Wednesday brings Portland partly sunny skies, gusty wind on east side; high 50

Portland will get a dry day Wednesday with partly sunny skies and some brisk winds.

The National Weather Service said winds were strong overnight east of Interstate 5 with gusts of 30-35 mph. The western end of the Columbia River Gorge and areas near Corbett received gusts of 35-55 mph. These windy conditions will continue throughout the day.

Portland will reach a temperature of about 50 degrees Wednesday and skies will clear at times for sun breaks.

The gusty winds are not blowing in areas of the southern Willamette Valley. Corvallis and Eugene are under a fog advisory and may experience some air stagnation through Friday due to low mixing of surface air. High temps may stay cool if the fog doesn’t burn off until later in the day.

A wet system moving into the coast overnight will bringing chances of rain to the metro area Thursday. If it does rain, amounts should be light with most of the moisture staying near the coast and Coast Range.

Portland will see cloudy skies, a slight chance of showers, and a high of about 49 degrees Thursday.

The weather will dry out on Friday as the city sees a partly sunny day and a rise in temps to about 51 degrees.

Current long-range forecasts are giving Saturday a good chance of another dry day with sun breaks. Sunday has a slight chance of afternoon rain. The high temps during the weekend will be in the low 50s.

It’s that time of year again when folks start wondering about the likelihood of a white Christmas. Snow is extremely unlikely on Christmas Day in Portland. Here’s a chart: