By Gordon McCraw, Meteorologist for Tillamook County Emergency Management
Tuesday, May 3, 2022, 11:15am
Weather
Finally, we see a break as high pressure moves in and brings back the sun and warmer, spring-like weather for today and tomorrow. The clouds should burn off slowly today leaving a mostly sunny afternoon, winds today westerly 5-10, highs near 58. There is a chance of some patchy fog tonight as the winds die off. We become mostly cloudy overnight with upper level clouds from the next approaching system, lows near 42.
Tomorrow, we see more clouds so only a partly sunny day. The ridge will be moving directly over the top, so we see a warmer day tomorrow with light winds, the high up near 62. We also see a large low pressure area in the Gulf of Alaska that will have areas of disturbed weather rotating under the low and riding the flow into and across our area. One of these will bring rain into the area tomorrow night, late, into Thursday. So, a rainy day Thursday with winds becoming southwesterly 5-10, highs near 55, more rain that night, lows near 46.
Friday another disturbance brings a good chance of showers with some gusty winds, and with unstable conditions in the region, and throwing in some daytime heating, there is also a slight chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms Friday, the high near 55, more showers likely Friday night, lows near 40, the snow level down around 2700’.
The low pressure area from the Gulf of Alaska drops southeastward towards the area Saturday so more showers and with the low enhancing the threat, there is another chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms. Highs Saturday near 53, lows near 40, the snow level that night down near 2600’.
We see some more showers Sunday under partly sunny skies, the high near 54, still a chance of showers Sunday night into Monday when the high is up near 56, lows near 41.
May is Wildland Fire Awareness
We will be moving into the dry, summer months soon and back into Wildland Fire Season. The fires a couple years ago were big eyeopeners for our region. Now is a good time to get prepared for this season and for emergencies in general.
The first thing to do is to make or review your Emergency Plan. Make sure everyone in your house knows and understands what to do if you need to evacuate quickly. Do you have a communication plan, knowing that you run a good chance that your family is scattered about, at work, school, childcare facilities, shopping, etc. Does you plan include your pets?
Next, review your insurance, their policies, and make sure everything is up to date. Make a list of important phone numbers, medicine list, and any other important paperwork. Make copies, maybe electronically, that can be stored elsewhere.
If you do renovations on your house, be sure to use fire resistant material. Know where your water sources are outside your home with hoses that can reach all parts around the house. Create a fire-resistant zone around the house, remove leaves, debris and other flammable material at least 30’ from you home. Designate a room that can be closed off from outside air during extreme smoke conditions.
Know where to go if you do need to evacuate and know the best route to take to get there. Be sure to follow instructions from local authorities.
Don’t forget to have an emergency go kit for all members of your house and keep the items in the kit up-to-date. Be sure to have a N95 mask in the kit. Keep your cellphone fully charged when wildland fires are in your area.
There are more recommendations, and help on making plans found at www.ready.gov.