Martin Luther King Jr. Day will start the week on a mellow note with cloudy skies, only a slight chance of rain and mild temperatures.
A weather system approaching the coast Monday will strike a glancing blow to the tip of northwest Oregon. The coast and the Coast Range will see some showers, and areas of southwest Washington could get some rain through the afternoon. Portland’s high temperature is forecast to be 49 degrees.
Rain in the valleys will begin late Monday night and into Tuesday. The heaviest rain will fall early then turn to showers later in the morning, according to the National Weather Service. The incoming cold front will also bring windy conditions. Portland will see south winds at 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. The high is expected to be 49.
Tuesday’s system could bring a good dumping of snow for the Cascades with the southern Washington Cascades seeing the bulk of the snowfall. Conditions will be windy on the mountains. The snow level will dip below the passes, and driving could be hazardous.
The next in a series of rain events arrives Wednesday afternoon, with the morning mostly. The daytime high is expected to reach 50 degrees. Snow levels may rise above the pass levels later in the day.
The National Weather Service in Portland takes a look a what is “normal” for January: