PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Some weather apps around the region are starting to show an icon that’s spiking some concerns, especially with Thanksgiving travel ahead: snow.
Here at KOIN 6, the weather team thinks that while it will be cold on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the odds won’t favor snow in Portland’s forecast. But that doesn’t mean it’s clear sailing to Grandma’s house in the Cascades or southern Oregon.
Upper-level winds do show chilly air funneling into the valley — 850mb (millibars) temps around -6°C to -8°C — however, the latest GFS model run continues to push the large surface low away and further south into central California by midweek instead of stalling over the northern part of Oregon.
Meanwhile, the Euro continues to bring the low in at the southern border, which would spell out heavy snow in southern, central and eastern Oregon through Thanksgiving. For the time being, models have moved back to no snow in Portland.
That being said, we will have to watch this system moving forward.
There is a focus on incoming mountain snow early next week. Weather models show a disturbance dropping south into Oregon late Sunday night, and snow levels will drop to below pass levels.
Mountain passes will start accumulating snow by Monday morning through Tuesday night; however, totals are still varying among models, so estimates are a bit wild. Government Camp will see between 8 to 12 inches from Monday into Tuesday, but these totals may change. That being said, pass travel starting on Monday will be hairy.
If trends continue on their current path, we could also possibly see snow in the foothills of the Cascades. However, it’s still too early to call it.
The latest Your Weather podcast delves into winter driving tips, including the nightmare scenario for ODOT.
Did you miss our Your Weather podcast episode on our Winter 2019-2020 outlook? Listen to it below, or listen on iTunes, Spotify or Podbean.