Lawns across the city are bleached yellow, crackling and dry. Sunflowers hang over long stems of withered leaves. The lavender has faded to a color more brown than purple and is flaking on the pavement.
Summer is coming to an end in Portland, but there is some relief in sight: rain is expected this weekend.
“We’re expecting quite a bit of rain, relatively speaking,” said David Bishop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland, on Thursday.
This “relatively” means that it is August, and it generally doesn’t rain much in Portland in August.
In fact, the “normal” monthly rainfall at Portland Airport is 0.54 inches, according to Bishop.
On Saturday and Sunday morning, some places in the Portland area could see even more in just one day, he said.
“From the coast to the Cascades,” Bishop said, meteorologists are expecting “at least 3.8 millimeters, but cannot rule out that some areas will likely see more precipitation.”
That could be up to 0.75 inches, depending on where the convective pattern shifts. Thunderstorms are also possible on Saturday.
Portland has had very little rain so far this month.
The rain comes as the state is in the midst of wildfire season.
While it is still unclear whether there will be much precipitation in the areas east of the Cascades, “in general the rain will help because it will just improve the overall conditions,” Bishop said.
“It’s not easy to say exactly where it will fall and whether it will have a concrete impact on a fire,” he added.
– Lizzy Acker reports on life and culture and writes the advice column But why? You can reach them at 503-221-8052, [email protected] or @lizzzyacker
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