We finally got rid of that cold air that lingered most of the week. Although we did not see any record-low temperatures due to completely calm conditions all night, we did manage to achieve the lowest temperature of the winter season, with 21 degrees early Friday morning. That was 1 degree above the record low of 20 degrees set in 1993. We dropped to 28 degrees early Saturday morning, which will be our last freezing temperature of the winter season: The first day of meteorological spring is Tuesday. We will remain mild today through Thursday, with highs well into the 50s and periods of rain, heavy at times, especially on Monday. The old Pineapple Express, right? As of 3 p.m. Saturday, Vancouver was running nearly 3 inches below average in the rainfall department. Will we make that up today and Monday? I do expect at least 2 or 3 inches of rain in the next several days, with up to 5 inches of rain in the mountains and in the wetter locations along the coast.

That equals snowmelt as snow levels pop up above the ski resorts — for a while, at least. Rivers will be rising. Snow will wash away The other day, there was a nice coating of snow on the foothills to our east, and I expect most of the snow on Silver Star Mountain will be washed off by Friday, when our skies will clear to some degree. With clearing at the end of the week, temperatures will drop, with highs back in the 40s and lows in the 30s. That will bring snow back to the Cascades. We’ll dive into those details in Tuesday’s column. Will March roar in like a lion this week? There’s a good possibility, with rain or showers and probably some breezy winds.

We take our chances in the month of March, waiting for a few warm and sunny days, as it can be feisty and continue the angry moods of winter. But I am looking forward to those tall, puffy, white clouds, azure skies and rainbows that adorn the heavens between the bouts of rain. Take good care, and we’ll chat on Tuesday.

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