Drier Period

The twelve month of 2022 has arrived.  Many activities & travel plans are set up for the holiday month.  We’ll keep you posted on any major wx episodes that may have significant impact.  Simply keep that morn’n beverage Mug ready.

Our current PNW chilly pattern will remain in place, with western valleys slowly warming up over the weekend to limit any snow threat.  Still, there is enough cold air being drawn in from the east through the Fraser & Columbia ‘Gaps’ to allow for snow showers whenever moisture arrives.  Such is the case over western WA this Fri morning.  The Low offshore will move south today & Sat, holding the bulk of the precip to the west.  A STRONG east wind will develop out of the Columbia River Gorge (and to a lesser extent, the Fraser River Gap), esp on Saturday.  It will ease up by Sunday night.  Snow showers over eastern OR on Sunday.  Overall, the weekend will remain DRY, chilly.

Next week is trending mostly DRY, with the east wind situation returning by late Thu Dec 8th, as another Low tracks south off the coast of WA & OR, bringing more rain to California.  The weekend of Dec 10,11 should be dry and, yes, December chilly.  

The prevailing model solution for the week of Dec 12-16 is for a return to the threat for very low elevation snowfall and bundle-up chilly conditions.  A repeat, if you will, of the past few days.  We’ll keep an eye on this.  Usually, it means snow in the foothills about town and tough travel going over the coast & Cascade ranges.   Expect it to be a wet week.

One aspect our team here is monitoring closely is the shift of a northern Siberian High into position as a precursor for a cold winter Christmas period in the PNW.  Not a forecast, just a ponder point for while we sip a morn’n bev.