A chilly, wet end to spring break in Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Cooler and wetter weather returns Thursday as the days of spring break quickly come to a close for students in Portland. Portland's temperatures will be far from a tropical vacation as highs sit in the mid-50s Thursday and even cooler temperatures are expected Friday. That's nearly five to 10 degrees cooler than normal for the end of March.
Thursday will start mostly cloudy for western Oregon and Washington. A few breaks in the clouds later in the day will transition to a few light rain showers for some. Rain accumulation will be minimal and isolated Thursday evening.
The next round of heavy rain moves in Friday with Oregon and Washington's latest cold front. That will keep rainy conditions over Portland and below-average temperatures through the middle of next week.
Unfortunately, cloud coverage and rain chances Thursday night will prevent most locations from seeing the planetary alignment.
The wet and cooler-than-normal temperatures will take the Pacific Northwest into the month of April. Breezy conditions are also expected as the latest cold front moves onshore. Wind gusts could climb to 20-25 mph starting Friday and last through Saturday.
Strong winds and a cooler afternoon will also bring early morning lows into the mid and upper 30s next week. That will drop snow elevations to nearly 1,000 feet if the available moisture sticks around.