386
FXUS66 KPDT 292150
AFDPDT

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
250 PM PDT Thu Oct 29 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Near- to below-normal temperatures through the weekend.

- Periodic showers through the week, then medium-high (40-80%)
  chance of precipitation for central/eastern Oregon and
  southeast Washington over the weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

An upper low off the Washington coast continues to be the
source of scattered rain and snow showers across the Washington
Cascades Today. Radar reflectivity has been relegated to areas
along the Upper Slopes of the WA Cascades and the Crest as well
as light showers exiting the Lower Columbia Basin into northeast
WA. Trends will continue to be downward through the afternoon.
Meanwhile, satellite had been indicating low stratus and fog
along the Eastern Columbia River Gorge and the Kittitas valley
where METARs reported dense freezing fog through the entire
morning. By 1PM the stratus and vsby began showing signs of
improving beyond one quarter mile.

The main challenge Tonight will be if fog redevelops across the
Kittitas valley and to what extent. Recent runs of the LAMP
guidance have shown extended low visibility for not just Tonight
but through the day on Friday. A glance a the raw vs bias
corrected min temps are different enough that the cold tail of
the raw output is overlapping the expected 25th to 75th of the
bias corrected). Went away form NBM temperatures for Tonights
forecast in favor of the HRRR for potentially a much better
overnight temperature forecast.

Freezing temperatures in the the Eastern Columbia River Gorge
are are not showing a strong signal for a season ending freeze
as NBM 6 AM Saturday QMD Temps range form 32 to 36 degrees on
the 25th to 75th percent box and whiskers. Trends also show
increasing cloud cover, and adjusting this, would put a
freeze/subfreezing event at best less than 50% probability
needed for a freeze watch, especially given the previous
concerns with bis corrections in the NBM.

The next appreciable period of precipitation returns centered
on Saturday Night and Sunday Morning across the eastern
mountains, with averaging precipitation amounts less than a
wetting rain in the valley floors and higher one to three tenths
of an inch in the highest elevations. Some of this will be
light snow accums above 5500 ft AGL.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY/...

VFR conditions currently across most sites, with KDLS
experiencing IFR conditions due to reduced ceilings of 600 feet.
These ceilings should lift to MVFR around noon before VFR
conditions occur during the afternoon. Winds will stay light
and below 10kts at all terminals. Ceilings are forecast to drop
back down to 2.5kft overnight tonight for KDLS, returning MVFR
conditions through Friday morning. 75

&&

.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...
PDT  35  49  30  49 /   0   0  10  10
ALW  37  50  34  49 /   0   0  10  10
PSC  38  54  29  53 /   0   0   0   0
YKM  37  53  28  53 /  10  30   0  10
HRI  38  52  28  50 /   0   0   0   0
ELN  34  48  22  48 /  10  40   0  10
RDM  28  50  20  46 /   0   0   0  20
LGD  36  58  30  54 /   0   0  10  30
GCD  35  57  32  55 /   0   0   0  20
DLS  45  55  32  54 /   0  20   0  10

&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...None.
OR...None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...71/86
AVIATION...75