Weather Eye: Unsettled weather continues for the next seven days

We certainly experienced what happens this time of the year when the wind goes calm overnight with clear skies. Fog. It took quite a while Wednesday to break up, generally after the lunch hour. Coupled with a stagnant air mass and a low sun angle, our high struggled to reach 54 degrees, about two degrees below average.

One thing that is above average is our monthly rainfall. Looking in the rain gauge for Vancouver on Wednesday, I see 3.75 inches total so far this month. That is nearly 2.5 inches above average. We deserve a few dry days.

Unfortunately, an unsettled weather pattern will provide us with periods of light rain or showers but also a few breaks in rainfall as well for the next seven days. Rainfall amounts will be tame compared to the past several storms. Maybe a half-inch or so between now and Sunday night.

Snow levels will be above the passes for the most part so a lackluster outlook for building the slopes for Thanksgiving skiing. With no overnight lows in the 30s so far this month, our average mean temperature is running 5.5 degrees above normal. I see no heavy rains, windstorms or lowland snow for at least the next seven to ten days.

OK, how about the woolly bears? Where have they gone? In the 50 years or so that I have been chasing these critters around every autumn, I haven’t seen such a lack of their appearance. Unusual. Many readers that share their observations each year with us mentioned that also. Some folks didn’t even find one.

However, the average of all that I found and the ones you  sent pictures to me, brings me to at least a conclusion. Far from scientific of course, but they offer this prognosis. We get off to a colder than normal start through December, the first month of winter, and then a long stretch of mild weather lasting into early spring.

The overall winter temperatures will be milder than normal.

Makes me wonder why so few are out there, perhaps headed south for the winter or burrowed deep in the ground to hibernate? Could this mean we have a few surprises in this El Nino winter? An arctic blast? Only nature knows.

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. ptimmwriter@gmail.com