781 FXUS66 KPDT 282233 AFDPDT Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pendleton OR 333 PM PDT Sun Jun 28 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Widespread breezy to locally windy conditions through this evening, strongest winds in the Kittitas valley - Morning showers in eastern portions of the Columbia Basin tomorrow - Below-normal temperatures, breezy to locally gusty west winds, and occasional light mountain showers through the week && .DISCUSSION... Water vapor satellite imagery this afternoon shows a closed low centered along the MT/ALberta/Saskatchewan border, which facilitated a shortwave passage over the forecast area earlier today. Showers associated with this shortwave continue to push south across Wallowa, Union, and Grant counties this afternoon, with shower activity expected to diminish by early this evening. Otherwise, a surface low strengthening under the upper low has resulted in a tightening cross-Cascade pressure gradient, with breezy to locally windy westerly winds (15-30 mph with gusts 25-45mph) spilling through the Cascade gaps and into the lower elevations. The strongest winds so far have been noted in portions of the Kittitas valley and the Eastern Columbia River Gorge, with gusts up to 50 mph and sustained winds around 30 mph. Monday through Thursday: A prolonged troughing pattern supported by periodic shortwave passages will remain over the PacNW through the workweek. The upper low will continue to meander east tonight through Monday, with the next round of shower activity expected to arrive across the eastern third of the forecast area with a shortwave passage late tonight through tomorrow morning. There is increasing confidence (55-75%) that showers will also impact eastern portions of the Columbia Basin (including Tri-Cities and Hermiston) tomorrow morning, with heaviest showers expected along the WA Blue Mountain foothills. Cluster ensemble guidance remains in good agreement of a shortwave trough diving down the AK/BC coastlines and across the PacNW Tues/Wed which will bring another round of light mountain rain showers (confidence 55-75%). Another shortwave trough is advertised to drop into the PacNW Thursday, however, over the last 24 hours, ensemble and deterministic guidance has trended drier with this system. Confidence in another round of light mountain showers for Thursday is low-mod (30-45%). Breezy winds will remain in place across the lower elevations and Cascade Gaps through much of the work week as the troughing pattern persists overhead. After today, winds will generally be between 15-25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph throughout the week. Lastly, the persistent trough pattern will keep temperatures much cooler than normal through the week, with afternoon temperatures generally 5 to 15 degrees below normal (confidence 60-75%). This means that afternoon temperatures in the lower elevations will be in the 70s, with locally 80s, throughout much of the week. In the mountains, mid-elevations will generally be in the upper 50s to 60s, with lower to mid 50s in the high- elevations. Friday and Saturday: Late Friday into Saturday, ensemble cluster guidance is in agreement of the upper trough pushing east, with a quasi-zonal flow and weak upper level high pressure developing over the PacNW (confidence 40-65%). This will result in a warming trend into near to above normal temperatures across the forecast area (80s in the lower elevations, 60s and 70s mountains) with dry conditions and light winds by Saturday. Lawhorn/82 && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z TUESDAY/... VFR conditions will persist through the forecast period. Winds will continue to be be the primary concern with all TAF sites seeing breezy conditions that range between 12-22 kts sustained with gusts between 21-30kts. && .Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs... PDT 50 73 48 75 / 10 50 10 0 ALW 53 74 54 76 / 60 70 10 0 PSC 54 79 51 80 / 30 50 10 0 YKM 53 82 52 82 / 0 10 10 0 HRI 52 77 50 78 / 0 30 10 0 ELN 52 72 49 73 / 10 10 10 0 RDM 40 71 36 73 / 0 0 0 0 LGD 47 69 46 74 / 30 60 10 10 GCD 44 71 42 75 / 0 10 10 0 DLS 55 72 53 72 / 0 0 0 0 && .PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WA...Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for WAZ024-026. OR...Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for ORZ041. && $$ DISCUSSION...82 AVIATION...90