We're coming up on the final hours before the "eye candy" starts! National Weather Service has issued winter weather alerts for most of our area.
Amounts will vary by region. But the most excessive will be in the cascades, through the gorge and the lowlands of Washington that look to measure 1 to 2 feet of snow through Saturday.
What do I expect for the valleys? Well, forecast models are still in disagreement. But after looking at weather maps for 12 hours straight, I'm giving it my gut feeling.
On the west side of the cascades, the best chance for accumulating snow will remain north of Wilsonville this evening. It'll take slower for temperatures to cool down there. By the time it does, the upper atmosphere will be too warm to accumulate much snow to the surface. Definitely can't rule out a dusting of snow in the southern part of the Portland metro area, but odds favor that it will mostly be a mix of freezing rain and sleet. It looks to be all rain as you progress further south into the Willamette Valley.
Tomorrow has the best chance for something more significant. I'm projecting all snow into the lowlands of Washington, spots could be nearing a foot by the end of the day. As for Portland, the north and east side could see several inches as there won't be much ice. Different story on the west and south side, ice looks to be too widespread to accumulate any more than an inch or two of snow. The worst of the ice will be from Woodburn to Albany, don't be out on the road then. Very little ice may may it as far south as Eugene, but not expecting any issues as the south wind will overcome all chances very quickly.
Saturday could see a decent band of wintry precipitation move through in the morning hours for the northern part of the valley, but not expecting as much as tomorrow. Tracking the final chance for some snow and ice developing Sunday and into early Monday, but that's far less certain how that will play out. Regardless, it looks like the lowlands will be done with winter weather heading into next week as temperatures warm up.
Once you head east of the cascades, precipitation is lighter. Not seeing any more than a few inches of snow through through this evening.
Snow is even lighter tomorrow, as the cold air will make conditions drier.
On the bright side, no freezing rain is expected on the east side of the state!
Snow picks up a bit heading into late Friday and early Saturday, but higher amounts remain to the west.
It's very fascinating that part of the western valleys will see more snow than the eastern valleys, but that's what happens when the low pressure center doesn't push further inland.
Enjoy this winter event while it's still around, we may not experience something like this again for a while. That's all from me, thank you for reading!
- Gabe Curtis, EOAliveTV's Official Forecaster and Creator of G-Weather
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