As the storm system I blogged about yesterday continues to approach, the National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for our area. Not much has changed in the forecast (except a slightly lower chance of rain), so I won’t go into too much detail about that here. If you missed it, feel free to click the link above to read through that.
The new wind advisory will take effect at 8 am Sunday and last until 1 am Monday. Winds are expected to be in the 25 to 35 mph range with gusts around 50 mph. It looks like the gusts will be at their strongest Sunday afternoon and evening. The strongest winds will, as usual, be in exposed areas like the tops of hills or ridges and places outside of town that don’t have any trees or structures to stop the wind. It will be moving from west to east, so travel may become difficult on north/south roads, especially for high profile vehicles.
This advisory is for the Lower Columbia Basin and the Foothills of the Blue Mountains. This includes the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla, Hermiston, and Pendleton. Outside our immediate area, wind advisories are also in place for Central Oregon, the Columbia Gorge, Yakima Valley, and Kittitas Valley. If you’re hoping to escape the wind, it looks like you’ll have to go find a mountain valley that got lucky or head down to the Medford, Oregon area.
Speaking of travel, a winter storm warning is in place for the west side of the Cascades – including and north of White Pass. If you’re headed across one of the major passes Sunday, be prepared for winter driving conditions. Snow accumulations are expected to be in the 12 to 24 inch range, with higher values possible near the volcanoes. Be sure to check travel conditions before you head out either at WSDOT’s website or Oregon’s TripCheck. As of writing, there are no alerts in place for the Blue Mountains.
Finally, I’ll make another shameless plug for the People’s Choice Awards! I would really appreciate your vote for me, Mark Ingalls, in the Best Weathercaster category. Head over to this link to vote daily, and thank you!
