Patchy fog early Wednesday, then sunny skies as Portland reaches near 60 degrees

A stout upper level ridge building over the region from the Pacific Ocean early Wednesday will bring clearing skies and dry days at least through early Friday.

The National Weather Service has been watching patchy clouds and fog develop overnight across the valleys of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington with some locations seeing dense fog especially in the central and southern Willamette Valley.

A check of traffic cameras at about 5 a.m. Wednesday didn't show much fog in the Portland metro area, but it could still develop as the morning progresses. Once the fog clears, Portland will see a partly sunny morning and a clear afternoon with high temps reaching near 60

The weather service showed a 30-50% chance of high temps reaching 60 across the Willamette Valley on both Thursday and Friday too.

Portland will start off chilly Thursday with overnight low temps dipping into the low 40s or high 30s through the metro core. East winds will help keep fog at bay. Skies will be sunny with high temps reaching near 61 degrees.

There will also be breezy conditions through the Columbia River Gorge through Thursday due to increasing offshore pressure gradients.

Friday will begin clear and dry, but clouds will move in by the afternoon ahead of the first in a series of wet systems that will bring rain through the weekend. Friday's high will reach about 60 degrees. Rain is not likely to start until the afternoon commute or later.

Extended forecasts are showing cooler and wetter weather through the weekend and into next week. Both Saturday and Sunday feature rain and highs in the mid-to-upper 50s.