The wet weather will continue through the day Saturday and linger into Sunday. Temperatures will be mild enough in the afternoon to support mostly rain from Lava Butte North and a wintry mix at times south of Lava Butte. The rainfall will be off and on with some waves of rain a bit more robust than others. This is much needed and beneficial rainfall as it will be consistent and persistent and should soak into the soil effectively. If the ground were frozen or partially frozen, the rain would much more easily drain away. This is good for our water table and the moderate drought we have been in most of the fall season.
The Cascades will be getting some nice snow this weekend as the snow level will be above 5000 feet. The snow will be wet and heavy, but also persistent. This will allow the snow to pile up nicely. There will not be much sun this weekend, so it will be hard to melt when there is a break in the snowfall. Another good sign for our water table, the more snow now, the better we are next spring.
The roads will be dangerously slick in some locations, not all, but some. The roads that don’t get much traffic will see a better chance for some ice to form. The friction from tires and the wind generated by vehicles driving over them helps dry the road surface. I don’t expect much ice this weekend, but we will be below freezing for a few hours each night, so ice is on the table…