Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Pendleton, OR
Issued by NWS Pendleton, OR
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171 FXUS66 KPDT 131746 AFDPDT Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pendleton OR 946 AM PST Thu Nov 13 2025 .UPDATED AVIATION. .AVIATION...18Z TAFs...A mixed bag of sites at VFR to LIFR conditions across the seven terminals. Low stratus continues to dominate over ALW and PSC, although PSC shows an OVC deck that will soon lift over the next few hours, along with visibility clearing up as some of the heavier showers move out of the area. Precipitation will continue to be off an on with the greatest chances occurring right now, while confidence continues to go down through the period, with mostly TEMPO groups put in through the period for precipitation. We`ll be mostly VFR after 20Z, but low confidence still remains for lower decks and obscure visibility as we head into the late evening to early morning for temporary sub- VFR conditions through the sites (5-15% chance), although the greatest chances seem to be the sites outside of Central OR (BDN/RDM specifically). Winds will continue to be light to breezy, with Central OR sites (BDN/RDM) being the strongest with gusts up to 25 mph lasting through the late afternoon hours today. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 423 AM PST Thu Nov 13 2025/ .DISCUSSION...The forecast area finds itself caught between a cutoff low to our south and an upper-level trough to our north this morning, which will result in some moderately breezy downslope winds and a round of light precipitation. Low ceilings and even dense fog continue to persist for much of the Columbia Basin and the Walla Walla Valley, respectively, as persistent cold pooling from an otherwise stable synoptic pattern has allowed these conditions to persist. The expectation is that we`ll see some relief today, however, as even though the wind forecast across guidance is subdued because of an overly stable environment in the Basin, warm air advection brought about by the low to our south and its subsequent downslope winds should provide enough of a drying effect to at least partially lift ceilings, especially along the foothills. So even though central Oregon and the Foothills of the Blues will see gusts in the 20-30 mph range today while the lower elevations continue to see light winds, conditions are ripe for at least some scouring out of this pesky fog and stratus. With moisture advection lacking, however, precipitation impacts are expected to be minimal with this system. CAMs generally depict broken shower activity over the forecast area during much of the day, with more persistent bands over primarily the Cascades. But with snow levels well above 7000 ft, ptype will be rain across all of our area`s mountain passes. Light shower activity may persist across the mountains through Friday (30-40% confidence), however the bulk of the moisture with this oncoming system is expected to occur today, before transitory ridging slides in late Friday into Saturday. Widespread PoPs return on Sunday as global models generally depict a weak shortwave clipping the forecast area to the east, but again with only minimal precip impacts, concentrated mainly across the eastern mountains where snow levels are generally expected to be above the 6000-7000 ft range. Colder air then looks to intrude on Monday as a more northwesterly trough moves in, but this system looks to be relatively moisture-starved based on ensemble QPF guidance. Better, more widespread PoPs materialize late Tuesday into Wednesday as ensembles generally depict a more organized trough moving into the PacNW. 74 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... PDT 62 45 61 42 / 50 70 30 10 ALW 60 48 60 46 / 60 80 50 20 PSC 54 43 62 43 / 50 60 10 10 YKM 54 39 58 39 / 90 60 10 20 HRI 57 44 61 43 / 50 70 20 10 ELN 51 36 52 38 / 90 60 20 40 RDM 66 36 58 32 / 50 40 10 0 LGD 64 43 60 38 / 50 80 50 20 GCD 66 42 59 37 / 50 70 20 0 DLS 57 46 60 46 / 90 80 40 30 && .PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...None. WA...Dense Fog Advisory until 10 AM PST this morning for WAZ028-029. && $$ SHORT TERM...74 LONG TERM....74 AVIATION...95