Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Portland, OR

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000 FXUS66 KPQR 150429 AAA AFDPQR Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Portland OR 930 PM PDT Sun Apr 14 2024 Updated Aviation discussion .SYNOPSIS... Weak showers over the Willamette National Forest and the foothills end Sunday afternoon/evening. Another upper level trough passes through central Washington into the Rocky Mountains, clipping us with some insubstantial showers Monday and Tuesday. High pressure will build back in afterwards, keeping things generally dry and warmer until the weekend. Possibly more rain over next weekend, but confidence is low. && .SHORT TERM...THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...A few weak showers in the central and southern Oregon Cascades have all but ended, and all other areas are just dry with intermittent cloud cover. Today will be the last day of slightly elevated temperatures, with highs pushing up into the mid to 60s for most of the Willamette Valley, closer to 60 south of Corvallis and at the coast. No impactful weather is expected Monday night. Late Sunday night, we begin to see a few very insubstantial rain showers in the northern part of the region as onshore flow develops and a weak trough passes north of us, with the southern edges of moisture barely clipping us. QPF looks little-to-none, but the northern Oregon Cascades could see maybe some slightly more substantial accumulations due to orographic lift. Snow levels will begin around 3000 ft Monday, dropping to 1500-2000 Tuesday night. Regardless, with such weak moisture, a dusting of snow is all that could be expected above. Daytime temperatures in the mid to upper 50s are expected for most lowland areas during this time. /JLiu .LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...The ridging pattern continues through the rest of the next workweek, with warmer temperatures and dry conditions. Temperatures on Thursday and Friday look to become warm again, with With a shift to offshore flow beginning Thursday, breezy winds through the Columbia Gorge will be possible; gusts up to 25-30mph will be possible Thursday midday through Saturday morning. On Saturday, while ensemble guidance is still pointing mostly towards ridging continuing, there does appear to be the possibily of another trough developing off west in the Pacific Ocean. There`s a 20% chance this trough approaching close enough to begin developing some light rain showers and cooler temperatures. On Sunday, chance of a trough being in place increases to around 30%. /JLiu && ..AVIATION...Northwest flow aloft tonight as weak upper level ridge shifts over the region. Low level onshore flow will maintain marine stratus at the coast through Monday morning, while MVFR CIGS around 2000-3000 ft are likely through at least 12Z Monday. Low stratus also expected to backbuild across the Willamette Valley tonight but likely remain VFR, with a 20-40% chance of MVFR conditions through 18Z. A weak front moves across the area Monday morning with very light showers possible. CIGS expected to lift through Monday afternoon with predominately VFR conditions expected after 18Z Monday. Northwest winds again increase along the coast with gusts up to 20 kt after 18Z Monday. PDX AND APPROACHES...Predominately VFR expected through the TAF period with stratus building across the area tonight. CIGS likely remain around 3500-5000 ft, although there is a 20-30% chance of MVFR conditions between 10-18Z Monday. Northwest winds around 5-10 kt through the period, strongest during afternoon and evening hours. /DH && .MARINE...Weak ridging slowly builds through the overnight hours as a cut-off low continues to push into the Great Basin. This will result in the northerly winds to slacken and become more northwesterly/westerly into Monday. Persistent NNW-NW winds will remain with gusts up to 25 knots across all waters Also, a NW swell at 7-9 feet with a period of 8-10 seconds will cause 8 to 10 ft seas through at least Monday morning. As a result, will maintain the Small Craft Advisories for all waters through at least late tonight. As the aforementioned high pressure builds over the region expect winds and seas to subside from south to north. Have tried to time out the Small Craft Advisories to represent this. Late Monday night/early Tuesday, benign conditions will have settled in resulting in NW winds with gusts around 20 kt and seas of 6-8 ft. Wednesday, there will be a small pattern change as an upper level system moves southeastward from Canada. This will bring NE winds to all waters, with a 50-60% probability of Small Craft wind gusts for the outer waters. Towards the end of the week, models are showing a ridging pattern developing which in turn could lead towards offshore flow. /42 && .PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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OR...None. WA...None. PZ...Small Craft Advisory until 11 AM PDT Monday for PZZ210-251-271. Small Craft Advisory until 3 AM PDT Monday for PZZ252-253. Small Craft Advisory until midnight PDT tonight for PZZ272-273.
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