New year, cold weather: January temps below average

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Hello January 2017! The Pacific Northwest is set to start the first week of the new year under the grasp of the Arctic.

Many spots from 200-feet all the way up to Mt. Hood collected a fresh coat of snow on New Year’s Eve, and with the cold air that’s sweeping south from Canada, we can expect a very cold next few days.

In fact, this super cold weather may stick around for some time. The Climate Prediction Center has us at at 90% probability to be below average through mid January.

Easterly winds running through the Gorge on Monday will keep temperatures extra chilly in the metro.

A massive ridge of high pressure is building in the Gulf of Alaska and will allow for temps to be warmer or just as warm as Portland in southern Alaska.

We will be pretty close to breaking some KPDX Airport Record Max Low temperatures this Monday-Friday. Tuesday and Wednesday may be our best bets with current records at 26 degrees (Tuesday, 26 degrees -1952, Wednesday, 26 degrees -1959).

In the meantime, weather models are trying to push a low into Oregon Wednesday, which could bring some snow to parts of the valley.

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