Thursday, September 8, 2022
Weather
We had another sunny, breezy and cool day with a westerly or onshore flow, but this will change tomorrow. For tonight we can expect mostly clear skies, light winds, and a low near 53.
Tomorrow the synoptic picture changes with the ridge of high pressure building off the coast while a trough of low pressure dives southward to our east. This will set up the conditions that will cause the strong easterly, or offshore wind across the region. While it appears these conditions will not be as strong as they were in the Labor Day 2020 event, they will still cause warm, dry, and strong easterly winds across the region that will bring critical fire weather conditions that are favorable for rapid fire development. As a precaution, the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for much of the area, from the Cascades westward to the coast, valid from 11AM tomorrow thru 8PM Saturday.
The Friday forecast for the Tillamook area is for sunny skies with winds becoming easterly 10-15 gusting to 30, the afternoon high near 81. Continues mostly clear skies tomorrow night, still the easterly winds 10-15 gusting to 30, lows only down to near 61.
The conditions continue Saturday with sunny skies, the strong, gusty easterly winds of 10-20 gusting to 30 continue, the afternoon high temperature reaching around 84 degrees. Conditions change quickly Saturday night with the winds diminishing and becoming more onshore so we can expect partly cloudy skies with the return of the marine layer, light winds, lows near 57.
It appears more seasonable weather return for the start of next week with the increased onshore flow and the marine stratus we can expect mostly cloudy skies Monday and Tuesday with highs near 66, and mostly cloudy to cloudy nights, lows near 54. Wednesday the models are mixed so I will just hold off on the forecast for now.
PACIFIC POWER ISSUES PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFF NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS IN SEVERAL OREGON COUNTIES
News Release from Pacific Power
Posted on FlashAlert: September 7th, 2022 4:29 PM
Weather forecast for Friday and Saturday shows high, gusty easterly winds during extreme wildfire conditions
PORTLAND, Ore. – September 7, 2022 — Pacific Power notified approximately 12,000 customers in Linn, Douglas, Lincoln, Tillamook, Marion and Polk counties of a potential Public Safety Power Shutoff due to forecast high, gusty easterly winds during extreme wildfire conditions from early Friday morning through Saturday.
“Our advanced weather modeling is indicating a potential for dangerous fire weather conditions,” said Steve Vanderburg, meteorology manager. “We’re gaining an understanding of the impacts to our system this specific weather event could bring, and have issued Public Safety Power Shutoff notices to several Pacific Power communities.”
Sections of the following communities could experience a Public Safety Power Shutoff:
Stayton east through the Santiam Canyon
Lebanon
Sweet Home
Lincoln City
Glide east along Umpqua Highway
A Public Safety Power Shutoff is a proactive effort to reduce wildfire risk during hazardous fire weather conditions, including extremely low humidity, dry vegetation, elevated levels on key weather indexes and sustained winds and gusts. Current forecasts indicate conditions for a Public Safety Power Shutoff could be met around 12:00 a.m. Friday morning. The power shutoff could last late into Saturday evening.
Customers have been notified of the potential power shutoff through phone calls, email and text messages. Customers will continue to receive updates through ongoing communications. A map of potentially affected areas is available at www.pacificpower.net/psps.
Temporary community resource centers are being set up in affected communities. Locations and a full list of amenities will be shared when that information is available.
For all non-emergency questions about the Public Safety Power Shutoff, customers and the public should call Pacific Power at 1-888-221-7070.
Pacific Power crews will actively patrol and remove debris from lines and make repairs if needed. Once weather conditions have subsided and line inspections are complete, Pacific Power will restore service.
Visit pacificpower.net/wildfiresafety for additional information on Public Safety Power Shutoffs, outage preparedness and wildfire safety.