The Eugene area is forecast to get its first round of fall-like weather this week.

The National Weather Service predicts that the night of Aug. 31 and night of Sept. 1, weather patterns will shift and northwest Oregon will start receiving air from the Gulf of Alaska, bringing a wave of cool temperatures, rain, and breezy winds from Sept. 2 through the end of the week. A warming and drying period is expected over the weekend.

According to NWS, the most likely scenario in Eugene is rain will start Sept. 2 and last three days. It's possible the rain will last longer. There will be approximately 2 inches of rainfall in the first two days, which will be the rainiest. NWS said the rain would not be enough to end fire season, but it should lessen fire risk and help to damper ongoing wildfires.

Temperatures also will dip to early-fall levels in the middle of the week. NWS projects a high of 66 degrees on Sept. 2 with temperatures in the high 60s for the remainder of the week and the low 70s over the weekend.

NWS also forecasts a 30-50% chance of thunderstorms between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. and a 10-20% chance between 5 and 11 p.m. Sept. 3. If a thunderstorm occurs, it could bring lightning, heavy rain, erratic winds and small hail.

Wind is forecast to be calm at the start of the week but gusts could reach 23 miles per hour on Sept. 2.

Aug. 31, night: Low of 55 degrees. 3% chance of rain.

Sept. 1, day: High of 74 degrees. 9% chance of rain.

Sept. 1, night: Low of 54 degrees. 32% chance of rain.

Sept. 2, day: High of 66 degrees. 97% chance of rain with 0.61 inches forecast.

Sept. 2, night: Low of 52 degrees. 99% chance of rain with 0.33 inches forecast.

Sept. 3, day: High of 67 degrees. 74% chance of rain with 0.42 inches forecast. Possible thunder after 11 a.m.

Sept. 3, night: Low of 50 degrees. 78% chance of rain with 0.13 inches forecast. Possible thunder before 11 p.m.

Sept. 4, day: High of 70 degrees. 51% chance of rain with 0.06 inches forecast.

Sept. 4, night: Low of 50 degrees. 44% chance of rain with 0.03 inches forecast.

Sept. 5, day: High of 73 degrees. 21% chance of rain.

Sept. 5, night: Low of 51 degrees. 25% chance of rain.

Sept. 6, day: High of 73 degrees. 28% chance of rain.

Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached byemail at [email protected], on X @alanfryetorres or on Reddit at u/AlfrytRG.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Rain, cooler weather heading to Eugene with 2 inches expected