From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Thu Apr 1 09:24:40 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:24:40 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Thursday, April 1st, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. Issued: Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 9:00am. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from 10:00am until 5:30pm. Straw stack burning is allowed from 10:00am until 5:00pm. Weather Discussion: Showers rapidly tapered off Wednesday evening, with clearing skies and a cold air mass allowing overnight temperatures to drop into the low to mid 30s across most of western Oregon. The exception was along the northern coast, where mostly cloudy skies, and continued light showers, held temperatures in the low 40s. The shower activity was not able to penetrate eastward, beyond the coast range, due to the stabilizing effects of nighttime cooling across the interior valleys. In the Willamette Valley, Hillsboro dropped to at least 30 degrees early this morning, and Hillsboro fell to 31 degrees. Salem and Eugene both dipped to at least 33 degrees and Corvallis fell to at least 34. The final morning minimums will be available by the noon update. Temperatures were still in the 30s across most of western Oregon at mid-morning, with many locations east of the Cascades still below freezing. Satellite imagery showed considerable residual low clouds on both sides of the Cascades, with the most clearing on the east side of mountain ranges (especially over central Oregon). Doppler radar showed a few light showers continuing to circulate onto the north coast, in a weak westerly flow aloft. The ODA surface analysis showed high pressure building into western Oregon and weak southerly gradients across the Willamette Valley. Winds in the valley were less than 10 mph. A transitory ridge of high pressure will turn the flow aloft more northwesterly today, with further drying and slight warming of the air mass. There will be just enough warming aloft to counteract the destabilizing effects of daytime heating, so afternoon and evening shower activity will be far less expansive than on Wednesday. More sunshine will help afternoon temperatures to recover into the low to mid 50s. That will lead to high mixing heights again this afternoon, with southwesterly transport winds making for good ventilation conditions. Surface Winds: S 5-10 this morning, SW 5-12 this afternoon. Transport Winds: SSW 10 this morning, SW 12 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 5000 feet. Ventilation index 60. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 52. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 46%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:40pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:51am. Extended Outlook: Another strong Pacific weather system is forecast to bring more stormy weather to Oregon Friday. A rather impressive low-pressure center is forecast to track close enough to the coastline to bring strong winds to the coastal strip late tonight and Friday morning. A High Wind Watch has been issued for the Oregon coast, from late tonight through Friday, for possible gusts to around 65 mph. Blustery south winds may also make it into the Willamette Valley Friday morning, with gusts to around 40 mph possible. Rain and mountain snow will increase overight, with snow levels staying below the Cascade passes. A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for the Cascades and upper Hood River Valley for Friday. Snow totals in the Cascades will likely range from 1-2 feet, with up to a foot in the upper Hood River Valley. a few inches of snow are also likely in the higher elevations of the coast range. An upper-level trough will maintain shower activity across western Oregon Saturday, with a few more inches of snow possible in the mountains. The next system now appears as if it will be directed at extreme southern Oregon and mainly northern California, on Easter Sunday, with some rain and mountain snow pushing northward across most of Oregon by late in the day. A cool northwesterly flow aloft will keep showers going across western Oregon on Monday, with very low snow levels. Things may dry out briefly next Tuesday, before another fairly strong spring storm moves onshore Wednesday. Showers will linger into Thursday, with yet another system slated to come onshore Friday. Temperatures will remain well below normal with continued much-needed mountain snowfall. Tomorrow (02 Apr): Rain, Windy, and Heavy Mountain Snow. Snow Level 2-3000 Feet. 40/51 Sat (03 Apr): Showers and Very Cool. Snow Level 1500-2500 Feet. 37/50 Easter Sun (04 Apr): Increasing Rain and Mountain Snow Late. Snow Level 3000 Feet. 38/52 Mon (05 Apr): Showers Likely. Continued Cool. Snow Level Near 1500-2500 Feet. 38/51 Tue (06 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of a Shower. Snow Level Rising to 3-4000 Feet. 37/57 Wed (07 Apr): Increasing Chance of Rain and Mountain Snow. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 40/52 Thu (08 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level Near 3000 Feet. 38/55 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Thu Apr 1 12:08:48 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:08:48 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Thursday, April 1st, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. NOON UPDATE Next Update Scheduled For Monday, April 5th, 2010 at 9 a.m. Issued: Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 12:00pm. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 5:30pm. Straw stack burning is allowed from now until 5:00pm. Weather Discussion: Showers rapidly tapered off Wednesday evening, with clearing skies and a cold air mass allowing overnight temperatures to drop to near the freezing mark across much of western Oregon. The exception was along the northern coast, where mostly cloudy skies, and continued light showers, held overnight temperatures near 40 degrees. The remaining shower activity was not able to penetrate eastward, beyond the coast range, due to the stabilizing effects of nighttime cooling across the interior valleys. In the Willamette Valley, Hillsboro and McMinnville both recorded minimums of a frosty 29 degrees this morning. Corvallis and Eugene dipped to 32 degrees, while Salem officially bottomed out at 33 degrees. By late this morning, temperatures had warmed into the mid to upper 40s across western Oregon. Satellite imagery showed considerable convective cloud development over northwestern Oregon, due to the combination of cold air aloft aloft and surface heating by the sun. However, a weak upper-level ridge is beginning to build onshore and turn the flow aloft more northwesterly. Slight warming aloft is acting to cap the convection and limit shower development. Doppler radar only shows scattered light showers north and west of a line from Newport to McMinnville to Hillsboro. The showers were moving northeastward, with the flow aloft still out of the southwest. The late-morning ODA surface analysis showed high pressure building into western Oregon with continued weak southerly gradients from the coast across the Willamette Valley. Wind speeds were in the 5-12 mph range. As the weak upper-level ridge of high pressure continues to push over the region, the flow aloft turn progressively more northwesterly this afternoon. Further drying and slight warming of the air mass should be just enough to counteract the destabilizing effects of daytime heating, so afternoon and evening shower activity will be far less expansive than it was on Wednesday. Partly sunny skies will lift afternoon temperatures into the low to mid 50s. That will lead to high mixing heights again this afternoon, with southwesterly transport winds making for good ventilation conditions. Surface Winds: SW 5-12 this afternoon. Transport Winds: SW 12 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 5000 feet. Ventilation index 60. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 52. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 46%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:40pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:51am. Extended Outlook: Another strong Pacific weather system is forecast to bring more stormy weather to Oregon Friday. A rather impressive low-pressure center is forecast to track close enough to the coastline to bring strong winds to the coastal strip late tonight and Friday. A High Wind Watch has been issued for the Oregon coast, from late tonight through Friday, for possible gusts to around 65 mph. Blustery south winds may also make it into the Willamette Valley Friday morning, with gusts to around 40 mph possible. Rain and mountain snow will increase overight, with snow levels staying below the Cascade passes. A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for the Cascades and upper Hood River Valley for Friday. Snow totals in the Cascades will likely range from 1-2 feet, with up to a foot in the upper Hood River Valley. a few inches of snow are also likely in the higher elevations of the coast range. An upper-level trough will maintain shower activity across western Oregon Saturday, with a few more inches of snow possible in the mountains. The next system now appears as if it will be directed at extreme southern Oregon and mainly northern California, on Easter Sunday, with some rain and mountain snow pushing northward across most of Oregon by late in the day. A cool northwesterly flow aloft will keep showers going across western Oregon on Monday, with very low snow levels. Things may dry out briefly next Tuesday, before another fairly strong spring storm moves onshore Wednesday. Showers will linger into Thursday, with yet another system slated to come onshore Friday. Temperatures will remain well below normal with continued much-needed mountain snowfall. Tomorrow (02 Apr): Rain, Windy, and Heavy Mountain Snow. Snow Level 2-3000 Feet. 40/51 Sat (03 Apr): Showers and Very Cool. Snow Level 1500-2500 Feet. 37/50 Sun (04 Apr): Increasing Rain and Mountain Snow Late. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 38/52 Mon (05 Apr): Rain Turning to Showers. Continued Cool. Snow Level 1500-2500 Feet. 38/51 Tue (06 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of a Shower. Snow Level Rising to 3-4000 Feet. 37/57 Wed (07 Apr): Increasing Chance of Rain and Mountain Snow. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 40/52 Thu (08 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level Near 3000 Feet. 38/54 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Mon Apr 5 09:22:00 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:22:00 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Monday, April 5th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. Issued: Monday, April 5th, 2010 at 9:00am. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 5:30pm. Straw stack burning is allowed from now until 5:00pm. Weather Discussion: A powerful storm brought strong winds and dropped from one-half to one inch of rain across western Oregon last Friday along with heavy mountain snowfall. A cold upper-level trough maintained showers across the region on Saturday with continued very low snow levels. The latest in a series of strong cold fronts swept across western Oregon Sunday afternoon...producing a brief period of blustery winds and locally heavy rain. Since the storm moved through the area quickly, rainfall totals were generally less than one-quarter of an inch, with only a few additional inches of new snow in the Cascades and higher elevations of the coast range. Ahead of the cold front, temperatures managed to climb into the low to mid 50s across western Oregon early Sunday afternoon, which is still well below normal. A cold upper level trough is centered just off the Washington coast this morning, with satellite imagery showing an enhanced area of clouds moving onto the Oregon coast. Doppler radar is showing several bands of showers rotation across western Oregon, in a brisk southwesterly flow aloft. The ODA surface analysis shows tightening southerly pressure gradients across western Oregon, in association with the approaching upper-level disturbance. South winds have been gusting to around 25 mph in the Willamette Valley. Even with south winds, surface temperatures are only near 40 degrees in the lowlands of western Oregon. The air aloft is unseasonably cold, with the snow level around 2000 feet. ODOT road cameras show snow-covered Cascade passes, where temperatures are below freezing. Cool, showery, and blustery weather is in store for today, as an impressive upper-level disturbance moves onshore. There is even a slight chance of a thunderstorm. Showers could also produce bursts of small hail. A few inches inches of additional snow are likely over the Cascades and higher elevations of the coast range. Cold air aloft and brisk southerly winds will make for excellent ventilation conditions today. Coastal and valley high temperatures will be about 10 degrees below normal...struggling to reach 50 degrees. Surface Winds: SSE 10-20 G28 this morning, S 12-25 G35 this afternoon. Transport Winds: S 25 this morning, S 30 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 4000 feet. Ventilation index 120. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 49. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 65%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:45pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:44am. Extended Outlook: Showers will taper off Tuesday, as the flow aloft turns northwesterly and dries out. Wednesday looks dry and warmer, and may end up being the nicest day of the next week, as a transitory upper-level ridge moves Oregon. The break in the weather will be brief, with another cold system forecast to come onshore early Thursday. An upper-level trough will keep a chance of showers over the region at least through Sunday, with continued fairly low snow levels. Temperatures may warm close to normal on Wednesday but otherwise remain below normal for the extended forecast period. Tomorrow (06 Apr): Decreasing Showers. Snow Level Rising to 3000 Feet. 37/53 Wed (07 Apr): Becoming Partly Sunny and Warmer. 37/61 Thu (08 Apr): Rain Likely with Mountain Snow. Snow Level Dropping to 3000 Feet. 40/52 Fri (09 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 3-400 Feet. 34/54 Sat (10 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 35/56 Sun (11 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 37/58 Mon (12 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 37/59 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Mon Apr 5 12:07:38 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:07:38 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Monday, April 5th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. NOON UPDATE Issued: Monday, April 5th, 2010 at 12:00pm. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 5:30pm. Straw stack burning is allowed from now until 5:00pm. Weather Discussion: A cold upper level trough was centered just offshore as of late this morning. Satellite imagery showed an enhanced area of clouds arcing around a circulation center, about 150 miles off the northern Oregon coast, and into western Oregon. Doppler radar showed several bands of showers rotating onshore and across western Oregon. The bulk of the showers were north and west of a Portland-to-McMinnville-to-Newport line and moving quickly to the north-northeast, in a brisk south-southwesterly flow aloft. The late-morning ODA surface analysis showed southerly pressure gradients continuing to tighten across western Oregon, in association with the approaching upper-level disturbance. South winds were gusting to around 30 mph, from McMinnville to Eugene. Even with the gusty southerly winds, surface temperatures had mostly only warmed into the mid 40s across western Oregon. Just ahead of the upper-level disturbance, some sunbreaks helped Cascade pass temperatures lift above freezing. However, the air mass aloft is still quite cold, so pass temperatures should quickly fall back below freezing this afternoon, as showers increase with more snow accumulations likely. As the offshore upper-level disturbance slowly advances eastward, this afternoon, so will the showers and blustery southerly winds. Cool, showery, and blustery weather will sweep across all of western Oregon this afternoon. There is even a chance of a thunderstorms and/or bursts of small hail. A few inches of additional snow are likely over the Cascades and higher elevations of the coast range. High temperatures will be about 10 degrees below normal. Salem\'s normal high temperature today is 60 degrees. Shower activity will begin to decrease this evening, as the flow aloft slowly turns more northwesterly. The bulk of the showers will hang out over the western (windward) slopes of the coast range and the Cascades. Southerly winds will also slowly decrease overnight but should stay strong enough to keep the atmosphere well-mixed and keep surface temperatures from dropping much below the upper 30s. Surface Winds: S 12-25 G35 this afternoon. Transport Winds: SSW 35 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 4000 feet. Ventilation index 140. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 49. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 65%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:45pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:44am. Extended Outlook: Showers will continue to taper off Tuesday, as the northwesterly flow aloft begins to dry out. Wednesday looks dry and warmer, with the possible exception of a weak warm front bringing some light rain to extreme northwestern Oregon Wednesday morning. Temperatures could recover to near normal Wednesday afternoon, as skies continue to clear. The break in the weather will be brief, with another strong cold front forecast to come onshore early Thursday. An upper-level trough will keep a chance of showers over the region at least through Sunday, with continued fairly low snow levels. Temperatures may warm close to normal on Wednesday but otherwise remain below normal for the extended forecast period. Tomorrow (06 Apr): Decreasing Showers. Snow Level Rising to 3000 Feet. 37/53 Wed (07 Apr): Becoming Partly Sunny and Warmer. 37/61 Thu (08 Apr): Rain Likely with Mountain Snow. Snow Level Dropping to 3000 Feet. 40/52 Fri (09 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 34/54 Sat (10 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 35/56 Sun (11 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 37/58 Mon (12 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 37/59 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Tue Apr 6 09:11:40 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:11:40 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. The daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be Thursday, April 15th. This product will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st. Issued: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 at 9:00am. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 5:30pm. Stack burning is not allowed. Weather Discussion: A compact storm developed just off the northern Oregon coast Monday, with a strong cold front moving across northwestern Oregon Monday afternoon. The storm produced strong winds and local downpours. South winds gusted to 70 mph along the northern and central Oregon coast and to between 40 and 50 mph across the Willamette Valley. Salem and Forest Grove both recorded peak gusts of over 50 mph (54 mph and 53 mph respectively) shortly after 4 p.m. There were some downed trees and power outages from the storm. Up to an inch of rain fell along the coast, with locally just over one-third of an inch falling in the Willamette Valley. Even with the strong southerly winds, cold air aloft held high temperatures near 50 degrees Monday afternoon. Salem and Eugene both recorded a high of just 49 degrees...more than 10 degrees below normal. Shower activity continued overnight, with strong onshore flow enhancing the showers over the western slopes of the northern Cascades. 4-8 inches of new snow fell overnight at the ski areas. 3-6 inces of snow fell over the Cascade passes overnight, with the snow level near 2500 feet. ODOT road cameras showed snow-packed road surfaces over the Cascade passes this morning, where temperatures were only in the mid 20s. Southerly winds slowly decreased overnight but stayed strong enough to keep the atmosphere well-mixed. Coastal and valley temperatures stayed mostly in the 40s overnight, even though the air aloft is very cold. The freezing level was measured over Salem this morning at just 3400 feet. Doppler radar showed showers continuing to circulate onshore and across northwestern Oregon this morning, in a westerly flow aloft. Mid-morning temperatures were mostly in the low to mid 40s. Southerly winds had decreased significantly, with occasional gusts to near 20 mph. A building ridge of high pressure will turn the flow aloft northwesterly this afternoon and begin to stabilize the air mass over western Oregon. That should lead to some sunbreaks, with the showers ending by this evening. Slight warming aloft and peeks at the sun should help temperatures climb into the low to mid 50s this afternoon. Partial clearning will allow valley temperatures to drop into the mid to upper 30s overnight. However, a weak warm front will keep some clouds, and a slight chance of rain, over the northwestern corner of the state. Surface Winds: S 7-15 G20 this morning, SW 5-15 this afternoon. Transport Winds: SW 20 this morning, W 15 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 4500 feet. Ventilation index 90. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 53. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 57%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:46pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:42am. Extended Outlook: Wednesday looks dry and warmer, with the possible exception of a weak warm front bringing some light rain to extreme northwestern Oregon Wednesday morning. Temperatures could recover to near normal Wednesday afternoon, as skies continue to clear. The break in the weather will be brief, with another strong cold front forecast to come onshore early Thursday. An upper-level trough will keep a chance of showers over the region Friday. We may see a little warming on Saturday, ahead of the next upper-level trough that is forecast to come onshore Sunday. Cool and showery conditions will likely last into early next week, with continued unseasonably low snow levels. With the exception of tomorrow, temperatures will likely remain below normal through the extended forecast period. Tomorrow (07 Apr): Becoming Partly Sunny and Warmer. 37/61 Thu (08 Apr): Rain, Blustery, & Cooler. Snow Level Dropping to 3000 Feet. 42/51 Fri (09 Apr): Chance of Showers. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 34/53 Sat (10 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 4-5000 Feet. 33/59 Sun (11 Apr): Increasing Showers. Cooler. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 38/56 Mon (12 Apr): Showers Likely. Cooler. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 38/53 Tue (13 Apr): Showers Likely. Continued Cool. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 38/53 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Tue Apr 6 12:12:59 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:12:59 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. The daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be Thursday, April 15th. This product will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st. Issued: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 at 12:00pm. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 5:30pm. Stack burning is not allowed. Weather Discussion: Shower activity was beginning to taper off this morning across northwestern Oregon, but strong onshore flow was still enhancing the showers over the western slopes of the northern Cascades and coastal range. The snow level near is 2500 feet and ODOT road cameras showed snow-packed road surfaces over the Cascade passes late this morning, with pass temperatures near freezing. Southerly winds were also slowly decreasing across northwestern Oregon...generally in the 5-15 mph range late this morning. Temperatures were in the mid to upper 40s across the Willamette Valley and upper 40s to low 50s along the coast. Doppler radar and surface reports indicated that scattered showers were still falling as far south as Roseburg, being fueled by a strong onshore flow. Satellite imagery showed cloudy skies covering most of western Oregon, with some sunbreaks along the coast and in the Medford area. Their were numerous breaks in the overcast east of the Cascades. A building ridge of high pressure will turn the flow aloft northwesterly this afternoon and begin to stabilize the air mass over western Oregon. That should lead to some sunbreaks, with the showers ending by this evening. Slight warming aloft and glimpses of sunshine should help temperatures climb into the low to mid 50s this afternoon. Partial clearning will allow valley temperatures to drop into the mid to upper 30s overnight. A weak warm front will keep some clouds over the northwest corner of the state tonight, with a slight chance of light rain along the north coast. Surface Winds: SW 5-15 this afternoon. Transport Winds: W 15 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 4500 feet. Ventilation index 90. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 53. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 57%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:46pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:42am. Extended Outlook: Wednesday looks dry and warmer, with the possible exception of a weak warm front possibly bringing some sprinkles or very light light rain to the north coast in the morning. Temperatures could recover close to normal Wednesday afternoon, with some sunshine. The break in the weather will be brief, with another strong cold front forecast to spread more rain onshore in the pre-dawn hours Thursday and into the Willamette Valley around sunrise. The cold front will also bring blustery south winds to both the coast and the Willamette Valley. An upper-level trough will keep a chance of showers over the region Friday. We will likely get a break in the action, on Saturday, with the next weather system moving into the region Sunday. Cool and showery conditions will likely persist into early next week, with continued unseasonably low snow levels. Tomorrow (07 Apr): Becoming Partly Sunny and Warmer. 37/61 Thu (08 Apr): Rain, Blustery, & Cooler. Snow Level Dropping to 3000 Feet. 42/51 Fri (09 Apr): Chance of Showers. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 34/53 Sat (10 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 4-5000 Feet. 33/59 Sun (11 Apr): Increasing Showers. Cooler. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 38/56 Mon (12 Apr): Showers Likely. Cooler. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 38/53 Tue (13 Apr): Showers Likely. Continued Cool. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 38/53 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Wed Apr 7 09:14:03 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:14:03 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. This daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be Thursday, April 15th. It will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st. Issued: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 at 9:00am. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 6:00pm. Straw stack burning is allowed from 11:00am until 5:00pm. Weather Discussion: A building ridge of high pressure turned the flow aloft northwesterly overnight and stabilized the air mass enough to shut down the shower activity over western Oregon. A warm front was spreading clouds across most of Washington and the northwestern corner of Oregon this morning. Doppler radar and surface reports showed areas of light rain making it onto the Washington and northern Oregon coast...about as far south as Newport. Some light rain was pushing over the northern coastal range, at mid-morning, and could make it into the western sections of the northern Willamette Valley. The warm front is forecast to lift north of the region by this afternoon. Satellite imagery showed clouds extending about as far south as North Bend, along the coast, and across Marion County in the Willamette Valley. Skies were mostly sunny over the south valley at mid-morning. Temperatures across western Oregon ranged from the upper 30s in the south, where skies were mostly clear, to the mid 40s in the north, under mostly cloudy skies. The ODA surface analysis showed very weak southeasterly pressure gradients across western Oregon with winds generally less than 10 mph. Skies should clear later today, from south to north across the Willamette Valley, as the offshore warm front lifts north of the region. Freezing levels have jumped above 6000 feet and will continue to rise through this afternoon. Warmer air aloft and some sunshine will finally lift high temperatures to near normal this afternoon (low 60s). Some middle and high clouds will likely keep the north valley a few degrees cooler than the south valley. Surface Winds: SE 0-8 this morning, SSW 5-10 this afternoon. Transport Winds: S 8 this morning, SSW 8 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 3000 feet. Ventilation index 24. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 61. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 51%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:48pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:40am. Extended Outlook: The break in the weather will be brief, with another strong cold front forecast to spread more rain onshore shortly after midnight. Rain will likely spread into the Willamette Valley during the pre-dawn hours Thursday. The cold front will also bring blustery south winds to both the coast and the Willamette Valley Thursday morning. Snow levels will quickly drop in the wake of the cold front Thursday afternoon, with significant snow accumulations likely over the Cascade passes and in the higher elevations of the coast range. An upper-level trough will keep a chance of showers over the region Friday...mainly north. We may get a brief break in the action, on Saturday, with the next weather system moving into the region Sunday. Cool and showery conditions will likely persist through the first half of next week, with continued unseasonably low snow levels. Tomorrow (08 Apr): Rain, Windy, & Much Cooler. Snow Level Dropping to 3000 Feet. 43/49 Fri (09 Apr): Chance of Showers....Mainly North. Snow Level 2-3000 Feet. 34/52 Sat (10 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level Rising to 4-5000 Feet. 33/59 Sun (11 Apr): Increasing Showers. Cooler. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 37/56 Mon (12 Apr): Showers Likely. Cooler. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 36/53 Tue (13 Apr): Showers Likely. Continued Cool. Snow Level 3000 Feet. 37/53 Wed (14 Apr): Showers Likely. Continued Cool. Snow Level 3000 Feet. 37/53 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Wed Apr 7 12:09:08 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:09:08 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. This daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be Thursday, April 15th. It will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st. Issued: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 at 12:00pm. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 6:00pm. Straw stack burning is allowed from now until 5:00pm. Weather Discussion: A Pacific warm front is spreading clouds across most of Washington and the northwestern corner of Oregon today. Some light rain has fallen this morning along the northern Oregon coast and the extreme northern Willamette Valley. Astoria picked up .02 inches of rain in the 6-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Portland received a trace of rain. Doppler radar showed another area of light rain advancing onto the northern Oregon coast and into the northern coastal range at midday. The rain appeared to extend about as far south as Newport. Meanwhile, satellite imagery showed some breaks in the clouds over the southern Willamette Valley. Skies were mostly sunny, at midday, over southwestern, central and eastern Oregon. Temperatures ranged mostly from the upper 40s to mid 50s on both sides of the Cascades. The late-morning ODA surface analysis showed very weak southeasterly pressure gradients across western Oregon with winds generally less than 10 mph. The warm front is forecast to lift northward this afternoon but will continue to bring a chance of sprinkles or light rain to the north coast and the extreme northern Willamette Valley. Skies should remain mostly sunny over the south valley, with considerable middle and high clouds covering the north valley. Freezing levels have jumped well above 6000 feet and are continuing to rise ahead of a cold front that is approaching the northern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Warmer air aloft and some filtered sunshine should help temperatures climb into the low 60s across the Willamette Valley this afternoon, which is near normal for early April. The north valley will likely stay a little cooler than the south valley. Surface Winds: SE 3-8...becoming SSW 5-10 by late this afternoon. Transport Winds: S 8...becoming SSW 8 by late this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 3000 feet. Ventilation index 24. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 61. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 48%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:48pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:40am. Extended Outlook: The break in the weather will be brief, with another strong cold front forecast to spread more rain onshore shortly after midnight. Rain will likely spread into the Willamette Valley during the pre-dawn hours Thursday. The cold front will also bring blustery south winds to both the coast and the Willamette Valley Thursday morning. Snow levels will quickly drop in the wake of the cold front Thursday afternoon, with significant snow accumulations likely over the Cascade passes and in the higher elevations of the coast range. An upper-level trough will keep a chance of showers over the region Friday...mainly north. We may get a brief break in the action, on Saturday, with the next weather system moving into the region Sunday. Cool and showery conditions will likely persist through the first half of next week, with continued unseasonably low snow levels. Tomorrow (08 Apr): Rain, Windy, & Much Cooler. Snow Level Dropping to 3000 Feet. 43/49 Fri (09 Apr): Chance of Showers....Mainly North. Snow Level 2-3000 Feet. 34/52 Sat (10 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level Rising to 4-5000 Feet. 33/59 Sun (11 Apr): Increasing Showers. Cooler. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 37/56 Mon (12 Apr): Showers Likely. Cooler. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 36/53 Tue (13 Apr): Showers Likely. Continued Cool. Snow Level 3000 Feet. 37/53 Wed (14 Apr): Showers Likely. Continued Cool. Snow Level 3000 Feet. 37/53 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Thu Apr 8 09:10:27 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:10:27 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Thursday, April 8th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. This daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be Thursday, April 15th. It will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st. Issued: Thursday, April 8th, 2010 at 9:00am. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 6:00pm. Straw stack burning is allowed from now until 5:00pm. Weather Discussion: A vigorous cold front rapidly swept across western Oregon in the pre-dawn hours this morning and was already nearing the Idaho border by mid-morning. The front dropped between one-quarter and one-half inch of rain along the coast and up to around one-quarter of an inch in the Willmatte Valley. Snow levels rapidly dropped to between 2000 and 3000 feet with the passage of the cold front. From 2-7 inches of new snow was reported this morning at the ski areas in the northern and central Oregon Cascades. ODOT road cameras showed snow-packed Cascade passes this morning, where temperatures had dropped into the low to mid 20s. The strong cold front also brought rain and snow squalls to central and eastern Oregon this morning, along with very windy conditions. In the immediate wake of the cold front, Pendleton was getting west winds gusting to 50 mph. On the back side of the cold front, 30-40 mph westerly wind gusts were common east of the Cascades this morning, with post-frontal temperatures dropping into the 30s. Ahead of the cold front, Ontario and Rome were in the mid to upper 40s with a brisk south wind. Infrared satellite imagery showed considerable convective clouds rotating onto the Washington and mainly northern Oregon coast, in a cold northwesterly flow aloft. Daytime heating will further destabilize the atmosphere today, with showers becoming more vigorous. Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet over northwestern Oregon this afternoon, with showers locally producing small hail along the coast and in the Willamette Valley. Blustery winds will also accompany the showers. Even with some sunbreaks, high temperatures will be at least 10 degrees below normal. Surface Winds: W 5-15 G25 this morning, W 5-15 G25 this afternoon. Transport Winds: WNW 20 this morning, WNW 20 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 5000 feet. Ventilation index 100. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 49. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 50%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:49pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:38am. Extended Outlook: A weak and transitory upper-level ridge will turn the flow aloft more westerly Friday and decrease the shower activity across the state. After a cold morning, temperatures should recover into the low to mid 50s. The air aloft will remain cold enough for daytime heating to increase convective activty and produce at least a few showers...mainly over the northwestern corner of the state. Temperatures will likely warm considerably on Saturday, as the flow aloft turns more southerly, in response to the next system digging southward to off the northern California coast. However, southerly flow aloft and daytime heating may combine to trigger showers late in the day. The offshore upper-level trough is forecast to move mainly to our south, Sunday and Monday, but the air aloft should destabilize enough for an increasing shower threat. The next trough is forecast to take aim more at Oregon Tuesday through Thursday of next week. Tomorrow (09 Apr): Chance of Showers....Mainly North. Snow Level 2-3000 Feet. 33/54 Sat (10 Apr): Partly Cloudy and Warmer. Chance of PM Showers. Snow Level 5000 Feet. 33/62 Sun (11 Apr): Increasing Chance of Showers. Cooler. Snow Level 4-5000 Feet. 37/59 Mon (12 Apr): Showers Likely. Cooler. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 38/55 Tue (13 Apr): Showers Likely Late. Snow Level 4-5000 Feet. 37/56 Wed (14 Apr): Showers Likely. Cool. Snow Level 3000 Feet. 37/53 Thu (15 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 37/57 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Thu Apr 8 12:08:47 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:08:47 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Thursday, April 8th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. This daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be Thursday, April 15th. It will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st. ...Next Update Scheduled for Monday, April 12th, 2009... Issued: Thursday, April 8th, 2010 at 12:00pm. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 6:00pm. Straw stack burning is allowed from now until 5:00pm. Weather Discussion: A vigorous and fast-movning cold front swept across western Oregon in the pre-dawn hours this morning and was already moving into Idaho at midday. The front dropped between one- quarter and one-half inch of rain along the coast and up to around one-quarter of an inch in the Willmatte Valley. In the wake of the front, snow levels have dropped to near 1500 feet. 2-7 inches of new snow were reported this morning at the ski areas in the northern and central Oregon Cascades. ODOT road cameras showed packed snow over the Cascade passes, at midday, with pass temperatures still in the 20s. Roadside snow was also visible along Oregon Highway 22 at Detroit (elevation 1670 feet). The strong cold front also brought rain and snow squalls to central and eastern Oregon this morning, along with very windy conditions. In the wake of the cold front, Pendleton was still getting west winds gusting to 50 mph late this morning. 30-40 mph westerly winds were common east of the Cascades. Midday temperatures were mostly in the chilly upper 30s and 40s in the wake of the cold front and low 50s ahead of it along the Idaho border. Infrared satellite imagery showed considerable convective clouds rotating onto the Washington and northern Oregon coast, at midday, in a cold northwesterly flow aloft. Daytime heating is acting to further destabilize the atmosphere, with showers becoming more vigorous. There have already been reports of small hail showers in the Willamette Valley this morning. Snow levels will stay near 1500 feet this afternoon, with showers continuing to produce small hail along the coast and in the Willamette Valley. Blustery winds will also accompany the showers. Midday temperatures were in the mid to upper 40s across western Oregon. Even with some sunbreaks, highs will struggle to reach the low 50s. Surface Winds: W 5-15 G25 this morning, W 5-15 G25 this afternoon. Transport Winds: WNW 20 this morning, WNW 20 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 5000 feet. Ventilation index 100. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 49. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 46%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:49pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:38am. Extended Outlook: A weak and transitory upper-level ridge will turn the flow aloft more westerly Friday and decrease the shower activity across the state. After a cold morning, temperatures should recover into the low to mid 50s. The air aloft will remain cold enough for daytime heating to increase convective activty and produce at least a few showers...mainly over the northwestern corner of the state. Temperatures will likely warm considerably on Saturday, as the flow aloft turns more southerly, in response to the next system digging southward to off the northern California coast. However, southerly flow aloft and daytime heating may combine to trigger showers late in the day. The offshore upper-level trough is forecast to move mainly to our south, Sunday and Monday, but the air aloft should destabilize enough for an increasing shower threat. The next trough is forecast to take aim more at Oregon Tuesday through Thursday of next week. Tomorrow (09 Apr): Chance of Showers....Mainly North. Snow Level 2-3000 Feet. 33/54 Sat (10 Apr): Partly Cloudy and Warmer. Chance of PM Showers. Snow Level 5000 Feet. 33/62 Sun (11 Apr): Increasing Chance of Showers. Cooler. Snow Level 4-5000 Feet. 37/59 Mon (12 Apr): Showers Likely. Cooler. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 38/55 Tue (13 Apr): Showers Likely Late. Snow Level 4-5000 Feet. 37/56 Wed (14 Apr): Showers Likely. Cool. Snow Level 3000 Feet. 37/53 Thu (15 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 37/57 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Mon Apr 12 15:17:25 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:17:25 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Monday, April 12th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. This daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be Thursday, April 15th. It will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st. NOON UPDATE Issued: Monday, April 12th, 2010 at 3:00pm. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 6:00pm. Stack burning is not allowed. Weather Discussion: A broad upper-level trough is centered over southwestern Oregon and northern California this afternoon. Most of the energy from this system is being directed south of Oregon, but an area of significant rain did sweep north, across much of western Oregon Sunday night. On the coast, over one-half inch of rain fell over much of Curry County, with about one-quarter of an inch falling as far north as Coquille. Amounts tapered off to around one-tenth of an inch along the northern and central coast. Across the inland valleys of western Oregon, rainfall totals ranged from a little less than a tenth of an inch, to around one-half inch, from Douglas to Multnomah County overnight. Much of western Oregon is in the \"eye of the storm,\" so to speak, today. Bands of rain are circulating over extreme northwestern Oregon, where another two-tenths of an inch have fallen in the Astoria area, and along the Oregon/California border. Only scattered light showers are being reported over most of western Oregon today, with numerous sunbreaks. The ODA surface analysis showed very light pressure gradients across western Oregon this afternoon, and winds were generally variable at less than 10 mph. early afternoon temperatures ranged from the upper 40s to mid 50s along the coast and mid 50s to around 60 in the interior valleys. Freezing levels are around 6000 feet today, which will allow high temperatures to climb into the low 60s across the Willamette Valley this afternoon. Surface heating will also destabilize the atmosphere and lead to scattered showers across much of western Oregon later this afternoon and evening. Doppler radar has shown a general increase in the shower activity since midday...mainly over the coast and Cascade ranges, and across southwestern Oregon. Some of the showers were approaching the southern end of the Willamette Valley...being driven by a light south-southeasterly flow aloft. Skies will stay partly to mostly cloudy overnight with a continued chance of showers. Surface Winds: Var 5-10 this afternoon. Transport Winds: SSW 8 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 5000 feet. Ventilation index 40. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 63. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 34%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:54pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:31am. Extended Outlook: The upper-level trough is forecast to eject eastward, into the Rockies, tomorrow. However, the counterclockwise circulation around it will continue to spin moisture across western Oregon, so the shower threat will not go away. In fact, slight cooling aloft should make for a cooler afternoon. To top things off, another upper-level trough is forecast to set up camp just off the Oregon and northern California coast by late Wednesday, which should increase the southerly flow aloft and the chance of showers. We may get a break from the showers by the second half of this coming weekend, with valley temperatures possibly climbing to near 70 degrees. However, a strong cold front is forecast to come onshore next Monday, with a return of cool valley rain and mountain snow. Tomorrow (13 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Showers Likely. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 44/58 Wed (14 Apr): Increasing Clouds and Chance of Showers PM. Snow Level 5-6000 Feet. 37/62 Thu (15 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 5000 Feet. 38/62 Fri (16 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Showers Likely. Snow Level 5-6000 Feet. 42/62 Sat (17 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers...Mainly North. Snow Level 5-6000 Feet. 43/64 Sun (18 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Slight Chance of Showers. Snow Level 6-7000 Feet. 44/68 Mon (19 Apr): Rain Developing. Much Cooler. Snow Level Dropping to 3-4000 Feet. 44/59 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Tue Apr 13 09:13:44 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:13:44 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. This daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be Thursday, April 15th. It will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st. Issued: Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 at 9:00am. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from 10:00am until 6:00pm. Stack burning is not allowed. Weather Discussion: The upper-level trough that was centered over southwestern Oregon and northern California on Monday is ejecting eastward, into the Rockies, this morning. However, the counterclockwise circulation around it is spinning moisture back across western Oregon, from the northwest. At mid-morning, satellite imagery showed clouds continuing to cover most of both western Washington and western Oregon. Doppler radar and surface reports showed a fairly narrow band of light rain extending from southwestern Washington, just east of Kelso, across the northern Willamette Valley to just west of Corvallis. The rain was moving slowly southeastward and should sweep across the Willamette Valley over the next couple of hours. The shower threat will not go away completely this afternoon, but the steady light rain should ease off by late this morning across the Willamette Valley. Rainfall totals should be less than one-tenth of an inch. The ODA surface analysis showed high pressure trying to build into southwestern Oregon and low pressure over eastern Washigton. That was resulting in weak southwesterly pressure gradients across western Oregon. Winds were generally less than 10 mph at mid-morning and should not increase much through this afternoon. The freezing level dropped slightly overnight and was measured early this morning near 5000 feet over western Oregon. That puts the snow level near 4000 feet, so some areas of minor snow accumulation are possible, over the Cascade passes, this morning. In the wake of the rain-band moving across the Willamette Valley, skies are generally cloudy but dry along the coast this morning. Mostly cloudy skies held temperautures in the 40s overnight across western Oregon and midday readings generally ranged from 45-50 degrees. After reaching highs Monday in the low to mid 60s, more clouds and slightly cooler air aloft will likely yield slightly cooler high temperatures this afternoon. Surface Winds: SW 5-10 this morning, WSW 5-10 this afternoon. Transport Winds: SW 10 this morning, WSW 10 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 5000 feet. Ventilation index 50. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 58. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 48%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:55pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:29am. Extended Outlook: Another upper-level trough is forecast to set up camp just off the Oregon and northern California coast by Wednesday, which will turn the flow aloft more southerly and warm temperaturs slgihtly. Daytime heating will act to destabilize the moist air mass enough to maintain a threat of showers across western Oregon. Not much chance in the overall circulation pattern is forecast Thursday or Friday, with the upper-level trough finally moving onshore Saturday. We may get a break from the showers by the second half of this coming weekend, with valley temperatures climbing slightly above normal. However, a strong cold front is forecast to come onshore next Monday, with a return of cool valley rain and mountain snow. Tomorrow (14 Apr): Increasing Chance of Showers PM. Snow Level Rising to 5000 Feet. 37/61 Thu (15 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 5000 Feet. 38/63 Fri (16 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 6000 Feet. 43/63 Sat (17 Apr): Showers Likely. Snow Level 5000 Feet. 45/62 Sun (18 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Slight Chance of Showers. Snow Level 6-7000 Feet. 44/65 Mon (19 Apr): Rain Developing. Cooler. Snow Level Dropping to 4000 Feet. 44/59 Tue (20 Apr): Showers Likely...Decreasing Late. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 41/57 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Tue Apr 13 12:10:50 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:10:50 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. This daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be Thursday, April 15th. It will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st. Issued: Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 at 12:00pm. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 6:00pm. Stack burning is not allowed. Weather Discussion: The upper-level trough that was centered over southwestern Oregon and northern California on Monday has ejected eastward, into the Rockies. However, the counterclockwise circulation around it is still spinning moisture back across western Oregon. A narow band of light rain slowly pushed southeastward, across the Willamette Valley, this morning. Most locations picked up a few hundredths of an inch. Doppler radar showed the rain moving east of the northern and central valley at midday, but it was over the south valley and extended southwestward to over southwestern Oregon and the southern Oregon coast. Visible satellite imagery showed some partial clearing, in the wake of the light rain, over the northern and central coast and northern coastal range. The late-morning ODA surface analysis showed high pressure trying to build into the coast with low pressure over eastern Washington. That was resulting in 5-15 mph west-southwesterly winds across western Oregon. Temperatures were in the 50-55 degree range. The band of light rain extending from the northern Cascades to the southern Oregon coast will continue to slide slowly eastward this afternoon. However, the shower threat will not completely end across northwestern Oregon. Daytime heating will act to destabilize the atmosphere, while another upper-level disturbance, dropping southward from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, maintains a moist onshore flow into the region. The freezing level has dropped slightly since Monday and is near 5000 feet over western Oregon. That puts the snow level near 4000 feet, so some minor snow accumulation is possible over the higher elevations of the Cascades this afternoon. ODOT road cameras showed just wet pavement over the passes at midday. After reaching highs Monday in the low to mid 60s, more clouds and slightly cooler air aloft will likely keep valley highs from climbing much above 60 degrees this afternoon. Surface Winds: W 5-15 this afternoon. Transport Winds: W 12 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 5000 feet. Ventilation index 60. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 60. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 41%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:55pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:29am. Extended Outlook: Another upper-level trough is forecast to set up camp just off the Oregon and northern California coast tomorrow, which will turn the flow aloft more southerly and warm temperatures slightly. Daytime heating will act to destabilize the moist air mass enough to maintain a threat of showers across western Oregon, aided by an upper-level disturbance forecast to rotate onshore Wednesday evening. Not much chance in the overall circulation pattern is forecast Thursday or Friday, with another weak upper-level disturbance forecast to rotate onshore by Friday. There are signs the entire upper-level trough may finally move onshore Saturday, but that is too far out to call at this time. We may get a break from the showers on Sunday, but that is also too far out to call. The long-range models are consistent in forecasting a strong cold frontto come onshore next Monday, with a return of cool valley rain and mountain snow. Tomorrow (14 Apr): Increasing Chance of Showers PM. Snow Level Rising to 5000 Feet. 37/61 Thu (15 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 5000 Feet. 38/63 Fri (16 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 6000 Feet. 43/63 Sat (17 Apr): Showers Likely. Snow Level 5000 Feet. 45/62 Sun (18 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Slight Chance of Showers. Snow Level 6-7000 Feet. 44/65 Mon (19 Apr): Rain Developing. Cooler. Snow Level Dropping to 4000 Feet. 44/59 Tue (20 Apr): Showers Likely...Decreasing Late. Snow Level 3-4000 Feet. 41/57 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Wed Apr 14 09:21:56 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:21:56 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. This daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be Thursday, April 15th. It will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st. Issued: Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 at 9:00am. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from 11:00am until 6:00pm. Stack burning is not allowed. Weather Discussion: An upper-level trough is parked just off the west coast this morning with a southerly flow aloft over Oregon. Two distinct circulation centers are rotating around in the trough. The one of immediate concern is centered just off the northern California coast. It is spreading considerable clouds over southwestern Oregon and as far north as Lane County. Mid-morning Doppler radar showed showers pushing northwestward, from northern California, to just west of Grants Pass, Oregon. Meanwhile, clearing skies and light winds overnight allowed temperatures to locally drop to the freezing mark in the Willamette Valley. There were areas of valley frost, early this morning, with Hillsboro dipping to 31 degrees and McMinnville falling to 32. Salem and Eugene both dropped at least down to 34 degrees. The ODA surface analysis showed high pressure over Washington and weak low pressure over southwestern Oregon. That was bringing light northerly winds to western Oregon. With some sunshine, mid-morning temperatures were warming into the 40s across northwestern Oregon. With the region under the influence of a cool upper-level trough, the freezing level is still fairly low today, measured over Salem this morning at just 4300 feet. A lack of cloud-cover this morning, over the northern half of western Oregon, will allow the mid-April sunshine to warm Willamette Valley temperatures into the 50s by midday. Valley temperatures will likely climb into the low 60s this afternoon. The upper-level disturbance currently affecting extreme southwestern Oregon will slowly migrate northward this afternoon. Clouds will increase, from south to north, across the Willamette Valley with daytime heating helping to make the atmosphere increasingly unstable. Showers will likely push into the southern valley by late this afternoon and spread north across the remainder of western Oregon this evening. There is also a chance of thunderstorm development. Rainfall totals from the late-day showers could exceed one-quarter of an inch. Showers will taper off, from south to north, overnight, with mostly cloudy skies keeping minimums mostly in the 40s. Surface Winds: N 3-8 this morning, N 5-12 this afternoon. Transport Winds: NNE 8 this morning, N 12 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 4000 feet. Ventilation index 48. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 61. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 47%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:56pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:27am. Extended Outlook: We will likely be between upper-level disturbances Thursday, with southerly flow aloft warming temperatures back in the low to mid 60s. Another impulse is forecast to rotate through the region Friday afternoon and evening for an increasing chance of showers. What little is left of the entire upper-level trough may finally move onshore Saturday but with only limited energy for shower development. It still appears that Sunday will be the warmest day of the next 7, with highs possibly climbing into the low 70s. The long-range models are still forecasting a cold front to come onshore late Monday...following by a cool trough on Tuesday. Some drying and warming is forecast for the middle of next week. Tomorrow (15 Apr): Chance AM Shower North. Mostly Sunny. Snow Level 5000 Feet. 41/64 Fri (16 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 6000 Feet. 43/63 Sat (17 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Slight Chance of Showers. Snow Level 6-7000 Feet. 45/66 Sun (18 Apr): Partly Cloudy and Warm. 46/72 Mon (19 Apr): Rain Likely Developing. Cooler. Snow Level Dropping to 4-5000 Feet. 44/62 Tue (20 Apr): Showers Likely...Decreasing Late. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 41/57 Wed (21 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Slight Chance of Showers. 42/61 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Wed Apr 14 12:37:25 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:37:25 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. This daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be Thursday, April 15th. It will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st. Issued: Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 at 12:00pm. Burn Advisory: Recommended burn times for agricultural burning are from now until 6:00pm. Stack burning is not allowed. Weather Discussion: Clearing skies and light winds allowed temperatures to locally drop to the freezing mark in the Willamette Valley early this morning. Hillsboro dipped to 31 degrees and McMinnville fell to 32. Salem bottomed out at 33 degrees, while Eugene dipped to 34. An upper-level trough was parked just off the west coast at midday with a south-southeasterly flow aloft over Oregon. Two distinct circulation centers were rotating around in the trough. The one of immediate concern, near the northern California coast, is spreading considerable clouds over southwestern Oregon and helping convective cloud formation over the southern and central Oregon Cascades. Skies were mostly sunny over the remainder of the state. Doppler radar continued to show light showers over the extreme southwestern corner of the state with a few showers developing over the southern Cascades and over south-central Oregon. The ODA surface analysis showed high pressure over Washington and weak low pressure over south-central Oregon...resuling in light north-northeasterly winds across western Oregon. Under mostly sunny skies, midday temperatures had recovered into the low to mid 50s along the coast and in the Willamette Valley. Sections of southwestern Oregon, where skies were cloudy, were only in the upper 40s. The upper-level disturbance currently affecting extreme southwestern Oregon will slowly migrate northward this afternoon. Clouds will increase, from south to north, across the state. Sunshine ahead of the system should warm Willamette Valley temperatures to around 60 degrees. The daytime heating, combined with cool air aloft, with make the atmosphere increasingly unstable this afternoon and evening. Showers will likely develop over the southern and central Cascades with the possibility of some thundershowers. Showers should spread into the southern Willamette Valley late this afternoon and northward, across the remainder of western Oregon, this evening and tonight. There is a slight chance that the atmosphere could be unstable enough for an evening valley thunderstorm. Rainfall totals will likely vary significantly, with some areas picking up only a few hundredths of an inch and others getting more than one-quarter of an inch. Showers will taper off, from south to north, overnight, with mostly cloudy skies keeping minimums in the 40s. Surface Winds: NNE 5-12 this afternoon. Transport Winds: NNE 12 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 4000 feet. Ventilation index 48. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 61. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 47%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:56pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:27am. Extended Outlook: We will likely see a break from the showers after Thursday morning with the next upper-level disturbance forecast to rotate through the region Friday afternoon. The entire system is forecast to weaken and come onshore Saturday, but there may not be much shower activity associated with it by that time. It still appears that Sunday will be the nicest day of the next week, with highs possibly climbing into the low 70s. The long-range models continue to show a strong cold front coming onshore by Monday afternoon...followed by a cool trough on Tuesday. Some drying and warming is forecast for the middle of next week, but more systems are slated to make their way onshore late next week. Tomorrow (15 Apr): Chance AM Shower North. Mostly Sunny. Snow Level 5000 Feet. 41/64 Fri (16 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 6000 Feet. 43/63 Sat (17 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Slight Chance of Showers. Snow Level 6-7000 Feet. 45/66 Sun (18 Apr): Partly Cloudy and Warm. 46/72 Mon (19 Apr): Rain Likely Developing. Cooler. Snow Level Dropping to 4-5000 Feet. 44/62 Tue (20 Apr): Showers Likely...Decreasing Late. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 41/57 Wed (21 Apr): Partly Cloudy. Slight Chance of Showers. 42/61 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Thu Apr 15 09:23:03 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:23:03 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Thursday, April 15th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. This daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. The last broadcast and email of this forecast will be today at 12:00 p.m. It will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st, 2010. Issued: Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at 9:00am. Burn Advisory: Agricultural burning is not recommended. Stack burning is not allowed. Weather Discussion: An broad upper-level trough, centered about 350 miles off the Oregon coast, rotated a spoke of energy northward, across Oregon, Wednesday evening. Plenty of daytime heating, ahead of that disturbance, added fuel to the showers, as they developed over the Cascades and eventually rolled over the Willamette Valley, via a southeasterly flow aloft. CoCoRaHS reporting stations showed a broad range of rainfall totals across western Oregon Wednesday. Around one-quarter of an inch fell over most of southwestern Oregon, with the showers gaining intensity as they moved north, into Lane County, Wednesday evening. Up to one-half inch of rain fell along the western slopes of the Lane County Cascades. The rainfall totals ramped up to three-quarters of an inch, further north, in the Cascade foothills of Linn County and to more than an inch in the foothills of Marion County. The snow level through of this was around 4500 feet, so the Cascade passes stayed mostly wet, but the ski areas reported up to one-half foot of new snow. The main area of showers turned to the northwest Wednesday night and moved out over the Willamette Valley. Much of Marion and eastern Polk County picked up heavy rain, with valley totals over three-quarters of an inch. The Salem Airport picked up .83 inches. Rainfall began to taper off, as the showers progressed northward overnight, but the northern Willamette Valle still picked up between one-quarter and one-half inch. The southwestern Willamette Valley missed out on the heaviest rain but still picked up between one-tenth and one-quarter of an inch. By mid-morning, Doppler radar showed the main rain bands had moved north of the state, with light rain being reported across much of western, south-central, and southeastern Washington. A few areas of light rain also extended into northeastern Oregon. Light rain was just ending over the extreme northern Willamette Valley and along the northern Oregon coast. In the wake of the shower activity, satellite imagery showed mostly sunny skies over most of Oregon at mid-morning, with a few areas of western valley fog. Visibilites in Corvallis and Eugene were only around one-quarter of a mile due to fog. With cloudy and rainy conditions, overnight temperatures stayed in the 40s across western Oregon. The mid-morning ODA surface analysis showed very weak pressure gradients over western Oregon. Valley winds were mostly light southeasterly, and temperatures were in the mid to upper 40s. No upper-level disturbances are forecast to rotate across Oregon today, so daytime heating will likely only generate isolated shower activity, at most, this afternoon and evening...mainly over the Cascades. Southerly flow aloft will lift freezing levels to around 7000 feet this afternoon with mostly sunny skies helping valley temperatures climb into the mid 60s. Surface Winds: SSE 3-7 this morning, NNW 3-8 this afternoon. Transport Winds: SSE 5 this morning, NNW 8 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 5000 feet. Ventilation index 40. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 66. Humidities: Relative humidity drops to 50% by 1pm. Minimum relative humidity will be near 40%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:58pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:26am. Extended Outlook: The next upper-level disturbance is forecast to be much weaker than the one that rolled through the region last night but will likely combine with daytime heating to trigger some showers across western Oregon Friday afternoon and evening. The entire upper-level trough is forecast to weaken and come onshore Saturday, but there may not be much strength left to it by that time. It still appears that Sunday will be the warmest day of the next week, with highs possibly climbing into the low 70s. The long-range models continue to show a strong cold front coming onshore by Monday afternoon...followed by a cool trough on Tuesday. More weak weather systems are slated to make their way onshore during the second half of next week, but they forecast to move mainly into Washington and southern British Columbia. Tomorrow (16 Apr): Chance of Mainly PM Showers. Snow Level 6000 Feet. 41/68 Sat (17 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 6000 Feet. 44/64 Sun (18 Apr): Partly Cloudy and Warm. 46/72 Mon (19 Apr): Rain Likely Developing. Cooler. Snow Level Dropping to 4-5000 Feet. 47/62 Tue (20 Apr): Showers Likely...Mainly South. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 41/57 Wed (21 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers...Mainly North. Snow Level 5000 Feet. 39/61 Thu (22 Apr): Becoming Partly Sunny. Chance of Showers North. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 39/60 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us From willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Thu Apr 15 12:16:49 2010 From: willamette-fcst at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Willamette Valley Ag/Burning Forecast) Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:16:49 -0500 Subject: [willamette-fcst] Forecast - Thursday, April 15th, 2010 Message-ID: Daily Smoke Management Forecast Oregon Department of Agriculture Smoke Management Program Weather Outlook and Field Burning Advisory for Willamette Valley Growers and Fire Districts. This daily Willamette Valley Agricultural Weather Forecast will become a seasonal product, as of Friday April 16th. This is the last broadcast and email of this forecast. It will return as the \"Willamette Valley Field Burning Weather Forecast,\" issued daily via email and broadcast on WPOZ 585, beginning Thursday July 1st, 2010. Issued: Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. Burn Advisory: Agricultural burning is not recommended. Stack burning is not allowed. Weather Discussion: A broad upper-level trough, centered well off the Oregon coast, rotated a spoke of energy northward, across Oregon, Wednesday evening. Ahead of it, sunny skies provided enough afternoon heating to add fuel to the showers, as they developed over the Cascades. The showers eventually rolled over the Willamette Valley, via a southeasterly flow aloft. CoCoRaHS reporting stations showed a broad range of rainfall totals across western Oregon Wednesday. Around one-quarter of an inch fell over most of southwestern Oregon, with the showers gaining intensity as they moved north, into Lane County, Wednesday evening. Up to one-half inch of rain fell along the western slopes of the Lane County Cascades. The rainfall totals ramped up to three-quarters of an inch, further north, in the Cascade foothills of Linn County and to more than an inch in the foothills of Marion County. The snow level through of this was around 4500 feet, so the Cascade passes stayed mostly wet, but the ski areas reported up to one-half foot of new snow. The main area of showers turned to the northwest Wednesday night and moved out over the Willamette Valley. Much of Marion and eastern Polk County picked up heavy rain, with valley totals over three-quarters of an inch. The Salem Airport picked up .83 inches. Rainfall began to taper off, as the showers progressed northward overnight, but the northern Willamette Valle still picked up between one-quarter and one-half inch. The southwestern Willamette Valley missed out on the heaviest rain but still picked up between one-tenth and one-quarter of an inch. By late this morning, Doppler radar showed the main rain bands had moved well north of Oregon and stretched from northwestern to southeastern Washington. In the wake of the shower activity, satellite imagery showed mostly sunny skies over all but the extreme northwest corner of Oregon. The late-morning ODA surface analysis showed very weak northerly pressure gradients over western Oregon. Valley winds were mostly around 5 mph or less and temperatures had warmed into the low to mid 50s. No upper-level disturbances are forecast to rotate across Oregon today, so daytime heating will, at most, only generate isolated shower activity this afternoon and evening...mainly over the Cascades. Southerly flow aloft will lift freezing levels to around 7000 feet this afternoon with mostly sunny skies helping valley temperatures climb into the low to mid 60s. Surface Winds: NNW 3-8 this afternoon. Transport Winds: NNW 8 this afternoon. Atmospheric Ventilation Conditions: Maximum mixing height today will be near 5000 feet. Ventilation index 40. High Temperature: Salem\'s high temperature today will be near 66. Humidities: Minimum relative humidity will be near 40%. Sunrise/Sunset: Salem sunset tonight: 7:58pm; sunrise tomorrow: 6:26am. Extended Outlook: The next upper-level disturbance is forecast to be much weaker than the one that rolled through the region last night but will likely combine with daytime heating to trigger some showers across western Oregon Friday afternoon and evening. The entire upper-level trough is forecast to weaken and come onshore Saturday, but there may not be much strength left to it by that time. It still appears that Sunday will be the warmest day of the next week, with highs possibly climbing to near 70 degrees. The long-range models continue to show a strong cold front coming onshore by Monday afternoon...followed by a cool trough on Tuesday. More weather systems are slated to make their way onshore during the second half of next week, mainly into Washington and southern British Columbia, with a cool west-northwesterly flow aloft. A stronger system may come onshore about next Friday that could drop snow levels below the Cascade passes. Tomorrow (16 Apr): Chance of Mainly PM Showers. Snow Level 6000 Feet. 41/68 Sat (17 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers. Snow Level 6000 Feet. 44/64 Sun (18 Apr): Partly Cloudy and Warm. 45/70 Mon (19 Apr): Rain Likely Developing. Cooler. Snow Level Dropping to 4-5000 Feet. 47/60 Tue (20 Apr): Showers Likely...Mainly South. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 41/57 Wed (21 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers...Mainly North. Snow Level 5000 Feet. 37/59 Thu (22 Apr): Mostly Cloudy. Chance of Showers...Mainly North. Snow Level 4000 Feet. 37/59 ODA Meteorologist weather at oda.state.or.us