High Wind in Washington, November 19, 2003

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OREGON
248 AM PST WED NOV 19 2003

.SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY...A COLD FRONT EXTENDS FROM
SOUTH-CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA TO SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON EARLY THIS
MORNING. THIS FRONT WILL SAG SOUTH AND EAST ACROSS THE PACNW TODAY.
WINDY CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED AHEAD OF THE FRONT DUE TO A TIGHT
GRADIENT AND MODERATE TO STRONG WINDS ALOFT. WINDS OVER RATTLESNAKE
RIDGE IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON HAVE BEEN SUSTAINED AT 60 TO 70
MPH. COULD SEE SOME OF THIS WIND LOCALLY MIX TO THE SURFACE THIS
MORNING IN YAKIMA...KLICKITAT...BENTON...AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES. THUS
WILL UPGRADE CURRENT WATCH TO A HIGH WIND WARNING. BEST CHANCES OF
PRECIP WILL BE OVER THE NORTHWESTERN ZONES THIS MORNING...THEN
SHIFTING INTO MOST OF THE OREGON ZONES BY AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVELS
WILL DROP BEHIND THE FRONT...BUT AT THIS TIME EXPECT THAT THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT PRECIP WILL FALL WITH AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT (IN THE
WARMER AIR). THUS SNOWFALL WILL BE LIMITED. AREA TO REMAIN UNDER A
BAGGY TROUGH THROUGH FRIDAY AND CAN EXPECT SOME PERIODS OF
SHOWERS...FAVORING UPSLOPE AREAS. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE LOW SO EXPECT
SNOW SHOWERS...WITH A MIX OF RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS AT THE LOWEST
ELEVATIONS. MAY BE A WAVE OR TWO MOVE THROUGH TO ENHANCE THE
SHOWERS. MODELS INCONSISTENT ON WHERE THESE WAVES WILL GO SO WILL
NOT HAZARD A GUESS AS TO WHERE TO HIT SNOWFALL HARDEST. GKH

.LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...FRIDAY NIGHT AN UPPER
LEVEL TROUGH WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA PROVIDING A CHANCE OF RAIN
AND SNOW SHOWERS THROUGHOUT THE AREA. BY SATURDAY THE TROUGH WILL BE
EXITING THE AREA AND ONLY A FEW SHOWERS WILL REMAIN IN UPSLOPE AREAS
OF THE BLUES AND NORTHEAST OREGON MOUNTAINS. SUNDAY A WEAK RIDGE
WILL BE OVER THE AREA. MORE WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL MOVE THOROUGH
MONDAY AND TUESDAY WITH VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW. COONFIELD

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PENDLETON (AIRPORT) 55 35 40 / 60 30 40
WALLA WALLA         55 37 40 / 60 30 30
TRI-CITIES          56 35 42 / 30 20 30
YAKIMA              52 30 40 / 30 30 30
&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...NONE.
WA...HIGH WIND WARNING THIS MORNING FOR THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN
     THE YAKIMA VALLEY.
&&

ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-191300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
1030 PM PST TUE NOV 18 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON
AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TODAY AS STRONG LOW LEVEL
WINDS REMAIN OVER THE AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL BE MILD WITH SNOW
LEVELS RISING ABOVE 6000 FEET. PRECIPITATION WILL BE CONFINED TO THE
BLUES...EAST SLOPES OF THE CASCADES...AND UPPER YAKIMA AND KITTITAS
VALLEYS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY.  BREEZY TO
WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED...WITH THE HIGHEST WINDS IN THE
COLUMBIA BASIN IN WASHINGTON.  SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH
POSSIBLE GUSTS TO 60 MPH ARE ANTICIPATED.  THUS...A HIGH WIND WATCH
IS IN EFFECT FROM EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH NOON FOR THIS
ZONE.  SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP TO 1500-2000 FEET BY THURSDAY...BUT
ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE LIGHT. CONTINUED COOL AND UNSETTLED
FRIDAY. A WEAK RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER THE AREA FOR THE WEEKEND.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED ON WEDNESDAY FOR THE LOWER
COLUMBIA BASIN IN WASHINGTON DUE TO WINDS.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.