Widespread subfreezing temperatures will return tonight before a significant warming trend pushes high temperatures to near 80 degrees by early next week. The warm and dry conditions will then transition to a cooler, unsettled pattern by Wednesday.
Scott Dorval's video forecast has another freeze warning AND 80-degree warmth!
A ridge of high pressure will build into the area over the next several days, bringing a warming trend each day through Monday. Temperatures will warm around 10 degrees on Saturday and an additional 10 degrees on Sunday. As the ridge strengthens, surface winds will shift to the south-southeast, aiding in the warming process and creating breezy conditions during the afternoons through Monday.
A closed low-pressure system will reside along the West Coast early next week, pulling warm southerly air into southeast Oregon and southwest Idaho. This flow pattern will continue unseasonably warm temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above normal on Monday and Tuesday. Highs are expected to reach 80 degrees on both days, though there is some uncertainty regarding the exact temperature maximums on Tuesday.
Precipitation will begin to increase across eastern Oregon late Tuesday as the center of the low shifts inland and gradually merges with a longwave trough steering over British Columbia. This merging system will generate breezy surface winds and widespread precipitation over the area Wednesday and Thursday.
Wednesday will see the highest likelihood of precipitation at 50 to 80 percent for the area. High mountain snow will accumulate as snow levels lower to 5,000 to 7,000 feet.
A cooling trend from this system will return temperatures back to near-seasonal normals Wednesday through Friday. By Friday, the latest long-range guidance suggests a relatively dry shortwave trough will break off from the merged low and dig into the area and the Great Basin. Overall precipitation is expected to taper off by late Friday, with mainly mountain areas seeing a 20 to 30 percent chance of showers from remnant moisture.
Tonight
Increasing clouds, with a low around 33. NW wind becoming light and variable.
Saturday
Partly sunny with a chilly morning breeze and a milder afternoon, with a high near 64. SE wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 39. SE wind 5 to 10 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Sunday
Mostly sunny & warmer, with a high near 76. Wind becoming SE to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. East wind 5 to 7 mph.
Monday
Mostly sunny & useasonably warm, with a high near 80.
Monday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 49.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny & continued useasonably warm, with a high near 80.
Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain overnight, with a low around 47.
Wednesday
A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy & much cooler, with a high near 59.
Wednesday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.
Thursday
A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny & continued cool, with a high near 58.
Thursday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.
Friday
Mostly sunny with a milder afternoon, with a high near 63.
