Here’s the latest forecast for the next couple of weeks.

 

WIND will still be possible later tonight.  Models have struggled more than political parties to work things out, so there is a huge variance in the outlook for the next storm.  We will call for the potential of 30-40 mph gusts in areas of the Willamette Valley overnight, maybe a bit stronger, depending on how deep the Low develops as it crosses the 130W line.  Part of the modeling problem is, to keep it simple, a ‘double Low’ structure that is setting up west of the coast.  The northern Low will be very deep (maybe <970 mb) as it moves north of Vancouver Island around midnight (STRONG WIND); the southern Low - the one that will set up winds for OR - will not deepen as much.  Combined, the Lows will generate winds across a large area of the PNW.  A good amount of rain will accompany the storm.  Blustery showers later Tue.

 

The next system is due in sometime late Wed.  Not as strong, but sourced with plenty of moisture at the mid-level, so rain will be steady and moderate into Fri., with the bulk of the rain over SW WA & NW OR.  The weekend is trending mixed, with possible showers, mainly north of Portland on Sunday.  Another cold front is charting for next Monday evening, Nov 15, hitting NW WA the most.  Plenty of rain & lowering snow levels - esp over NW WA Tuesday night.  Breezy.  Drying out Wed, with cold air aloft, so FROST possible Thu morning, Nov 18.   By Friday Nov 19, chilly rain & windy conditions are possible.  However, some model solutions keep in dry heading into the weekend of Nov 20,21.  

 

Thanksgiving Week: early to peg down just yet, but the trend is for the week to start out rather pleasant for Nov, with some foggy bottoms and sunshine.  (That said, rain could hit in a band across northern Vancouver Island into BC, missing most of NW WA, south.)  By Wed, however, a storm is charting to arrive, bringing back rainfall for our region.  Again, too soon to be confident of the holiday week weather.  Traditional, it’s wet on Thanksgiving.  We’ll see.

 

 

 

It was back in November of 1994 that we started The Weather Café®️.   Over 2,800 forecasts have been produced these past 27 years.  There is no claim of special ability to ‘beat the odds’ and always be right; rather, we simply discuss what may happen weather-wise, providing the reader time to prepare for big weather events, just in case model projections are correct.   Thousands have benefited from this free community service over the decades.  You’ve told us so.  There, the horn has been blown, now back to the forecast.  Mug refilled?

 

A normal November stormy pattern will continue for the PNW over the next several days.   Rain & showers on tap for the weekend, with breezy conditions, at times.  By Sunday, the air aloft will be the coldest of the season.  Such an unstable atmosphere can set off thunderstorms, small hail and wind gusts.  Stay alert, if outside this weekend. 

 

There is the potential for a MAJOR WIND EVENT come late Monday, early Tue next week.  A Low may form SW of OR and rapidly deepen before it crosses the 130W line (discussed in an earlier update).  If this system does, indeed, develop, as a few solutions suggest, it could produce powerful WINDS, esp over western OR.  Maybe exceeding the 50 mph of our last blast in the Willamette Valley.  The precise track of big wind producing storms is key, as you know.  Right now, models indicating this Low (some do not), track it as a tightly packed storm - center pressure of 976-982 mb - turning N inside the 130W line and coming onshore between northern CA (no big wind in OR, bad in northern CA) and Vancouver Island (big wind in OR and/or SW WA) overnight Mon Nov 8.  Heed Nat’l Wx Service statements, should they be posted over the weekend.  Moderate-to-heavy rain from northern CA to Vancouver Island.  Patron, be prepared.

 

A second wind producer, but not quite as powerful, is modeled for Wed morning, Nov 10.  This one charts ‘landfall' over southern Vancouver Island.  Definitely windy & quite WET into Wed night.  Veteran’s Day (Thu) could bring on a short rain break before another long-stretch of rain moves into NW WA.  Southwest WA, OR & ID may miss out on the rainy part, staying dry (foggy, in places) through the weekend of Nov 13,14.  

 

The week of Nov 15 still looks very wet, blustery early on, then turning drier & colder.  Before more rain, wind & below-mountain-pass snow return the weekend before Thanksgiving.

 

 

 

We start the roll down hill to end 2021, as the last 2 months of a year ALWAYS seem to fly by fast with holiday speed.  We have lots of weather action on the way.  Here is the latest prognostication.

 

Not much change from our last forecast.  The short break in rain ended this morning, from the south-to-north, as a weak front moves in from the SW.  Not a bad day, overall.  Next system due in late tomorrow.  First to get in on the rain will be Vancouver Is & NW WA, then the "long-front" will bring rain to most of the west coast, Bay area north, late Wed.  It will turn quite WINDY Thu.  Back-to-back WINDY systems will be moving into the PNW, so expect wet, blustery conditions to remain in play on through Sat.  Sunday could be the driest day of the next several.  Not as warm as we hoped, in fact, the cold air on the back side of Saturday's disturbance could drop snow levels to the lowest elevations yet this fall.  Patrons in the northern Puget Sound may see snow/rain mixed.  Just say’n.

 

The week of Nov 8 - 12 has continued to chart as wet & chilly, with periods of wind.  Late week looks rather cold, with a repeat of Saturday’s low snow levels, even south into OR.  Also, CA will likely get more rain late that week, as well.  Ah, November.

 

The second weekend of November continues to trend on the blustery WET side, with chilly temps.  There have been a few outlier model runs pushing most of the precip well north of OR, maybe even keeping all of WA dry, except north of Everett.  Accuracy is crazy bad that far out, but we always present the possibilities for your morn’n beverage enjoyment.  

 

Overall, decent amount of rain and mountain snow is on the way for November.  Normal.

 

 

 

The 6-7 day extended break from precipitation that we mentioned in our last write-up got spooked and left the model solutions.  Mug up.  Let’s see what the newest outlook is for early November.

 

Halloween weekend continues to look dry & COOL.  East-to-Northeast wind will begin as the air mass dries out, first over WA, then the rest of the PNW.  The heavy, flooding rains in NW WA are now passed.  That long band of precip finally got into OR overnight, after way over doing it in the rain dept for NW WA & BC.  Temperatures overnight during the weekend will be the chillest in quite some time.  NOTE: there is the possibility for another chance to view the Northern Lights Halloween weekend (Columbia River north)- as Geomagnetic Storm activity has returned.  Keep your eyes & cameras ready.

 

Next week: here’s the change - rain is now scheduled to return overnight Sunday & early Monday morning.  Break on Tue.  Then, a larger system arrives early Wed.  This front will produce a moderate rain band from BC to the Bay area of CA.  Drier late Wed & Thu but much cooler, as the air aloft is charting to be cold enough for snow showers below the passes on Thu.  A cold, BREEZY system arrives by Fri Nov 5 adding to the relatively low elevation snow fall (est 2,500 ft WA Cascades).  

 

Time Change Weekend of Nov 6,7 is trending to be mostly dry after some showers, mainly over WA Cascades Sat.  Temps could warm into 50s or lower 60s (south of Salem).  Truly, a pleasant fall weekend for early Nov. (Please note: a couple model runs keep the weekend mild, but wet at times.)  It will change abruptly by the next week.

 

Nov 8 - 12 is trending WET & BREEZY.  A series of strong Pacific storms will roll past, so expect plenty of low land rain & mountain snow, at times.  There could be winter-like cold air attached to the mid-week system, with foothill snow OR & WA, with snow/rain mix at the surface north of Everett.  Stay tuned.

 

The weekend of Nov 12,13 is looking extremely WET (2”-4”) & Stormy!  Details will be filled in, if models verify, as that period nears.

 

 

 

It will be a few days from now, but the PNW will get into a dry period starting this Halloween weekend.  In the meantime, our Big Storm continues to spin into the history books.  Refill that Mug and read on.

 

The big storm yesterday remains in play, west of WA,   It will continue to move N-NW towards the northern tip of Vancouver Island.  WINDS will diminish slowly, with plenty of steady rain, intense showers / possible thunderstorms (esp western WA) as bands of moisture spin around the powerful Low pressure center - now weakened to around 962-964 mb, which is still very deep for a PNW system this close to land.  Our big storm has already cost lives, damaged property & coastline areas and cut power to thousands.  The large impact zone is from BC to CA (which continues to get hammered).  Northern Calif got super-drenched by the storm (3-11 inches of rain; flood & mudslide issues common); the heavy rain band now slowly moves farther south in the Golden State.  

 

PNW - expect rain & showers to continue through Tue, with WED likely to be the drier day until the weekend.  More steady rain on the way for overnight Wed into Fri.  Not a strong system, but a long band of rain, supported by subtropical moisture, may flow over the PNW.  It could impact OR more than WA, although models solutions are mixed.  

The coming weekend is trending DRY and cooler, with a brisk N-NE wind picking-up as High pressure drops down from Canada, east of the Rockies, clipping the eastern portions of the PNW.  Speaking of dry, we are seeing an extended dry period from the spooky weekend on through Sat Nov 7.  

 

California will be the wet zone - after it dries out this week, more rain is modeled with a cut-off Low spinning significant moisture into southern CA by Nov 4; some solutions hold this system far enough off the CA coast to keep it dry a few extra days, but still wet by Nov 6.

 

For the PNW, the long-range outlook is mixed for the weekend of Nov 6,7.  It could be turning WET & cold, with snow levels dropping well below mountain passes, or remain dry until Tue Nov 8.  We’ll see.

 

Bottom line: after this week, the PNW should enter a dry period lasting a week or longer.  After plenty of rain, that rain break will be appreciated.