Is an epic rainy system headed for the Pacific Northwest? Cliff Mass thinks so.
Mass is a professor of atmospheric sciences with a popular weather blog and some unpopular opinions, both weather-related and not. He is, however, well-respected when it comes to day-to-day weather reporting.
In a post from Sunday titled, “The Northwest Will Soon Share California’s Fate,” Mass makes the case that the precipitation that has led to a cold, wet spring in California is coming for Oregon and Washington.
“The situation,” Mass writes, “is forecast to change radically by next Sunday, with a VERY deep, large, and unusual low building over the Pacific Northwest.”
“A drought-buster if I have ever seen one,” he added, “one that will bring substantial precipitation to the Pacific Northwest and southern BC.”
So, what does the National Weather Service say about this?
Jon Bonk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland, said he couldn’t comment on Mass’s post or theory.
“What I can say is that we do have low pressure that will be developing and moving over the Pacific Northwest this weekend,” he said.
That system will bring a chance of rain, which could mean as much as half an inch or an inch over the Cascades.
“What I feel confident in saying,” Bonk added, “is we will have a fairly typical June weather system dropping over the region this weekend to bring us cooler temperatures, with sometimes rainy, sometimes showery weather.”
According to the weather service, some of that cooling will come even sooner, when “temps may test record lows,” especially on Wednesday night.
If you have young plants, they may require a cover if the lows get too low.
As far as drought goes, things aren’t perfect but they are looking up.
Read more: Drought continues in more than half of Oregon, with little relief expected despite healthy snowpack
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor map, much of Oregon is listed at either “none” or “abnormally dry,” the lowest level on the drought scale. Another large section is at “moderate drought,” the next level, with a small section in the center of the state at “severe drought.”
That’s a major change from three months earlier, when parts of the state were in “extreme” and “exceptional” drought conditions, the two highest levels of drought according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
