I think most of us weather geeks can agree that the winter of 2019-2020 has been extremely boring thus far. We haven’t had a single Pacific windstorm in the region, except for the “bomb cyclone” in Southern Oregon back in late November. Also no flooding in the immediate vicinity of PDX. And as for cold & snow…what initially looked like a promising mid-January snowstorm ended up just giving our area a couple slushy dustings, with temps at the airport barely falling below freezing.

Now we are two-thirds of the way through January….and also about 2/3 of the way through what we normally regard as our winter “action” season. That’s late November through mid-February. Yes…I realize that it’s possible to get snow and arctic cold in early November as well as early March (like last year), but those are rare exceptions to the rule for our climate. Hence…we are now getting to the time of year when cold/snow lovers start to get understandably nervous.

And guess what? There’s no sign of any chilly weather in the next 10 days. Yesterday Sunday may have felt pretty chilly on the east side of the city…but that was just due to the Gorge wind. Temps across most of NW Oregon were in the 50s, with a few low 60s along the coast. In short, a very similar day to my Newport trip last January!

The CPC is showing mild temps over the West Coast this coming weekend into early next week:

That takes us almost to the beginning of February. Yes, it’s very possible to get cold weather in February, as we saw happen both last year as well as for about one week back in 2018. But it’s just as possible to see sunshine and 60-65 degree temps – which is what happened in 2015-16. On rare occasions, a strong upper-level ridge near the end of February can push us even higher than that.

Obviously, it’s still too early to tell what February 2020 has in store for us. But here’s a thought: If we were to get a strong False Spring pattern after Valentine’s Day, with temps up near 65 for a few days, it could ironically end up being the most interesting weather event of the “winter” season. Again, this is pure speculation at this point…but it’s something to ponder.

Hope you have a gracious Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Our country needs that man’s message and vision today more than ever.  -Karl