Cooler, wetter weather returns to Oregon, Washington

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Early spring-like weather returns to much of the Portland-Vancouver metro area on Tuesday.

Temperatures will sit nearly 10 degrees cooler than average Tuesday as rain showers increase across the region. Portland needs the rain to steer clear of the drought-free conditions seen over the last week. Rain showers will start to increase in the mid-morning hours and go through the evening. Rain accumulation will be near almost a half-inch from Tuesday to Wednesday evening. It's the cloudy and wet weather that will keep afternoon highs in the upper 50s to low 60s by Tuesday afternoon.

Drier skies will start to work back into western Oregon and Washington on Tuesday evening. Dry weather will carry over into Wednesday morning as a few sun breaks are expected. It's the break in cloud coverage that could create instability in the atmosphere. The unstable atmosphere possible Wednesday afternoon and evening could help in the development of a few isolated thunderstorms. These storms could include downpours and small hail showers tomorrow.

The wet weather trend fades by Thursday with the return of near-average temperatures. The next minor warming trend is met with another round of showers and cooler temperatures by the end of the week and the start of the long holiday weekend. Memorial Day is expected to be dry, sunny and mild with temperatures returning to the mid-70s.