9:30pm Thursday…
We “overachieved” in Portland today, with temperatures ending up warmer than modeling/forecasts had shown. PDX hit 66 degrees, the warmest since that Pineapple Express-induced 67 degree high back in early December.
This is the just the beginning of a well-advertised warm and dry spell. We’ve been talking about this for the last 8-10 days!
HIGHLIGHTS
- We are guaranteed warm/dry weather through Monday with sunny skies each day in the inland valleys of Oregon and SW Washington.
- High temperatures jump a few degrees tomorrow, then a few more degrees Saturday through Monday.
- A gusty east wind near the Gorge tomorrow and early Saturday goes away Saturday night. Sunday and Monday will be calm most areas.
- Coastal beaches will be warmest tomorrow and Saturday. A much cooler westerly breeze will drop high temps from around 70 on the beaches Saturday to around 50-55 Sunday! Maybe a few spots of fog/clouds too.
- The next chance for showers is Wednesday or Thursday. Yep, you’ve got a solid 6-7 days of dry weather in mid-March.
A strong upper-level ridge has developed just off the West Coast, looking about like this in the upper-atmosphere
By Saturday the ridge is centered over B.C.
On Monday the ridge is centered over the inland Northwest.
Then later next week the ridge has weakened and a cool northwest flow is back…showers and 50s once again in the lowlands
Surface temperature forecasts from the various models have been running colder than one would expect based on the pattern (offshore flow+sun+warm 850mb temps). It was good to see today turn our warmer than models were forecasting. That makes me think the +10 to +12 deg (C) temps WILL produce highs well into the 70s Saturday through Monday. Right now our forecast looks like this…notice only Monday is likely to see a record high for the date
The first three of those records above were set during the warmest March period on record at PDX. In March 1947 we hit 80 degrees.
IF we have 5 days at/above 70, that will one of the very few times we’ve had so many consecutive 70+ days in March.
That’s all I have for this evening. Enjoy and take advantage of a rare March warm/dry spell!
FOX 12 Weather Blog 
Next weekend we might just reach 80 in the Willamette valley. Most of the next 16 days look warm and sunny. However today is another matter. We have only climbed to 61 so far today. And it has been cloudy since 11:00AM. Now some have been clamoring for more mountain snow. Historically however our mountain snowpack reaches maximum depth around April 1st. So most likely we will see mountain snow depths decrease from here. We are running from around average in the North to well above normal in the South of Oregon. We will be in fine shape this Summer. My main concern is for British Columbia this Summer. They had a brutally dry and mild Winter. And even a little more snow won’t help them. So I will continue to enjoy our nice Spring weather as we prepare to step into Summer next month. Hopefully Mark will have a new update soon. Peace.
62 and sunny. On our way to 66. Peace.
Cool and wet day here- my afternoon temperature has been around 45F. Looking back to this date in 1977, it was similar, but it came after 3 straight days of sunshine and afternoon maximums in the 70’s. What a difference!
Vegetable garden partly planted. Not too many plants in the store until next weekend. Mostly nice week ahead with just a few showers next weekend. Bust out the sunshine, I’m ready for Summer. Cloudy and 58 at present. Average for today is 60. Peace.
Got to say the weather here over the last month or so has been remarkably “normal’ or average for this time of year- which is actually a good thing. I get tired of seeing that word “extreme” being overused.
Should I head toward Texas or Cleveland for the eclipse? I’ve got plans in all directions, and at this point every direction seems uncertain.
The best direction is on YouTube. Save your money for later in the year and see the fall colors somewhere of your choice it’s not worth the stress chasing eclipses.
I have a gut feeling a lot of hair pullers will be onboard the eclipse Escargo Express (TM).
They’ll hopefully find where the best stream sites are both official and unofficial. It’ll be rather amusing to see the panic when Texas gets eclipsed with clouds.
75 and sunny. Next 70 degree day won’t be until next Wednesday. April is such a changeable month. Still it is the month for Spring planting. Also for cutting up fallen branches and recycling yard waste. March averaged out to be warmer and a little wetter than normal. I am expecting April to be warmer and drier than average. Just not record setting. Peace.
Next run of 70 degree days after Tuesday could be the 8th-12th Then another cool down into the 50,s. Very much a normal Spring. Normally after April 1st our snow pack starts to decrease as we head form Spring into Summer. Most of Oregon is right around average, so we don’t need a long cool and wet spell. So yes Kyle I will indeed be planting vegetables next Sunday under partly sunny skies and a temperature of around 60. Peace.
and an average snowpack after an El Nino winter is real good
We are running slightly below average so no I don’t want it all to runoff in April/May. Sorry but this time we need to keep it till late June so it will be a slow burn.
There’s been dozens of arsonists arrested in various parts of the world including our own country the last few years during these ‘mysterious fires’. The media will cover it for one day then drop it to avoid any kind of lash back. One more recently was in Greece when they had their version of the Sept 2020 fires not too long ago.
Australia had gobs of arrests in the last few years.
What a lovely stretch of weather. It feels like this is the closest we’ve been to a normal Spring in a long time. 5 days of rain/clouds, 5 days of sun and mild temps. What a great pattern, I hope it stays this way. I’d be a bit happier if we can manage to stay above 55F, but I’ll take this over the last couple years.
Latest 4 cast is troughtastic and I think some of the volcanos (Including underwater ones) (while small eruptions) have a role in this due to the consistency of them. 2010-2012 was such a period of dozens of small to moderate eruptions none were really record breaking by any means but it capped the earth for a bit creating a ‘pause’ in global warming. A lot of places had delayed springs and summers while others had severe droughts.
66 and sunny today. Not bad for Easter. The first half of April looks nice with a few scattered rainy periods. 70-74 the next two days. Next weekend is flower and vegetable planting time again. Pleasant days everyone. Peace.
I think your going to be belay that planting next weekend. Your not going to like what’s coming.
And a classic April where it’s not constant 70s.
Fairly heavy rain/hail showers here in the past hour. Typical for late March, but wait til the Easter weekend: It’ll be sunny.
Timberline back up to about 140 inches depth. That’s pretty good this late in a El Nino winter
but but we need the rain! Kidding. All looks fine at this point waterwise and spring run off. Bring on sun!
Our snowpack is still below average. I don’t mind a dry weekend here and there as long as it’s not the dominant theme. I really want summer to wait till after ‘July 4th’ and have an old fashioned summer but so much is messed up in our oceans it won’t likely happen much anymore. We may be surprised once in a while but it won’t be the norm.
A sunny Easter ahead. It looks like Easter will be a nice one weather wise this year. Up around 70. After what started the first week of March as a record cold average it looks like we will end up the month being warmer and drier than average. Outstanding in my book. And as Western Oregon is no longer in drought, and we have a normal amount of snow in the mountains, I hope no one will say we need the rain. We don’t. So let us rejoice in Spring in all it’s glory. Peace and Happy Easter.
Agreed! The upcoming weekend weather looks beautiful again. Sounds good to me!
We ‘don’t’ need any actual rain. The mountains need a few feet of more snow so we will be bumped above average and not have it all melt by June. We need a slow burn.
Thunderstorm just past through Albany with heavy rain and hail. Nice little cell on Radar for some weather action.
With most of Oregon not in drought, and the snow on the mountains doing just fine it’s time to revel in the warm weather. And by the end of the month we should be back to the mid to high 60,s. So here’s to Spring with baseball, golf and frisbees. 67 and sunny at present. 62 and cloudy on Wednesday. Just about time to plant the flowers and vegetables. Peace and a Happy Easter to all.
We finally got some nice well-deserved Spring weather! I’m going to miss it over the next couple of weeks. The trees are blooming when they’re actually supposed to, the air smells fresh, there’s still enough moisture in the ground, the temps can’t get any better.
Last year my drooping cherry tree barely bloomed at all thanks to the cold and wet Spring. This year it’s doing what it’s used to doing – full bloom in mid March!
I’m happy we’re finally back into a four-seasons type pattern since Fall. I hope it stays this way.
Looks like the weather pattern is about to return to a more typical , cloudy showery pattern again- not too surprising. In any event, it will be good to get some more snow on the mountains.
I agree. Mays lately have been pretty sunny down here and I hope we have a ‘classic’ May pattern.