Alert archive / Oregon / Mesoscale Discussions in 2017

Mesoscale Discussion 65

January 17, 2017Multnomah County, Washington County, Oregon; Clark County, Klickitat County, Washington

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Jan 17, 2017, 3:42 PM PST for Multnomah County, Washington County, Oregon; Clark County, Klickitat County, Washington. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jan 17, 2017, 3:42 PM PST (23:42 UTC)
Expired
Jan 17, 2017, 9:45 PM PST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Multnomah County, OR, Washington County, OR, Clark County, WA, Klickitat County, WA

The radar

The Portland,OR radar (KRTX), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:42 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Salem/Mcnary, OR (KSLE), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 116 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Salem/Mcnary, OR at 12:00Z on 2017-01-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Salem/Mcnary, OR at 12:00Z on 2017-01-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 235 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1638 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
235 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
259 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

602 
ACUS11 KWNS 172342
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 172342 
ORZ000-WAZ000-180545-

Mesoscale Discussion 0065
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0542 PM CST Tue Jan 17 2017

Areas affected...Portions of northwest Oregon and southwest
Washington

Concerning...Freezing rain 

Valid 172342Z - 180545Z

SUMMARY...Moderate to locally heavy freezing rain rates are possible
into the evening from the central/northern Willamette Valley through
the Columbia River Gorge into adjacent parts of the Cascades.

DISCUSSION...At 2330Z, the leading edge of a substantial
precipitation shield is moving into western Oregon and Washington. A
continuous feed of moisture ahead of an upper trough off of the
Pacific Northwest coast will maintain moderate to locally heavy
precipitation rates through tonight. Meanwhile, drainage of cold air
from the east through the Columbia Gorge is maintaining subfreezing
temperatures from the southern WA Cascades westward to the
central/northern Willamette Valley. The KPDX ASOS site has reported
0.20 inches of ice accretion over the last two hours, with nearby
sites reporting at least 0.05 inch-per-hour rates. Rates of
0.05-0.10 inches per hour will spread eastward with time this
evening, leading to significant ice accumulations. 

Some erosion of the shallow subfreezing layer is possible this
evening across the western portion of the MCD area, including the
Portland metro area. However, with a relatively strong pressure
gradient being maintained and very cold temperatures across portions
of eastern Washington and northeast Oregon, temperatures will be
very slow to rise as strong easterly flow through the Gorge
continues.

..Dean.. 01/17/2017

...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product...

ATTN...WFO...PDT...PQR...

LAT...LON   45712314 46002288 46082264 45852229 45862196 46132127
            46282094 46302061 45692049 45492062 45452123 45522152
            45522176 45512199 45452221 45392240 45302269 45172311
            45422320 45712314

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Oregon, 2017Mesoscale Discussions in Washington, 2017Every mesoscale discussion in 2017

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.