Frigid weather due on Monday

Whether impending cold weather next week will give local schoolchildren a “Snow Day” — on top of an entire week off for some during the Thanksgiving holiday — still seems somewhat of a longshot.

But meteorologists say the Willamette Valley will most definitely see freezing weather conditions arrive on Monday, with daytime highs in the mid-30s and overnight lows expected to hover between 15 and 17 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

“Quite the cool down for the middle of the week,” said Matthew Cullen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland.

The last time the temperature was measured in the teens in Eugene was on Jan. 16, 2012, when the low hit 19, Cullen said.

A cold front heading our way from Alaska is the cause, Cullen said.

“It looks like a lock that we’re headed for a cold spell that could be the most significant in years,” said Steve Pierce of Northwest Weather Consultants in Vancouver, Wash.

If snow does reach the valley floor early next week, it would likely happen late Monday or early Tuesday but would certainly not be a “substantial” amount, Cullen said.

On Thursday, it was still too early to tell for sure at what elevation snow would be expected, Pierce said.

“These systems are so fickle,” he said.

Modified arctic air will likely continue to spread across the region for the remainder of next week, Pierce said. And some weather models are predicting a possible second cold-weather event that has the potential to bring snowfall at all elevations late next week, according to Pierce.

And if you want to warm yourself by a nice, hot fireplace? Well, the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency still listed a “home wood heating advisory” on its website Thursday for the Eugene-Springfield and Oakridge areas because of a stagnant air mass that has trapped cold air and pollution in the southern Willamette Valley.

The burn ban applies to burning in wood stoves and wood-burning fireplaces. Put into effect on Monday, it was only the second time in eight years that LRAPA has issued such a ban.

The National Weather Service said Thursday that it is keeping an air stagnation advisory in place for the Eugene-Springfield area through at least noon Saturday. Residents who are sensitive to air pollution should avoid vigorous outdoor exercise.