I mentioned earlier in the week to prepare for colder weather in case it does indeed materialize. Here we are on Thursday, and we are only hours away from receiving modified arctic air filtering in from the northeast but mainly through the Columbia River Gorge. Temperatures on Friday will be falling below freezing as the day wears on and that’s when things get interesting.
As I write this column late Wednesday afternoon, our forecast models agreed that it will get cold, no problem there. But two of the main models are at odds about the snow or ice. The one I usually follow keeps a Pacific weather system that approaches Friday heading south of Clark County and only flurries or light snow and then rapid clearing by Saturday.
The other main model has the storm heading toward the mouth of the Columbia and eastward, raising the potential for a half-foot or more of snow here at city levels. Combining that with strong east winds and temperatures in the 20s could create, for a while, near-blizzard conditions. My favorite snowstorm is when snow blows off the rooftops and down the street like grains of sand. Blizzard conditions in the Gorge for sure if heavy precipitation falls.
The National Weather Service on Wednesday afternoon issued a winter storm watch for the local area beginning Friday through Saturday. Please keep up with the latest forecasts and get your errands accomplished today. That entails removing hoses from faucets, covering them up and protecting any sensitive outdoor plants. A trip to the grocery store will be a must unless you stocked up earlier in the week. As the cold air gets entrenched, we will have subfreezing temperatures well into next week.
