Weather Eye: Did you wake up to frost on pumpkins – or tomatoes?

We finally had frost on the pumpkin for the first time this fall or as many of you informed me, frost on the tomatoes. Low temperatures the past couple of days ranged from 28 to 32 degrees in the outlying regions of Clark County. Others closer to downtown Vancouver escaped the wrath of Jack Frost. Officially Vancouver recorded 38 degrees Wednesday, 36 degrees Thursday and 39 degrees Friday. The first freeze of the season in downtown Vancouver will come in November.

No more freezing temperatures are forecast as we enter a rather active weather pattern with plenty of clouds and rain off and on. Mountain snows will begin late in the weekend, lingering next week. Could this be the start of the building of the snowpack? If so, it would be early as it doesn’t usually begin until late November.

The North Cascades are expected to get a couple of feet of snow during the next week or so. Our local mountains will see significant snow especially above 5,000 feet. One could still see the recent snowfall Friday afternoon on Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens. What a refreshing sight — it brought a chill to my body as I stood outside in the brisk east winds and took in the landscape.

Expect rain showers today and heavier steady rain late today into Sunday. We could receive 1 inch of rain by Monday. Maybe scattered thunderstorms on Sunday and Monday with hail as the atmosphere cools. Good thing as of Friday we are running an inch and a half below average. Will we catch up?

I was asked what’s in store for Halloween and if I have to project a forecast, I will say a good chance of cool rain showers and breezy conditions. With the rain and southerly breezes this weekend it will certainly take its toll on the remaining leaves in the trees.

Our normal high temperature for today is 60 degrees and drops to 59 degrees on Sunday. Highs Sunday into next week will be near or below average. With daylight saving time ending a week from Sunday we will see skies darkening quite early, especially if laden with clouds. Winter is approaching quickly.

Here are a couple bites of weather lore. “Rain in October means wind in December” and “When birds and badgers are fat in October, expect a cold winter.”