.
On Thursday, Rockey said to expect “freezy” — breezy and frigid — weather in the morning with temperatures in the mid-teens but dry. Late in the afternoon, a warmer front moving in from the west should move over the lingering cold front in the lowland areas.
“When the moisture arrives, it’s going to be supporting snow falling out of the sky Thursday night. It’s too early (to predict) accumulations yet but probably anywhere from a dusting to an inch or two is likely across the region,” Rockey said.
Late Thursday night and into Friday, precipitation falling from the warm front will pass through the cold air trapped below and turn to freezing rain.
“That warm layer above is going to get thicker and thicker, and as it does, the snowflakes that are falling are going to turn to rain. However, we’ve still got the cold layer down by the ground. With temperatures around 20 degrees down there, as that rain falls through the layer, it’s going to freeze on anything it touches,” Rockey said. “That’s why we’ve got freezing rain Thursday night and probably most of the day Friday.”
Freezing rain will make for difficult driving but not just in the metro area. Rockey said coastal areas will also see pockets of freezing rain. People living in the western Columbia River Gorge should expect greater snow accumulations, around 5 to 10 inches, with heavy winds gusting up to 50 mph or higher.
“If you’ve got plans for Thursday night or Friday, think about getting those errands done on Wednesday if you can,” Rockey said. “If you’ve got travel plans through the Gorge or even north toward Seattle, it will be worse so think about having alternate plans or backup plans just in case.”
Conditions are expected to improve over the weekend, though, as the warm air settles in and pushes the cold air out. By Saturday afternoon, temperatures should be back up to the low 40s with the low in the high 30s Saturday night.
