PORTLAND, Ore. — People planning to hit the road early ahead of Thanksgiving week for any holiday travel will want to exercise caution, especially if they're traveling Friday along the northern and central Oregon Coast, along the I-5 corridor south of Portland and north of Eugene, or across the Cascade passes later Friday and into the weekend.
For more on this weekend's weather, click here.
But for travelers who can delay their holiday driving until Tuesday and later into Thanksgiving week, early forecast models show nice weather and the promise of a quiet holiday week for regional travel.
KGW meteorologist Rod Hill said weather models show the area's long stretch of active to showery weather ending during the day Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. He's forecasting dry weather for Tuesday night, Wednesday, Thanksgiving Day and potentially into Friday and Saturday.
"If the pattern holds, a dry forecast would mean easy travel over dry roadways between the coast and valley," Hill said, "and most importantly, dry Cascade passes and through the gorge."
Temperatures will get up near 50 degrees Wednesday through Saturday with lows in the 30s in the valley, Hill said. Winds will generally be light, up to 15 mph.
"It’s possible the dry stretch will last through next weekend, but that’s far from certain at this point," Hill said.
Here's a look at the Thanksgiving week forecast for the Portland metro area, as of Friday.
- Monday: Rain showers, some sunshine, high of 53, low of 40
- Tuesday: Showers end, partly cloudy with some sunshine, high of 53, low of 40
- Wednesday: Early morning fog, sunny with some clouds during the day, high of 50, low of 36
- Thanksgiving Day: Early morning fog, sunny with some clouds during the day, high of 50, low of 36
- Friday: Cloudy with some sun breaks, chance of showers, high of 45, low of 34
- Saturday: Cloudy with some sun breaks, chance of showers, high of 45, low of 35
- Sunday: Chance of rain, high of 44, low of 39
Hill warned that dry weather during this time of year can lead to freezing nights and possible fog and frost, which can be a travel hazard, but he said it's difficult to predict those conditions days in advance. Keep an eye on kgw.com/forecast for the latest weather information during Thanksgiving week.
For people traveling farther south, north or east, Hill said models currently show dry weather over the Siskiyou Summit into California, east through the Blue Mountains and north to Seattle, starting Tuesday of Thanksgiving week.
