You may think the promise of two more days that top the weekend’s sunny weather and highs in the mid 60s is an April Fool’s joke, but it’s not.
Portland will kick off the week with two more days of bright sunshine, warm temps, and calm winds before rain returns Tuesday night.
The National Weather Service says a high pressure axis is slowly moving inland setting up the right conditions for clear skies and warming temps. Temperatures should increase a few degrees Monday, and then move into the 70s by Tuesday.
Monday’s high will reach about 69 degrees under sunny skies. Winds will be light and variable.
Tuesday will be the final day in this string of dry days with sunny skies to start, and clouds moving in later in the day. The high will be about 74 degrees. That temp is about 15 degrees warmer than what’s average on April 2, but not a record. The standing record is 79 degrees set in 1992.
The weather service warns of a dramatic pattern change moving in late Tuesday with rain likely to kick in after about midnight. Clouds will increase through the afternoon as a cold and wet system from Alaska pushes high pressure to the east.
Portlanders will wake to rain Wednesday and the day’s high temp will plummet about 20 degrees to only about 53.
And rain isn’t the only dramatic change the region will see. Snow levels are set to dive down to about 1,500 feet later Wednesday as the front passes through the region. Snow levels may sink as low as 500-1,000 feet overnight and into early Thursday morning. The Cascades, Cascade foothills, and the Coast Range may see light accumulations of snow early Thursday as precipitation turns showery once the front moves eastward.
Portland has a 40% chance of rain Thursday, mainly after the noon hour. The snow level will rise to about 2,000 feet during the afternoon under partly sunny skies. Portland’s high will reach near 52.
The extended forecast keeps the Portland/Vancouver area cool and wet into the weekend with high temps staying in the low 50s.