Cold, windy soaker of a storm rolls into the Northwest
PORTLAND, Ore. – A strong cold front moved into Oregon and southwest Washington Friday, bringing a healthy dose of rain, gusty winds and snow in the Coast Range and Cascades.
The National Weather Service has declared a Winter Storm Warning for the Cascades from 4 p.m. Friday to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Additionally, a Winter Weather Advisory has been declared for the Coast Range from 4 p.m. Friday to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The action began along the northern Oregon and southern Washington coasts mid-morning Friday with moderately heavy rain starting at about 8 a.m.
As the front moves onto land and sweeps across the region, rain and wind will increase on the coast and in the Willamette Valley early Friday afternoon, KATU Meteorologist Rhonda Shelby said.
Behind the front, cold air will be drawn down from the Gulf of Alaska, pulling down the snow level from 2,500 feet to about 1,500 feet by 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. on Friday.
The latest forecast updates indicate it will likely snow all night in the Cascades on Friday and into Saturday morning. The snow level will briefly sink to 1,000 feet, threatening the valley with snow with a rain-snow mix; however there isn't much chance for any snow accumulation on the valley floor.
But 7 to 8 inches of snow is expected in the Coast Range and 20 to 23 inches of snow accumulation could pile up in the northern Oregon Cascades.
KATU Meteorologist Mary Loos was on Mount Hood early Friday and advised those seeking fresh powder to head up early Friday but then head home before the brunt of the storm hits.
"As we get into the afternoon and evening hours, try to get down off the mountain as fast as you can because this storm is coming in," Loos said.
Along with the rain, the main story on the coast will be "the driving wind," Salesky said. Residents can expect 40 to 55 mph gusts and an inch of rain, perhaps a little more.
Heavy seas with 20-foot waves were reported Friday morning in some locations along the coast.
In the Willamette Valley, winds will gust to 30 to 40 mph and about an inch of rain is expected, said Salesky on Thursday.
The storm is expected to pass through the area by Saturday afternoon.
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Watch Rhonda's latest forecast:
well we are at 39 degrees ..
I think the weather channel had it spot on when the cancelled the weather, oh wait we jsut hr alert alert. Also Bing has no weathead a whole whopping 25 mph wind gust
Been waiting all week for this week long storm you have been warning us about. It is now 5:44 pm Friday.....when is this storm going to start?
Can't wait to get up there on my snowboard tomorrow!
I see sun, and breezy conditions , in coming clouds.
Wiat, it looks like they are snow clouds.
KATU commentors.....who do we blame?
@oh4FS Blame it on all the micro climates , they effect weather in varying areas.
Amen CTWU. My thoughts exactly.
Why must everything at KATU these days be a breaking event? Â OMG! Â Give it a rest! Â If you're predicting or know of tornadoes, THAT is a breaking story. Â I'd even say an ice storm might reach that magnitude (the old ones like we had in the 1970's -- more than 1/2" of ice on the ground).
Same with the news stories. Â Breaking news at 5:30 a.m. isn't something that happened at 10:00 last night and was covered on your 11:00 newscast. Â By that point it's old news with, hopefully, additional details.
I figure a breaking news story is something that impacts a wide population and requires immediate attention, knowledge, or might somehow significantly impact decision-making abilities. Â But weather isn't it!
I'm about ready to leave KATU because I can never tell when they actually have a newsworthy story since they try to claim everything as a breaking news event! Â Sadly, when something significant does happen, I'm less likely to pay attention to the story because I've either found out already through other sources or because I'm kinda tuning you guys out because I'm doing something else while the tv is on.
Well said.
@JustMy2Cents Well said, a breaking story is something like Arkansas pass a law that makes 20 week abortions illegal. Now that is breaking news..
@justmy2cents ps Reuters had that..
It's starting to get blustery. Maybe the news isn't all hype? Hope it storms! =)
@Lips hmm in my opinion a real storm Dumps copious amounts of rain/snow, have winds of at least 75 MP and causes trees to bend and fall..This aint no strom! I want a real Storm High winds, Heavy rains/snow I want to see trees sway, feel the winds push the car.. Have the power go out..so we can have candlelight and story time as we hear the winds howl... I WANT A REAL STORM...One that I used to remember lasting for hours where we had to light the wood stove up and have a gay ol time making hot coco and such...But every time KATU predicts one, they scar it away. Even the weather service on weather.com removed the alert.
Well crud.. I'm gonna get snow- I ALWAYS get snow when they say 2500-1000 ft. I'm in the foothills of Mt Saint Helens and it seems to back up against the mountain & dump on me.
DRAT!Â
@cwpholder Mt St Helens .. How is it shaking up there? and I just up loaded a vid.
mm, Nothing on weather.com about a storm, that is there are no alerts. Nothing on Windows 8 weather alerts either.Â
Must not be much of a storm for it not to be listed on either. I see our trees wiggling, but there not bent over.
It has hit here (Hubbard) already, lots of very cold wind and now just in the last 10 minutes, cold rain! So I would say that they were correct at KATU - which is no surprise to me, as Dave and Rhonda are about as good a forecasters as there are in this area!
@musiclover got to love Micro climates lol..
@musiclover we had hail on our way in to town about an hour ago, some wind but not much. But then again, we live in sort of a protected area....Hey CWP you know those hils just across the bridge and up that one road out of castle rock? They seem to get snow..talking about he ones where when cross the bridge and you can see the hills to the west. there is one that has snow on it year round almost...Talk about wacky
 hmm, just another day in the Pacific Northwet.
Good day to start up a fire and curl up with a good book...............or a good friend !
Better send 5 teams of reporters up to Sylvan in case one or two snow drops come down. That's worthy of breaking news.
Promises, promises... bring it...!
and rain is not a big event.  we get that all the time.
Bah.  in the higher mountain rang.  no snow for Portland.   pfff what ever katu.  unless snow is gonna hit Vally floor i don't care.Â
Big storm arriving Friday, but the 7-day outlook shows no rain until Tuesday. Do you guys ever talk to each other in the office? :)
@shrimp hmm no, they don't even compare notes with NOAH either.
At the beginning of the month when the weather seemed to get mild, I thought it was a false start and suspected we would get some more truly cold weather before we were done with it for the winter. And here is comes...
@whirledworld Me too!Â
We didn't get any decent snowfall this winter and I always have at least one storm that nets me over a foot. I was expecting something like this but I'm still not happy about it..
I usually enjoy the snow- I prepare (that's the key) and just hang out until it melts. It's coming very late this year though and I have things to get done.. Darn it..Â
@cwpholder @whirledworld Like plant a veggie garden?
One of the reasons I love being in accounting is that summer is the easiest time to use your many hours of accrued vacation time that you earn during periods like this month. I'll be working all weekend this week, knowing it'll add to my time off to be used in our gorgeous summers. Therefore, as long as I can make the short commute to/from work this week, let it rain, let it snow, let the winds howl and blow.....
Hello Mother Nature: Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow and we're supposed to have an early Spring. Didn't you get the memo?  We would appreciate warmer temps or no rain. Both would be nice but we'll settle for one or the other.  Please?
...Wench.
How much do we have to pay Al Gore to turn the heat back on?
@Lo Pan how much to we have to pay to make him go away?
Big Al's already made a ton of money off the American people. Thats how he supports his lavish lifestyle that he doesnt want us to live because its dangerous to the environment.
And lets not forget. This from the guy that invented the internet !
@Lo Pan @Rob C 503 And never forget he is a sex offender who was raping/molesting licensed massage therapists while they were on-the-job whilst he traveled across the country and globe on his book tours. No wonder Tipper divorced him.
@Rob C 503Â And never forget:Â "Former Vice President Al Gore sold his left-leaning television channel Current TV to Al Jazeera for $500 million"
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/al-gore-defends-current-tv-sale-article-1.1250772#ixzz2LgNeYU7G
@Lo Pan  Did you pay your Dihydrogen monoxide tax?
<Gasp!> Are we really gonna have some actual *February*-type weather this year?
Since I'll be home this weekend, I will look out my window to see any of this. As for heading anywhere there is heavy snowfall? Nah! I'll stay home. I'll leave the snow to those folks that like to play in the snow as adults. Just be safe getting there!
@jpk ~  Yep... me, too...!  I will stay nice and warm with my kitties by my little fireplace... I have some good books to read, lots of things to do that don't involve getting cold and wet...  :-)
Actually, I could go to Lincoln City and stay at the Casino and briefly look at the large waves expected on the coast. As long as I was inside and the wondow didn't blow in.....LOL
@margay1Â @jpk Unlike me who has a snow camping trip planned for Mt. Hood, this weekend. Yikes!
@margay1 @Lips @jpk Thanks and will do. Always.
@Lips @margay1 @jpk Brrrr..!   Have a good time and stay safe out there, Lips..!  :-)