Winter is coming. But, like, literally. Because after a lovely late October and what looks to be

in years,

are predicting snow in the Portland area a week from Saturday and Sunday.

Yes, it is difficult to predict the weather over a week out. At the National Weather Service in Portland, meteorologist David Bishop offered many caveats to next week's weather forecast.

"This far out we're low confidence," he said over the phone Friday.

"Any models by then will have a tendency to change," he added. "Whether it will be drastically or whether it will hold is basically a flip of the coin."

Still, he said, the current prediction from the National Weather Service has snow levels dipping down to 2,500 feet Friday evening going into Saturday morning.

So look outside and enjoy that beautiful, bone warming sunshine. Because it won't last for long.

"Winter will be approaching quicker than most people think," Bishop said. "Now is the time to start winterizing."

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker