The final days of January shift toward more typical winter weather, bringing clouds, rain, and heavy snow to the Portland/Vancouver area after 17 days of almost constant sunshine and no discernible rain.
Beginning Thursday evening and lasting at least until Saturday afternoon, the Cascades are under a winter storm watch issued by the National Weather Service. Above 3,000 feet in height, heavy snowfall is probable. At lower levels, a total snow accumulation of 6–12 inches is likely, but above 5,000 feet, accumulations of 15 inches or more are anticipated.
Thursday is going to be cloudy in Portland, with rain delaying until the evening. The temperature will rise to roughly 45 degrees.
Rain will be dropping steadily on Friday. The high temperature will rise to almost fifty-two degrees. By Friday evening, Portland might receive roughly 0.5 inches of precipitation.
Over the weekend, cold air flowing south from Alaska will collide with a fresh system moving east from the Pacific Ocean to reduce snow levels.
On Saturday, Portland will have a snow level of roughly 1,200 feet and rain that occasionally mixes with snow, particularly in the foothills, while the mountains receive pretty consistent snowfall. The temperature will drop to roughly 44 degrees.
Over the weekend, forecasters anticipate snow showers in the Coast Range. You should get ready for winter driving conditions if you’re traveling to or from the beaches.
The southbound Alaskan low-pressure system is predicted to stall close to Vancouver Island over Saturday night and into Sunday morning, and it will continue into the following week. As a result, temperatures will remain frigid throughout the Portland metro area and beyond. There will probably be some low-level sticking snow on Sunday as snow levels drop to about 500 feet.
According to forecasters, Sunday will see a lot of precipitation, frequently a combination of rain and snow. However, they do not rule out the possibility of snow accumulation in some places, particularly during periods of intense precipitation.
By the afternoon, Portland’s Sunday morning rain/snow mix should be reduced to just rain. Nearly 41 degrees will be the high temperature.
Although there is disagreement among extended prediction models, it appears likely that cold air will persist throughout next week, with snow levels of about 500 feet on Monday and Tuesday. The amount of precipitation that we will experience at that period is the most unknown. The low 40s will be the high temperature.
Beginning Thursday evening and continuing through Saturday afternoon, a winter storm is predicted to dump a lot of snow on the Oregon and Washington Cascades.Light rain is predicted for #SnoqualmiePass on Friday, followed by snowfall on Friday evening.xigeoKY8nL #wawx#orwxpic.twitter.com
