Vancouver had light rain for about three hours in the early afternoon Monday, with rainfall amounts less than a tenth of an inch. That means we are still running way below average for the month so far.
A much more robust storm settles in today with moderate rainfall and strong southerly winds gusting to perhaps 40 or 45 mph. With plenty of leaves holding on tightly, I expect some broken branches and scattered power outages. Leaves that are barely hanging on will be littering the streets with their array of colors.
Blustery rain showers and maybe hail will linger into Wednesday. The coastal beaches could see thunderstorms and hail. Since we are in the autumn season, we always watch for possible severe weather along the coast when cold air aloft follows a weather front. It is the typical time of the year we see reports of waterspouts, tornadoes and funnel clouds.
The woolly bear caterpillars are slowly making their annual appearance. The key to the forecast is the number of orange bands in the middle of the caterpillar. The woolly bear is black on the ends and orange in the middle. That is the kind we use. Forget the all-orange, black or white ones if you go searching.
