Our first forecast of the workweek, and perhaps the last of October (I don’t know that, just how slowly I operate) takes us to the teeth of a bomb cyclone/atmospheric river, and a whole lot of climate buzzwords.

At 553AM, PT, Portland was reporting a temperature of 52 degrees with light rain. The Portland metropolitan area was still getting soaked, The rainfall in the Pacific Northwest is ongoing west of the Cascades, but at a lessened rate than it has over the last few days. The strong system in the Gulf of Alaska has moved towards the Panhandle near Sitka and Juneau, which has decreased the westerly flow, but the low level moisture is still available, and the flow is enough that the Cascades will still see steady precipitation with more intermittent rain in Portland.
While all this is good news, it will take until the middle of the day on Wednesday to really wind down, so occasional breezes and rain will be a fixture today and through the beginning of tomorrow. Wednesday afternoon will be the nicest stretch of the forecast, as a secondary, but weaker reinforcing wave is expected to emerge off the Oregon Coast, arriving overnight Wednesday to Thursday. This feature will take a direct shot at the Olympic Peninsula, but Portland will see more rain and wind, especially in the evening on Thursday as the next round slides ashore. This second round will bring a warmer ridge northward, and some warming should be anticipated late.
Tomorrow – Rain in the morning, a bit of clearing late, High 60, Low 50
Thursday – Rain, maybe a rumble of thunder in the evening, High 65,Low 52

TWC: Tomorrow – Cloudy with occasional light rain in the afternoon. High 57, Low 51
Thursday – Rain showers in the morning will evolve into a more steady rain in the afternoon High 65, Low 53

AW: Tomorrow – A thick cloud cover with a little rain High 58, Low 51
Thursday – Mostly cloudy with a couple of showers HIgh 67, Low 54

NWS: Tomorrow – Showers likely before 2pm, then rain likely after 2pm. Cloudy, High 58, Low 50
Thursday – Rain. High 64, Low 50

WB: Tomorrow – Showers likely until afternoon, then rain likely late in the afternoon, High 55, Low 50
Thursday – Rain, High 64, Low 52

WN: Tomorrow – Mostly cloudy with light showers likely, High 58, Low 50
Thursday – Mostly cloudy with rain, High 64, Low 53

FIO: Tomorrow – Light rain throughout the day. High 60, Low 48
Thursday – Light rain throughout the day. High 62, Low 57

We are all over the place in what we expect will happen in Portland over the next couple of days. I’m very interested in seeing how it all plays out.