PORTLAND, Ore. — Winter weather may be far from over in Oregon and southwest Washington. Much of the Willamette Valley, including the Portland metro area, is in for another chance of sticking snow Saturday morning.
A new weather system will arrive into the region Friday night. If low pressure sets up near or south of Astoria, it will induce an east wind that would cool Portland enough to bring some sticking snow, according to KGW meteorologist Rod Hill.
"It’s too soon to tell where that low pressure system will set up and where any snow bands swirling around it align," Hills said, "But there is potential for sticking snow again in the Portland area and really, anywhere in the Willamette Valley Saturday, depending on where things set up."
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the greater Portland-Vancouver metro area until noon on Saturday. As of Friday morning, the NWS reported potential total snow accumulations of one-half inch to two inches for areas above 1,000 feet, and a dusting to about an inch for areas below 1,000 feet.
On Wednesday, NWS Portland tweeted a chart showing their snowfall probabilities for some cities in the valley. The agency said there is an 8% chance of one or more inches of snow in Portland on Saturday, a 42% chance in Sandy and a 22% chance in Eugene.
Saturday afternoon is expected to warm to 40 degrees or above in most areas of the valley, melting anything on the ground.
As the cold weather pattern continues in the Northwest, snow or rain and snow showers are in the forecast through Wednesday, Rod said. Starting Sunday, he expects most of the showers to happen during the day with sun breaks.
Coast range snow
The Oregon Coast Range will be under a Winter Storm Warning from Friday evening until 4 p.m. Saturday. Hill said the coast range could see 6-12 inches of snow in areas above 1,000 feet, and 2-6 inches at the lower elevations.
KGW Weather Links:
VIDEO PLAYLIST: KGW Weather