Washington & Oregon: Severe Lightning Storms Expected This Week

This week will be stormy for both Washington and Oregon, but it looks like the weather could drastically change after that.

A Large Northwest Storm is Expected to Bring Severe Lighting and Rain

You might have heard to expect rain this week if you live in the northwest but in some areas, the weather is expected to be more severe. As this storm front spins through Washington and Oregon from California, it will bring heavy rains and lightning to eastern Oregon. As the system spins over Oregon for the next couple of days, it will stall slightly dropping heavy rain in south-central Washington and northeastern Oregon in places usually drier this time of year. The low-pressure system will continue to spin over the northwest delivering moisture until late Thursday or Friday when the next system flows into British Columbia and northwestern Washington State. Tuesday into Wednesday the system will bring possible strong winds and lightning to eastern Oregon stretching to the Idaho border.

Lighter Snowfall Expected in the Blue Mountains and Cascades

This current weather system is also expected to lower snow levels with anywhere from 3 to 8 inches possible in the Oregon Blue, Cascade, and Strawberry mountains. Expect maybe 1 to 2 inches in the Wallowa Valley and less than an inch in the foothills of the central Oregon Blues. The travel impacts from snow should be minor even at higher elevations in the passes. even though the amount of snow expected should be minimal, it could still create slick driving conditions and low visibility.

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Heavy Rain Expected for South-Central Washington State Thursday

The storm front will spin moisture back up into the central southern parts of Washington State as it leaves the northwest on Thursday into Friday. The strongest amounts of rainfall should be in eastern Oregon and the western sections of Idaho. Idaho is also showing signs of instability that could point to mild chances of tornados possible. By the time the weekend arrives, the northwest should both warm up and dry out with highs in the 70s before another storm front might hit again at the end of next week.