Forecast Bust; Rain Was Late = No Ice

2:30pm…

No way of getting around that one today…the rain showed up late, thus no freezing rain for most of us.  If you go back through the previous two posts I mentioned that it had to be in the morning hours or else it would be too warm.  Still, now that the rain is going, it’s surprising that the evaporative cooling has cooled us to just 1-3 degrees above freezing.  If the steady rain that arrived around Noon-1pm would have shown up at 6-7am the morning commute would have been a mess.

The only freezing rain areas at 2pm are the highest hills around town (top of the West Hills) and Troutdale east into the Gorge.  I see Washougal schools closed early as did Corbett.  Hopefully all those kids get home safely (mine stayed home based on their Dad’s advice).  The cold east wind is dying down quickly out there, but no warming south wind in the Valley this evening means no warmup in the Gorge either. 

Freezing rain should stay in those locations until the precipitation stops this evening.  It’s interesting to note that as cooler air is moving in higher up in the atmosphere, the combination of that plus the leftover cold air near the surface is allowing some spots to change to snow.  I just saw someone mention that in comments; I think in Clark County.

With some clearing overnight, temps will quickly drop to around freezing in spots.  So another round of black ice or icy spots and/or freezing fog for tomorrow morning’s commute.

So again, we’re done with the freezing rain threat across the vast majority of the lowest elevations. 

Chief Meteorologist Mark Nelsen