Cold temperatures produce hope but no actual snow for Eugene.

Byline: SUSAN PALMER The Register-Guard

It was more a rumor of snow, a hint of flakes mixed in with Monday's pre-dawn rain. It didn't last long enough to even leave evidence in the Coburg Hills, and it wasn't enough to catch the notice of the National Weather Service.

People keep asking state climatologist George Taylor what gives with the snow, and he has to keep telling them that the Southern Willamette Valley is stuck between a wet and a cold place.

"When it's cold enough to snow, it's usually too dry. When it's wet enough, it's too warm," Taylor said.

The last time there was measurable snow on the valley floor was the winter of 1995-96, when a half-inch fell in January, during a year most people remember for catastrophic flooding.

"We've gotten skunked the last five years," Taylor said. That fact disappoints snow lovers who recall the run of snowy winters the late '80s and early '90s produced.

Like someone waiting for a sneeze that may or may not come, Eugene has been right on the edge of snow-producing weather.

"It's really the first time all season that the freezing level has dropped down," Taylor said. "We're a lot closer to snow than we were a month ago."

For the near term, however, no snow is forecast.

Look for morning fog and clouds today with sun in the afternoon and highs near 40. Tonight a cloud-free sky will send temperatures into the 20s. Wednesday will be mostly sunny with highs near 40, clouds forming late in the day and a chance of showers at night.

As for the rest of the season, Taylor lays even odds for measurable snow, a position he acknowledges is pretty wimpy.

"There's certain things I'm bold about, and this is not one of them. Snow is a weather event, and no way can we predict a weather event months in advance."