Weather Eye: Be ready for below-freezing weather this week

Well, here we are flirting with snow once again this week, but as usual, the forecast is up in the air.

It would be nice for a change to have a slam dunk with exact knowledge several days out that we will have or not have snow cover on the ground.

For sure, another trough of low pressure from Alaska slides down the B.C. coastline and chills the air overhead, with rain off and on Monday and Tuesday, but as the colder air aloft filters in, we have a situation similar to the one we had on Valentine’s Day. To increase the snow odds, arctic air drops down east of the mountains, and we get a reinforcing shot of cold air via the easterly winds. Will there be any moisture left to interact with the freezing temperatures? That is the question.

I think it is going to be one of those night-before-the-event type of forecasts. Only then will we see what will happen. Even then, it may be hit and miss like last week.

Some forecast models indicate Thursday and Friday will have the coldest temperatures this winter. We’ll see; many outlying areas of the county have already dropped into the teens. Bottom line: Prepare for subfreezing weather and brisk wind chills this week.

Before we get too far along, let’s look at the rainfall from January: Bob Starr, Cougar, 13.05 inches; Jim Knoll, Five Corners, 5.01 inches; Robin Ruzek, Lakeshore, 3.91 inches; Chuck Houghten, Hockinson Heights, 6.04 inches; Tyler Mode, Battle Ground, 5.44 inches; Bob Mode, Minnehaha, 3.17 inches; Irv St. Germain, Prune Hill, 5.11 inches; Dick Lenahan, Meadow Glade, 4.26 inches; Ellen Smart, Ridgefield, 6.30 inches; and Dave Campbell, 1 mile west of Heisson, 6.39 inches. Our friend Roland Derksen in Vancouver, B.C., reported 7.03 inches.

The official rainfall for our Vancouver was 3.31 inches, 2.03 inches below the average of 5.34 inches.

Rainfall was less than average for all of the observers; for some, it was only half of what they measured for December. February continues the dry trend, with only 0.83 of an inch measured as of 5 p.m. Saturday for the month here in Vancouver. We are 2.5 inches below average.

Have a good week, and keep the winter jacket handy.