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Oregon Coast Weather Favors Washington Spring Breakers

Moody, changing skies will be typical of the coming spring weeks (pictured: above Manzanita).

(Oregon Coast) – It depends on who you talk to, but this last week’s wacky weather didn’t seem to sit well for Oregon students on spring break, and instead seems to smile more upon those kids from Washington, whose spring break happens now.

Last week saw plenty of snow on the coast range passes to the beach towns, resulting in numerous traffic problems in the early morning or late night hours, after freezing temperatures descended. However, during the afternoon hours, conditions were normal.

Then the snow hit the beaches as well, along with a fair amount of rain – but also a good deal of sun. Meanwhile, the snow made for quite an unusual spectacle on the coast, delighting tourists from all over.

That consistent mix of good with rainy conditions is something coastal locals are trying to emphasize about the area: it’s not always as the weather reports spell it out to be.

Sunsets can be especially wild and bright during spring, as here at Otter Rock

Weather forecasters admit it’s much more difficult to pin down the weather of the Oregon coast: partially because it is so dynamic, but mostly because they don’t have the same equipment and watchers out there as they do inland. Meteorologists, like Rod Hill of KATU, will say they tend to forecast it a little on the darker side. “It’s forecast as being worse than it really is quite often, I will admit that. We are trying to improve upon that.”

The weather does look glorious this week, starting with today’s gorgeous conditions.

Tuesday and Wednesday will bring sunny skies to the north coast, with temperatures up around 59 degrees, according to The Weather Channel. The National Weather Service says highs will be around 49 on the central coast on those days. Winds will be low – around 5 to 10 mph.

Snow made for spectacular scenes along the coast, such as here at Cape Kiwanda

Lows at night are predicted to be around 37 to 43 or so.

Thursday, the prediction is for highs in the low 60’s, with periods of clouds and sun. Lows are predicted to be in around 50 degrees.

More clouds are predicted to come in to the coastal region on Friday, with highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the low 40’s.

By Saturday and Sunday, both The Weather Channel and National Weather Service are increasing the chance of rain and predominance of clouds, with highs in the mid 50’s and lows in the 40’s.

Sunny moments will be aplenty this week (just north of Florence)

Keith Chandler, manager of Seaside Aquarium, said Oregon spring breakers got the better end of the deal, in spite of today’s sunny skies blending into much of the week.

“There’s no way Oregon kids got the worst,” Chandler said. “They got the better end of the deal. They got to see snow on the beach, which is really unique. It wasn’t bad here at all. You just had to put on your coat and you could still go out in it.”

Chandler said the area got some crazy weather during that past week.

“It was pretty funky,” he said. “We don’t usually get snow on the beach. It was really cool. When we do get it, we’re the only ones to see it. This time, it was a great opportunity for other people from out of town to see it.

Oceanside, as a big, dark cloud encroaches on the sunny conditions in April

“It was pretty nice a lot of the time, really. It was cold and it was windy, though. Sunday, the snow was the worst day for driving. I had too inches on my car that morning. But by 11 or 10, it was all gone. None of it stuck around very long during the whole week.”

Tuesday, it was cold but splendid. “It’s gorgeous right now,” Chandler said. “The wind is making it chilly, but if you get out of the wind, it’s warm. I just got some of the biggest clams I’ve ever gotten, and I didn’t start out today thinking about clamming.”

Chandler cautioned to heed Hill’s warnings on weather predictions later in the week, as spring brings a wild swing to weather conditions that can’t be predicted. He said whatever the forecasts say, often things change fast. One minute will bring a squall. Ten minutes later, the clouds will open up and the sun will shine.

“It changes a lot, and changes drastically,” Chandler said. “Wear layers. Be prepared to take your coat off. It’s very variable.”

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