Weather Eye: Autumn is on its way; expect chilly nights next week

It appears we are now well on our way into autumn weather as the storm-making ingredients are beginning to mix in the Gulf of Alaska. That doesn’t mean we can’t have any warm days in the 80s but right now for the next week or 10 days I don’t see that occurring.

The first day of autumn officially is next Sunday and our weather will behave like it well before we turn the calendar to Sept. 22. Saturday, we have a chance for a few light showers and maybe Sunday. Monday looks dry before clouds quickly increase on Tuesday. A fairly strong cold front will be upon us on Wednesday with a good soaking. That storm is coming straight down the British Columbia coast and if this were wintertime, I’d be talking about low-elevation snowfall. Instead, the Cascades will likely see some snow falling down to the timberline.

Rainfall amounts around the county really varied on Wednesday with Vancouver officially recording .24 of an inch. Other areas had half that amount while other locations had at least double that amount. It all depends on where you were at with those scattered heavy showers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to water the plants at my house.

Thanks to the hot temperatures earlier in the month, Vancouver is still 4 degrees above average for September. With below-normal temperatures heading our way that will get knocked down quickly.

Besides increasing chances of rain, our overnight lows will drop as well. Friday morning it was only 48 degrees here in Vancouver. Could you feel the chill? In between weather systems next week any clearing at night will lower overnight temperatures into the 30s in our colder locations. Harvest what you can from the garden this weekend.

If you need a dry day outside, Monday is the only day next week that I can guarantee some daylight hours of dryness. And speaking of daylight hours, boy it is getting darker earlier and earlier in the evening. Let’s face it, the seasons are changing,

Fall wears a colorful attire as it arrives, and the hillsides will soon be in a blaze of colors. Some foliage is already colorful mainly due to the excessive warm and dry conditions we had this summer.

Take good care and we’ll chat early next week.