By Gordon McCraw, Meteorologist for the Tillamook County Pioneer
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
A foggy, misty start of the day was followed by a mild sunny day with a weak ridge of high pressure over the area, which will be followed by a mostly clear, cool night tonight with the winds becoming northerly 5-10, the low drops to near 39.
Tomorrow starts out dry and mild, but by the afternoon there is a slight chance of showers as the northerly flow becomes more westerly at 5-10, the high near 55, then the chance of showers increases tomorrow night with the winds becoming more southwesterly after around midnight, the lows dropping to near 39. Also, the snow levels will be dropping down to near 2400’ so the higher Coast Range mountains will be seeing snow once again.
More showers Thursday with a trough of low pressure dropping down towards the area that brings breezy southwesterly winds 14-18 gusting to 30, the high only near 46. This trough will be pushing in colder air aloft so the snow level will be dropping to near 1800’ in the afternoon. With the upper atmospheric levels being less stable, more showers are expected with possible thunderstorms Thursday night, and the heavier showers could be giving us some small hails also. Add to this the snow level will be dropping to below the summit levels that night so Hwy 6 and 26 could see some snow as low as 1200’ after midnight Thursday.
On Friday, the showers, hail, and thunderstorms threat persist, especially in the afternoon, still on the breezy side, the snow level down around 1100’. The chance of showers continues Friday night, still breezy, and with the low dropping to near 33, low level flurries are not out of the question but accumulating snow will be above 500’ in the early morning hours.
The low pressure trough stays parked over the area thru the weekend so look for mostly cloudy to cloudy skies with the showers along with the below average temperatures remaining across the area with highs around 47, lows around 34. The snow level will linger between 1200-1700’ so there may be times that travel across the passes could be hazardous. It looks like accumulation levels will be low, but this is always subject to change…without notice!
The low pressure area moves southeastward which decreases the activity Monday and the temperatures start to moderate again with the high up near 51 and the snow level climbing back above 1800’.