It Might Actually Snow in Portland Tomorrow. For Real This Time.

Stop us if you've heard this one before—if things line up just right, Portland could possibly see some snow tomorrow.

There's been a few false alarms this past week, and snow in Portland is infamously difficult to predict. But according to the Portland branch of the National Weather Service, chances are looking pretty good for a few hours of snowfall tomorrow afternoon.

"I say that with a grain of salt because we're not looking at a ton of accumulation," says meteorologist Rebecca Muessle. But "we definitely want to prepare people for winter driving conditions."

A cold front from the east will blow over Portland tonight, bringing freezing temperatures. That front will likely line up with some southerly precipitation tomorrow around 2 pm, which would cause a few hours of snowfall.

It's not exactly time to break out your sled and urban snow skis, though. Shaded areas like overpasses could see some accumulation, leading to less than ideal driving conditions. But at most, Portland will see a dusting that will melt overnight.

Still, conditions are looking extremely favorable for at least some exciting winter weather. Snow is particularly difficult to forecast in Portland due to its proximity to the ocean, which tends to warm up precipitation, and the fact that we're in a valley, which means we don't always catch the cold easterly winds that could cool things down enough for snow.

Tomorrow looks like it'll be one of those rare days when cold temperatures blown in from the Rocky Mountains will collide with precipitation from the Pacific Ocean. And if it does happen, it'll happen in the daytime, unlike the other recent flurries of snow that most Portlanders probably missed.

That all depends on just how much tonight's cold front lowers temperatures in the Willamette Valley, though.

"It will kind of be the primer for what will happen tomorrow," says Muessle.