High Wind in Washington, January 20, 2005

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OREGON
820 PM PST WED JAN 19 2005

.DISCUSSION...UPPER-LEVEL RIDGING CONTINUES TO KEEP CENTRAL
WASHINGTON AND OREGON DRY THIS EVENING.  A PLUME OF MID AND
UPPER-LEVEL MOISTURE IS STREAMING OFF THE PACIFIC INTO NORTHWEST
WASHINGTON.  RESIDUAL CLOUDINESS ALONG THE EASTERN PERIPHERY OF THIS
PLUME HAS KEPT SKIES PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY OVERNIGHT FOR MOST
AREAS.  LOCALLY DENSE FOG REMAINS IN PLACE ACROSS THE EASTERN
COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE BETWEEN THE HOOD RIVER COUNTY LINE AND
ARLINGTON AS WELL AS IN THE THE KITTITAS VALLEY.  VISIBILITIES LESS
THAN 1/4 MILE HAVE BEEN REPORTED AT TIMES THIS EVENING.  THIS FOG
WILL LINGER INTO THE MORNING HOURS THURSDAY BEFORE AN APPROACHING
WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL GENERATE ENOUGH LIFT TO DISSIPATE IT. WINDS
HAVE BEEN STEADY BETWEEN 25 TO 35 MPH NEAR THE MOUTH OF LADD AND
PYLES CANYONS IN THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY THIS EVENING AS WELL. THE
PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL REMAIN STRONG ENOUGH TO KEEP THE WINDS GOING
OVERNIGHT...BUT BY MID TO LATE MORNING THURSDAY IT WILL SLACKEN
ALLOWING THE WINDS TO DROP BELOW ADVISORY CRITERIA.

IN WESTERN KITTITAS COUNTY THE YAKIMA RIVER CONTINUES TO FLOOD THE
ELK MEADOWS SUBDIVISION. OBSERVERS HAVE SEEN THE FLOOD WATERS DROP 4
INCHES SINCE EARLY WEDNESDAY...BUT FLOODING CONTINUES.  A WEAK
SYSTEM PASSING OVER THE RIDGE DURING THE AFTERNOON THURSDAY WILL
SPREAD MORE SHOWER ACTIVITY TO THE AREA WITH THE FOCUS BEING...ONCE
AGAIN...ALONG THE CASCADE CREST NEAR THE HEADWATERS OF THE YAKIMA
RIVER.  EAST OF THE CASCADES THE BEST CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION LOOKS
TO BE ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS OF THE BASIN AND ALONG THE NORTHERN BLUE
MOUNTAINS...MAINLY NORTH OF UKIAH.  SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN OVER
7000 FEET WITH THIS SYSTEM...SO HIGH MOUNTAIN RAINFALL IS LIKELY.
THE SYSTEM WILL EXIT THE REGION BY EARLY FRIDAY AND THE RIDGE WILL
REBOUND ACROSS THE AREA.  THE CURRENT FORECAST HANDLES THIS
WELL...AND NO UPDATES ARE PLANNED THIS EVENING.  CANTIN

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PENDLETON (AIRPORT) 049 058 041 047 / 000 030 040 005
WALLA WALLA         046 058 041 048 / 000 030 040 005
TRI-CITIES          039 053 036 049 / 000 030 020 005
YAKIMA              036 048 034 047 / 005 030 020 005
HERMISTON           039 052 036 049 / 000 030 020 005
ELLENSBURG          034 041 035 043 / 005 040 020 010
REDMOND             037 054 033 052 / 000 020 020 010
LA GRANDE           039 048 037 045 / 000 020 040 010
JOHN DAY            037 051 035 048 / 000 010 020 005
THE DALLES          042 052 039 051 / 005 030 020 005
&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...DENSE FOG ADVISORY THROUGH 6AM THURSDAY COLUMBIA RIVER
GORGE...WIND ADVISORY THROUGH 6AM THURSDAY GRANDE RONDE VALLEY.
WA...SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING THROUGH 1000 AM THURSDAY KITTITAS
COUNTY...DENSE FOG ADVISORY THROUGH 6AM THURSDAY KITTITAS VALLEY AND
COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE.

&&

TI:YYG
FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT...
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON
96

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OREGON
1105 AM PST WED JAN 19 2005

ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-201300-
NORTH CENTRAL OREGON-CENTRAL OREGON-LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (OR)-
FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (OR)-BLUE MOUNTAINS-JOHN DAY BASIN-
OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS-GRANDE RONDE VALLEY-WALLOWA COUNTY-
EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE (WA)-
EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES-KITTITAS VALLEY-YAKIMA VALLEY-
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (WA)-FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (WA)-
NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS-
1105 AM PST WED JAN 19 2005

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

DENSE FOG
     EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE (WA), KITTITAS VALLEY, EASTERN
     COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE (OR)

FLOODING
     EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES

STRONG WIND
     GRANDE RONDE VALLEY

HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO BRING WARM TEMPERATURES TO MUCH
OF EASTERN OREGON AND WASHINGTON TODAY.  THESE WARM TEMPERATURES
COMBINED WITH EARLIER RAIN ON ICE/SNOW IN THE WESTERN KITTITAS
COUNTY HAS LED TO RISING WATER IN THE YAKIMA RIVER BETWEEN EASTON
AND CLE ELUM...ESPECIALLY IN THE VICINITY OF THE ELK MEADOWS
SUBDIVISION.  LOCALIZED FLOODING OF THE SUBDIVISION AND SURROUNDING
LOWLANDS ALONG THE YAKIMA RIVER WILL BE LIKELY THROUGH THURSDAY. SEE
THE LATEST PDXFLSPDT OR WGUS86 KPDT FOR THE DETAILS.  AREAS OF
DENSE FOG CONTINUE TO PERSIST OVER WET GROUND IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER
GORGE AND IN THE KITTITAS VALLEY REDUCING VISIBILITY BELOW 1/4 MILE.
THEREFORE...A DENSE FOG ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT.  SEE THE
PDXNPWPDT OR WWUS76 KPDT FOR THE LATEST DETAILS.  PRESSURE
GRADIENTS CONTINUE TO REMAIN STRONG ACROSS THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY.
WINDS NEAR THE BASE OF LADD AND PYLES CANYON WILL BE SUSTAINED
BETWEEN 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 55 MPH. THEREFORE...A WIND
ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT.  SEE THE PDXNPWPDT OR WWUS76 KPDT FOR
THE LATEST DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

FLOODING THURSDAY
          EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES

AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BE NEAR THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THROUGH THE
REST OF THE WEEK...WITH RELATIVELY WARM TEMPERATURES AND RUNOFF
CONTINUING THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE
CASCADES.  A WEAK SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE RIDGE THURSDAY...
BRINGING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN...MAINLY IN THE MOUNTAINS.  OTHER
WEAK SYSTEMS WILL MOVE THROUGH SATURDAY AND TUESDAY.  SNOW LEVELS
WILL REMAIN HIGH...SO WINTER PRECIPITATION IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE A
PROBLEM.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY.

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

PROTOTYPE GRAPHICAL FORECASTS OF WEATHER HAZARDS OUT TO SEVEN DAYS
ARE DISPLAYED ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT:

WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/PENDLETON/FORECAST/HWOGRAPHICS/HWOGRAPHICS.PHP

ALL LETTERS IN THE ABOVE URL ARE LOWER CASE...EXCEPT THE G IN
HWOGRAPHICS AND THE G IN HWOGRAPHICS.PHP.