Portland has had some wild weather this year — a snowstorm in April, the hottest October on record — but don’t add “snow in early November” to the list just yet.
Once again, this is a case of don’t believe everything you see on your smartphone.
“We’re aware that some weather apps are highlighting the potential for snow next week,” said Andy Bryant hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Portland.
But, he said, “it doesn’t look conducive to us getting snow west of the Cascades.”
Snowflakes in November?!
According to Bryant, the issue with some long-range models that weather apps rely on is they don’t account for marine air.
“It’s really hard for us to overcome the influence of marine air,” he said.
Also, he added, snow on Nov. 8 or 9 would be “unprecedented.”
“The earliest that we’ve seen snow here in Portland that we’re aware of is Nov. 11,” Bryant said.
Of course, he noted, “it seems like unprecedented weather keeps coming up here in the Portland area,” but this time, the weather pattern just isn’t shaping up to give us an early November snow.
“So everybody can take a breath,” he said, and “not hit the panic button.”
Fine. Put the panic button away. But not too far away. You never know when we might need it again.
— Lizzy Acker
503-221-8052; lacker@oregonian.com; @lizzzyacker
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