A dry Halloween weekend, then November’s 5.45 inches. This is Portland’s gutter-cleaning window.

Portland, Ore. — Oct. 29, 2026. After a week of on-and-off rain, Portland is about to dry out. KPTV FOX 12’s Thursday forecast calls Friday “our last ‘showery’ day,” Halloween “mainly dry and mild,” and a dry, mild start to November: “We’ll avoid wet weather Sunday through Wednesday next week.” Steady, light rain is likely again next Thursday and Friday.

Then comes November, which the same forecast calls Portland’s second-wettest month, about 5.5 inches at PDX on average. The National Weather Service’s official 1991–2020 normal is 5.45 inches.

The forecast

The next seven days, from a gutter’s point of view

1. Fri., Oct. 30

   Last showers

   Showers linger through lunchtime, mostly in the valley and metro. About ¼ to ⅓ inch.

2. Sat., Oct. 31

   Mainly dry Halloween

   A stray shower is possible around 5–6 p.m. Mid-50s in the afternoon.

3. Sun., Nov. 1

   Clocks fall back

   Foggy start, then sun. Daylight Saving Time ends this morning.

4. Mon.–Wed., Nov. 2–4

   Dry and mild

   High pressure. Highs in the upper 50s to low 60s. The best working window.

5. Thu.–Fri., Nov. 5–6

   Rain returns

   Steady, light rain likely. Forecasters say it could end up drier than it looks.

KPTV meteorologist Michael Fecca’s Wednesday forecast described the same setup: an upper-level ridge Sunday through Wednesday, low 60s by Monday, and the caution that it’s “not expected to be a long-term pattern.” Models hinted at more wet weather starting late next week.

The angle most coverage missed

The dry days land on workdays, right after the clocks change

Halloween forecasts are about trick-or-treating. The detail that matters for a gutter job is the calendar. The best of this dry stretch is Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 2 to 4. That’s right after Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, when Portland’s sunset moves to 4:57 p.m., according to KPTV. For anyone planning to get on a ladder after work, the light is gone by the time they get home.

That leaves two realistic options: do it Sunday, or have it done during the week. The worst option is waiting for the next dry weekend. There’s no guarantee of another one before the heavier November rain, and every storm in between pushes more leaves and needles into the outlets.

If you’re doing it yourself

Ladder safety is the real reason dry days matter

Wet rungs, wet shingles and soft ground are how gutter cleaning goes wrong. Even among trained workers, ladder falls are serious. A CDC study of work-related ladder falls in 2011 counted 113 deaths and an estimated 34,000 emergency room visits. Fourteen percent of those ER-treated ladder injuries led to a hospital admission, almost three times the 5% rate for other injuries in the same survey.

• Pick a dry day with dry ground. Don’t set a ladder on wet lawn or leaves.

• Keep three points of contact and move the ladder instead of reaching.

• Stay off steep, mossy or second-story roofs. Those are the jobs to hand off.

• Scoop the trough, then flush each downspout with a hose until water runs freely at the bottom.

• Finish before 4:30 p.m. once the clocks change. After that, book a pro.

Hiring it out

What a cleaning in the dry window should include

A proper gutter cleaning in Portland clears every run by hand, clears each downspout until water flows through it, and checks hangers, seams and outlets for problems that cause overflow. Our gutter cleaning starts at $295. Most single-story Portland homes fall between $295 and $475, and most two-story homes between $365 and $675.

You can get a price range for your address from the free virtual estimate without talking to anyone, schedule the job online, call (503) 860-6950 or contact us. West-side homeowners can start with Beaverton gutter cleaning, and east-side homeowners with Gresham gutter services. If the same trees refill the gutters every fall, ask about gutter guards on the same visit.