Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Portland, OR
Issued by NWS Portland, OR
199 FXUS66 KPQR 230255 AAA AFDPQR Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Portland OR 655 PM PST Fri Nov 22 2024 .SYNOPSIS...Another round of rain showers and wind today, windiest at the coast. Rain showers and mountain snow showers over the weekend into early next week. Trending towards drier weather later next week with seasonable temperatures. && .DISCUSSION...Today through Thursday...Warm front is currently over the Cascades as of 1:30 pm Fri, with most of the area seeing post- frontal showery activity. Winds at the north coast are currently seeing peak gusting up to 50-60 mph; for areas further south, winds will be slowly decreasing as the low moves further and further north towards Washington/Canada. Inland, the central Willamette Valley saw peak gusts around noon of 35-45 mph winds; these too will be on the decline over the next few hours. Main impacts from wind are broken tree branches and perhaps some trees in soggy ground become uprooted, potentially resulting in power outages and other damage. Any remaining rain accumulations associated with this front will be fairly light; around 0.10-0.20" for most areas, and around 0.5" for the Cascades and Coast Range. The possibility for coastal thunderstorms continues this afternoon going through Sunday. Conditions still support a very low chance (<5%) of some isolated waterspouts over the waters. Any heavier thunderstorms still see the possibility of producing small hail and bursts of heavier rain as well at the coast. Snow levels are currently quite high (7000-8000 ft) following this warm front, but will continue falling overnight tonight. Snow levels likely fall to around 3000-3500 ft by Saturday morning. Snow amounts during this time look to be around 1/2 foot at passes Friday night to Sunday afternoon (48 hours), and closer to 1 ft for the volcano peaks. At this time no winter headlines are expected. The next wave of moisture from the parent low arrives Saturday in the late afternoon, bringing another round of steadier rain to the area. Looking at 24 hr rainfall between 10am Sat and 10am Sun, only around a 25% chance of exceeding 0.5" in the Willamette Valley. The coast and Coast Range see slightly better rainfall, somewhere around 0.5- 1.5" of rain. Winds won`t be nearly as strong inland, with less than 10% chance of gusts over 25 mph anywhere inland. At the coast, gusts right around 25-30 mph will be possible throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning, decreasing afterwards. Light weak showery activity continues through the beginning of next week, without any particularly impactful weather expected. WPC Cluster Analysis shows strong agreement (90%+) of upper level riding moving in by Wednesday night, likely producing drier and warmer weather. /JLiu && .AVIATION...A low pressure system offshore has resulted in gusty southerly winds over northwest Oregon and southwest Washington on Friday, with the highest winds observed along the coast. This low will continue moving northward towards Vancouver Island Friday afternoon and evening. As the system exits the region around 00Z Saturday, will see post-frontal showers spread from south to north during the overnight hours with predominately VFR conditions. Winds will also begin to weaken after 00-03z Saturday, both inland and at the coast. Chances for MVFR cigs increase to 20-50% between 09-15z Saturday, however widespread MVFR cigs are not expected. PDX APPROACHES...VFR conditions expected Friday afternoon through Friday night with a period of breezy southeast winds continuing through 01z Saturday with gusts up to 20-25 kt. Winds weaken thereafter while veering to the south. There is around a 50% chance for MVFR cigs to develop over the terminal by 12-13z Saturday, however probabilities decrease to 20% by 18z Saturday when VFR cigs are likely to return. -TK && .MARINE...A strong low pressure system centered around 100-150 miles offshore continues to bring steep and hazardous seas along with strong southerly winds for the coastal waters. Buoy observations from 1-2 PM Friday showed seas around 20 ft over the northern waters and around 15 ft over the southern waters. Winds were generally gusting between 35-45 kt with occasional storm force wind gusts. Although seas and winds are elevated at the moment, expect both seas and winds to begin rapidly decreasing Friday evening through Friday night as the aforementioned low pressure system continues moving northward towards Vancouver Island. By 10 PM Friday, seas should range between 12 to 15 ft, highest over the northern waters beyond 10 nm offshore. Winds will likely be gusting between 20-30 kt at that time, with isolated gusts to 35 kt over the northern waters. By sunrise on Saturday, seas should be around 10 feet with wind gusts under 30 kt. Beyond Saturday, the weather pattern becomes relatively benign for this time of year with no signs of significant winds or hazardous seas. The only exception to that statement is Saturday night and Sunday when a brief period of stronger winds is expected as a weak small-scale surface low moves north over the coastal waters. There is still some uncertainty regarding how strong winds will get with this low, but as of right now it appears wind gusts up to 30-35 kt are likely. However, cannot completely rule out gusts as high as 40 kt (30-40% chance). Given the short duration of these stronger winds, seas are not expected to have enough time to build much beyond 10-12 ft. The probability for seas over 12 ft is only around 10-20% at this time. -TK && .PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...None. WA...None. PZ...Gale Warning until 10 PM PST this evening for PZZ210-251-252- 271-272. Hazardous Seas Warning from 10 PM this evening to 4 AM PST Saturday for PZZ210-251-252-271-272. Hazardous Seas Warning until 4 AM PST Saturday for PZZ253-273. && $$ www.weather.gov/portland Interact with us via social media: www.facebook.com/NWSPortland x.com/NWSPortland