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“Punxsutawney Phil” did not see his shadow. That is supposed to give a forecast of an early spring. I surveyed reports from 15 groundhogs across the country (most of them in the Northeast and one in Ontario, Canada) and 10 did not see their shadows while 5 did. That means 10 predicted an early spring and 5 said we’ll see 6 more weeks of winter. What does all of this mean? Not much, but it is a diversion from the stormy weather across over half of the United States.

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The jet stream shows a high pressure ridge ( the shaded “arch” shaped area) has been aiming the airflow straight South toward the Pacific Northwest. The ridge is slowly moving Eastward which will allow our temperatures to moderate a bit. Weak disturbance will slip through bringing at least a slight chance of rain. Remember that, particularly this time of the year, often when it’s not raining it is usually fogging.

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Advisories:  AN AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM SATURDAY FOR CENTRAL DOUGLAS COUNTY INCLUDING ROSEBURG, EASTERN CURRY COUNTY, JOSEPHINE COUNTY, JACKSON COUNTY, THE KLAMATH BASIN, NORTHERN AND EASTERN KLAMATH COUNTY, AND CENTRAL, EASTERN, AND WESTERN LAKE COUNTY.

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Here are your detailed forecasts. **

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Forecast for the Southern and lower Mid Willamette Valley including Eugene-Springfield and Albany-Corvallis: Mostly clear tonight, patchy fog and freezing fog Thursday AM, a mix of clouds and sun Thursday afternoon, partly cloudy Thursday night, patchy AM fog, mostly cloudy Friday, a slight (20%) chance of rain in the evening, just mostly cloudy Friday night, mostly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of rain Saturday and Saturday night lows 25-42 highs 54-57. Mostly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of rain Sunday, mostly cloudy Sunday night, a mix of clouds and sun Monday and Tuesday, partly cloudy at night, then mostly sunny Wednesday highs 57-49 lows 39-32. (seasonal  averages high 49 low 34)

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Forecast for the Umpqua Basin including, Roseburg: Clear tonight,  sunny with patchy fog Thursday AM, sunny Thursday afternoon, mostly clear in the evening, partly cloudy Thursday night, AM fog then partly cloudy Friday, mostly cloudy Friday night, AM fog, mostly cloudy Saturday, and mostly cloudy Saturday night lows 30-45 highs 56-62-55. Partly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of rain Sunday, then just partly cloudy Sunday night through Wednesday highs 58-54 lows 44-34. (seasonal averages high 53 low 36)

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Forecast for the South Oregon Coast including Coos Bay and North Bend: Clear tonight, sunny early Thursday, mostly clear Thursday evening, partly cloudy Thursday night and Friday AM, sunny Friday afternoon, then mostly cloudy Friday night through Saturday night lows 35-45 highs 53-57. Partly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of rain Sunday and Sunday night, partly cloudy Monday, mostly clear Monday night, and mostly sunny Tuesday and Wednesday, with mostly clear skies Tuesday night highs 55-59 lows 43-37. (seasonal averages high 54 low 40).

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Forecast for the Cascades of Lane County: Mostly clear tonight, a mix of clouds and sun Thursday, partly cloudy with a (30%) chance of rain Thursday night (under 0.10 in. of rain possible), mostly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of rain Friday (under 0.10 in. of rain possible) through Saturday, mostly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of rain Saturday night free air freezing level 3,000 ft. falling to 2,500 ft. tonight, rising to 6,500 ft. Thursday, snow level 7,000 ft. Thursday night and Friday, 6,000 ft. Friday night, 6,500 ft. Saturday, and 5,500 ft. Saturday night lows 20-30 highs 47-50. Mostly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of rain Sunday, a slight (20%) chance of rain Sunday night and Monday, partly cloudy Monday night, a mix of clouds and sun Tuesday, mostly cloudy Tuesday night, and mostly sunny Wednesday snow level 6,000 ft. Sunday, falling to 5,500 ft. Sunday night, 6,500 ft. Monday, a free air freezing at 6,500 ft. Monday night, 7,000 ft. Tuesday, 6,000 ft. Tuesday night, and rising to 7,000 ft Wednesday highs 44-39 lows 24-28.

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**Because weather forecasting is a combination of science, intuition, and timing there can be no absolute guarantees that individual forecasts will be 100% accurate. Nature is in a constant state of flux and sudden unexpected weather events can happen.