One week into the month and we are still shivering under a persistent cold air mass. Did you get a hailstorm at your house Monday? There were plenty around for sure and a few folks mentioned they observed a rainbow, which is befitting for early spring. Foothill locations received a few wet snow showers as the freezing level began its ever so slow vertical climb.
Is that good news heading our way? I think so but today through Thursday it will remain below normal temperature-wise and any clearing at night could make for frosty conditions. We continue to bundle up. Even though I wasn’t dashing through frequent downpours Monday, that brisk wind had a bite to it. My winter jacket remains a mainstay.
We have a most interesting scenario that will occur later this week. Currently we still have a cold upper low spinning around about 100 miles off the mouth of the Columbia. This unusual event has been with us since last week. It appears this may back off the coast a little temporarily, reducing shower activity.
Farther out to sea, satellite pictures show a large plume of mild and wet air heading toward the West Coast. How this interacts with the upper low remains in question. Most likely an atmospheric river or as most are familiar, a pineapple express, heads toward Southern Oregon and Northern California. It wouldn’t take much to have it shift northward impacting us big time.
