Flip flop Friday, dry to wet as Portland prepares for next round of rain

A weak and short-lived atmospheric river is taking aim at western Oregon and Washington as persistent rain returns to the region Friday.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- A weak and short-lived atmospheric river is taking aim at western Oregon and Washington as persistent rain returns to the region Friday.

A dry start to the day with a few rays of sunshine will quickly turn cloudy during the mid-morning hours. Rain showers will quickly follow after the lunchtime hour. Despite increased clouds and the return of rain, temperatures will warm into the low to mid 60s this afternoon.

Once the rain starts Friday afternoon it won't stop until late Saturday. Nearly a half inch of rain is expected by the end of the day Friday. Rain accumulation will near almost two inches along the Willamette Valley by the end of the weekend.

The cloudy skies and rain conditions expected this weekend will help keep temperatures nearly 10 degrees cooler than average. That's where snow elevations will start to fall to nearly 4,000 feet by the weekend.

This late season snow will help keep a good amount of snow over Oregon's ski resorts for the next week or two before warmer conditions return. Forecasts call for one to two feet of new snow for the higher slopes of Mt. Hood through Sunday.

The light at the end of the tunnel comes as sunshine returns to the region. The sunnier weather at the end of the week next week will bring another round of warmer weather to western Oregon and Washington. Highs will go from the mid 50s this weekend to the 70s and possibly even warmer by the following weekend.