A thick, icy fog grips the Umatilla Valley this morning, turning headlights into halos and coating road signs with frost. The Pendleton area starts this Sunday under dense freezing fog, dropping visibility below half a mile and creating slippery stretches across Interstate 84 and Highway 395. Temperatures hover near 30°F, and the National Weather Service warns of patchy ice persisting through mid-morning.
Drivers should plan extra travel time and avoid sudden braking on rural or elevated routes, where black ice may be invisible but dangerous. By midday, fog begins to thin, giving way to filtered sunshine and afternoon highs near 38°F — a brief window of calm before the next round of wet weather.
Late Monday into Tuesday, conditions shift again. Rain develops after sunset Monday, becoming more widespread into Tuesday morning. Forecast models show up to a quarter inch of rainfall across the lower elevations, with snow levels staying above 2,700 feet, meaning mountain passes could see light snow or mixed precipitation. Travel along Cabbage Hill and the Blue Mountains could become slick, particularly during the Tuesday morning commute.
Midweek looks quieter and slightly milder, with partly sunny skies and highs in the low 40s. However, more Pacific moisture approaches late in the week, signaling an unsettled early December pattern typical of the Northwest — cold, wet, and often fog-bound.
Five-Day Outlook (Pendleton, OR):
- Monday: Patchy freezing fog early, high 41°F, low 28°F.
- Tuesday: Rain likely, high 41°F, low 28°F.
- Wednesday: Partly sunny, high 40°F, low 25°F.
- Thursday: Chance of rain, high 45°F, low 32°F.
- Friday: Rain likely, high 53°F, low 33°F.
