Lohmann: Little Relief Enjoyed From Recent System

As we prepare to welcome in spring, old man winter provided one more shot across the Pacific Northwest this past week. Marilyn Lohmann, meteorologist with the National Weather Service said a cold front rolled across the area Tuesday morning, dropping temperatures and brining windy conditions. She noted, that some areas, such as the Palouse and the foothills of the Blue Mountains saw decent rain showers from this recent system, but unfortunately those showers weren’t enjoyed everywhere.

“Only a tenth to a quarter of an inch ranging from the Yakima-area and the Columbia Basin, down into central and north central Oregon.  We have seen some pretty good improvement in the soil moisture conditions for those areas that have gotten precipitation, but a lot of the area is still very dry soil moisture wise.”

Lohmann added the Northwest also lost some snowpack over the past week because of an elevated snow level.

She said the next opportunity for rain comes this weekend into early next week, but she noted the coming system is not very strong, and will not result in much precipitation total wise.

As the PNW looks to welcome in Spring, Lohmann says the weather will be warmer and drier than normal. And that pattern appears to hold through the end of the month.

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