Anyone who’s been outside in the last few weeks knows that it has been a remarkably gray, damp & cool spring thus far in NW Oregon and SW Washington.  This is wonderful news for the local vampire community.  But for “normies” like myself, it means a bad case of seasonal depression.  I’ve noticed that I handle the gray and chill just fine for the first 3 months (generally November-January here).  By February I’m feeling a little antsy for spring, but I’m willing to be patient for one more month since we usually start to see some sort of improvement by March.

The problem comes when the persistent cold and gloom continues into the spring months of March-May.  This year the first 2 weeks of March were basically an extension of winter; lots of days in the 40s and nights in the 30s, with snow occasionally teasing the lower elevations in the morning hours.   Then we had a brief period of hope in the 3rd week of March, with a few sunny days and some temps in the 60s.  But since about March 22, it’s been nothing but a gloom fest.

Below is the data for the first 9 days of April at PDX.  Our temps are running about 3 degrees F below normal, almost the same cool departure as we had for the full month of March.  This consistent chill means that early spring flowers & trees are about 2 weeks behind normal schedule:  most tulips haven’t even begun to bloom yet.  Saucer magnolias have just begun to emerge over the past week.  And very few deciduous trees are showing green leaves yet, though some of the native bigleaf maples are trying to push out their greenish-yellow flower buds now.  Of course the iconic cherry trees along the Portland Waterfront are early enough that they started blooming 2 weeks ago.

Rainfall for April is about double what we normally see in the first 9 days.  Today will add significantly to that total, thanks to a lingering atmospheric river.  It’s safe to say that unless the 2nd half of the month is almost totally dry, April 2023 will go down as another wet month.

To add insult to injury, weather models this spring have been sadistically teasing us with signs of warmer/sunnier weather on the horizon, only to yank the warm ridge away and bring in more clouds & cool showers as the timeframe approaches.  It happened in the last week of March, when a predicted 4-5 day stretch of sunshine turned into 4-5 HOURS instead.  Then models hinted at a warm spell centered around Easter Weekend, with a couple days in the low 70s.  Instead we got solid overcast and rain with temps in the 50s.  And now, the last few days, the models seem to be playing the game a third time.  What looked like a promising warming trend for late this week and weekend is being flattened out.  Instead of 70s this weekend, we’re now looking at a couple dry days in the low 60s followed by more rain.  As of right now the GFS and ECMWF maps are still showing a brief reprieve from the clouds & rain this Thursday-Saturday at least.  Hopefully that holds, instead of deteriorating still further.

Beyond that, here is the outlook for Sunday-Thursday next week.  Cool and wet conditions are returning; who would have guessed???

Unless things change dramatically by late April and May, this means we’ll be looking at a 2nd consecutive spring with below-normal temperatures, above-normal rainfall, and very little sunshine.  Ugh!  My first 3 springs since moving back to the west side were much more amenable, with considerable periods of sunshine and many days in the 65-85 degree range.  (In fact the spring of 2021 was too dry, and exacerbated severe drought conditions in the region as we went into summer!)

If you’re bothered by the endless barrage of stratiform clouds, you might consider a day or overnight trip to the east side of the Cascades.  Be aware though:  a quick drive to Hood River or The Dalles might not be enough to fully escape the gloom.  Depending on the exact pattern, sometimes you have to head further east (i.e. Tri-Cities) to reach the sunshine in this pattern, or else veer southward into the high deserts of Central Oregon.  That said, the high desert can still become quite chilly in the springtime if a cool airmass overtakes the entire region.

Karl