21 hours Ago
PORTLAND, Ore. — With much of the U.S.
being blasted with snow, ice and wind from a surge of polar air, it's left many Portlanders wondering: Will we be next? Following a warmer than normal December and recent stretch of warmer-than-average days, a significant shift to colder weather is expected to settle over the Portland area later this month, possibly around Jan. 22, and continuing into February, KGW Meteorologist Rod Hill said. Early projections suggest February could average 3 degrees below normal temperatures, Hill said, indicating a long stretch of colder weather may be on the way.
This could include multiple weather systems in the coming weeks, driven by the polar jet stream, which is expected to dip southward into the Pacific Northwest, according to recent weather models. "At this time, there is no credible snow projection," Hill said. "Other than to say, a transition into a colder weather pattern will open the door for snow chances at low elevations in the coming weeks.
" In the last several years, it's become common for Portland to get at least one stretch of severe winter weather. Last January's weeklong winter storm covered the city in a sheet of snow and ice for days with below-freezing temperatures and the snowstorm in February the year prior broke historic records . “We’ve got a least a month and half before we can say ‘OK, we’re probably not going to get snow,’” KGW Meteorologist Matt Zaffino said.
Once it hits mid-February, the odds of getting snow in Portland "really drop off," he added..
