As Portlanders cracked their windows to let in the crisp morning air, the National Weather Service forecasted a fickle week of April showers and fleeting sunbreaks. According to the NWS, rain is on deck for this afternoon with a 60% chance, as if the gray Portland skies decided it's high time they lived up to the city's splashy reputation, clouds are set to increase with temperatures peaking near 68 degrees, and an east wind flipping its lid to the southwest in the afternoon, quite possibly reaching gusts of 20 mph.
Tonight, the NWS warns of a lingering drizzle with a 30 percent chance of rain before 8 p.m., leaving us with partly cloudy skies and a low snug around 41 degrees. After the wind does its west southwest dance at 5 to 10 mph, it's expected to slip into something a little more comfortable, calming down and going light and variable after the stroke of midnight.
Come Sunday, the city will get a reprieve from precipitation, if only barely, with a modest 20 percent chance of showers. The NWS tells us the skies will clear up, revealing mostly sunny conditions and pushing the mercury up near 61 degrees, a breath of fresh air for residents who've been donning their best rainy-day gear.
As the new week rolls in, so too does a brighter forecast, Monday is projected to be bathed in sunshine with highs flirting with the 70-degree mark, while Tuesday mixes it up, partly sunny, with the mercury climbing to a mild 73, now that's not too shabby for a spring day in this northwestern nook, especially considering the NWS predicts a slight chance of showers by the time Wednesday rolls around—with highs dropping back down to a chillier 63 degrees.
For those Portlanders longing for more consistent spring vibes, it's a classic case of weather whiplash, as the forecast through next Friday swings between the possibility of showers and mostly cloudy skies, with daytime highs vacillating between the upper 50s to the low 60s. Keeping an umbrella at hand and the sandals on standby seems to be the name of the game in this unpredictable April dance of rain and shine.
