textproduct: Pendleton

KEY MESSAGES

- Breezy Gap winds Today and Tuesday

- Pleasant weather for most of the week with a warming trend

- Mountain showers in the Wallowas This afternoon

DISCUSSION

GOES satellite showed cirrus overspreading east of the Cascades but mainly clear conditions across the much of eastern Oregon with the caveat of lingering mid level clouds from earlier rain showers over the Wallowas and northern Blue Mountains of Washington. Roughly 20 to 50 % chances remain for shower across the Wallowas This afternoon, where snow could mix in but is unlikely to accumulate even above 6500 ft AGL. Models going forward show a gradually building ridge across the PAC NW as 500 mb heights rise from about 564dm to 570 by Tuesday. This sunny high pressure setup will bring some modification to surface temperatures especially in the second half of the week where highs in the 80s should be returnable by Thursday and Friday. Westerly gap and valley winds will also be a diurnally driven sensible weather beginning with the Kittitas valley and the Eastern Columbia Gorge, and adjacent Blue Mountain foothills. Here, areas around Ellensburg has about 75% chances for wind gusts above 30 mph but little if any appreciable chances for gusts above 40 mph. Strongest winds in the region look to be along ridge tops. As the transition form the cooler airmass to the a warmer on on Wednesdays with the upper ridge becoming more centered across Washington and Oregon, the winds will become lighter over a broader area.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z TUESDAY/

Light and variable winds this morning will take time to develop more of a westerly trend, but by early afternoon, westerly gust to 20 and 30 mph can be common in DLS and YKM as gap winds develop across passes and valleys. Cirrus will be the primary clouds and VFR flight category is anticipated for all terminals.

Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs

PDT 69 42 73 46 / 0 0 0 0 ALW 69 46 72 50 / 0 0 0 0 PSC 75 45 78 49 / 0 0 0 0 YKM 74 44 77 48 / 0 0 0 0 HRI 73 44 76 48 / 0 0 0 0 ELN 68 41 70 44 / 0 10 0 0 RDM 68 31 73 37 / 0 0 0 0 LGD 64 36 70 40 / 0 0 0 0 GCD 65 34 71 39 / 0 0 0 0 DLS 73 45 75 50 / 0 0 0 0

PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

WA...None. OR...None.