Fair today; cold, rainy weekend

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, EVERYONE...

A cold, wet system moving southward along the British Columbia coastline will thicken our clouds today. Out ahead of this, we will stay warm, in the mid 70's to low 80's, but strengthening winds will indicate the advance of the storm. With an increasing chance of rain overnight, we will see lows in the mid 40's to low 50's. Gusty winds will turn southerly after midnight.

This weekend will be the most significant rain event we have seen so far this year. Central Oregon could see as much as 0.5" to 1.0" of rain by Monday morning. There will also be heavy rain in the valley and mountains...just what we need to aid in the wildfire-fighting efforts. The mountain tops and some upper elevations could see the first snow of the season, also.

This system will move out of the area beginning Monday. While the sunshine does return to the High Desert, we will be staying cool through much of next week.

IN THE NEWSCHANNEL 21 WEATHER CENTER, I'M BOB SHAW...

HAVE A SPARKLING DAY IN CENTRAL OREGON!