Climatological Report (Annual)
Issued by NWS Portland, OR

Home | Current Version | Previous Version | Text Only | Print | Product List | Glossary On
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
000
CXUS56 KPQR 011954
CLASLE

ANNUAL CLIMATE REPORT
ANATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
1153 AM PST FRI 1 JAN 2021

...SALEM 2020 WEATHER IN REVIEW...
=================================================================
2020 NOTABLE RECORDS AND WEATHER EVENTS...
     *** 5TH WARMEST JANUARY
     *** DAMAGING THUNDERSTORMS IN EARLY MAY
     *** DRY AND WARM SUMMER
     *** 13TH WARMEST SEPTEMBER
     *** SEPTEMBER WILDFIRES, SMOKE AND STRONG THUNDERSTORMS

2020 MONTHLY WEATHER RECAPS...

JANUARY...2020 STARTED ON A MILD AND WET NOTE. NORMALLY, SALEM
     WOULD SEE 11 NIGHTS AT/OR BELOW FREEZING. BUT, ONLY 4 THIS
     YEAR (14TH TO 17TH).  DURING THAT TIME, THERE WAS LIGHT SNOW
     IN/AND AROUND THE SALEM AREA, WITH AN INCH BEING THE MOST. A
     STRONG FRONT PUSHED ACROSS REGION ON THE 23RD AND 24TH, WITH
     1.00 TO 1.50 INCHES OF RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS. INTERESTINGLY,
     RAIN FELL ON ALL BUT 2 DAYS, THE MOST SINCE FOR A JANUARY
     SINCE JAN 2004, AND 2ND MOST FOR ANY JANUARY SINCE JAN 1950.
     OVERALL, JANUARY 2020 WAS THE 5TH WARMEST JANUARY ON RECORD.

FEBRUARY...A STRONG FRONT PUSHED ACROSS REGION TO START THE MONTH,
     WITH RAIN AND WINDS GUSTING TO 40 MPH.  BUT, OVERALL, IT WAS
     A RATHER BENIGN MONTH, WEATHERWISE. TOTAL RAINFALL WAS LESS
     THAN HALF OF NORMAL, WITH 1.78 INCHES.

MARCH...RATHER TYPICAL MARCH, WITH MIX OF CLOUDS, RAIN, SUNSHINE,
     AND SHOWERS. BUT, EVEN WITH THAT, THERE WAS A TOUCH OF SNOW
     WITH ONE OF THE COLD FRONTS ON THE 13TH INTO THE 14TH. BUT,
     NOT MUCH, WITH MOST AREAS IN AND AROUND SALEM GETTING LESS
     THAN AN INCH. A FEW SPOTS TO NORTH AND EAST OF SALEM, SUCH
     AS AROUND KEIZER TOWARDS SILVERTON PICKED UP 3 TO 5 INCHES.
     AFTERWARDS, DRY AND MILD WEATHER RETURNED. COOLER WITH RAIN
     AT TIMES RETURNED FOR THE LAST WEEK OF MARCH.

APRIL...A MILD AND RATHER DRY APRIL FOR THE MID-WILLAMETTE VALLEY.
     IT STARTED ON A WET NOTE, BUT DRY AND MILD WEATHER STARTED
     ON THE 5TH, AND CONTINUED THROUGH THE 17TH. DURING THAT
     STRETCH, TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE 60S, WITH MID-70S AT TIMES.
     IT STAYED MILD THROUGH END OF THE MONTH, WITH SOME SHOWERS.
     OVERALL, ANOTHER MONTH WITH BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL, WITH ONLY
     ABOUT HALF OF WHAT SHOULD SEE IN APRIL.

MAY...LIKE 2019, MAY WAS A MONTH FOR GARDENERS. MAY 2020 STARTED
     MILD AND SOMEWHAT WET. BY THE 5TH, TEMPERATURES WERE IN 70S,
     WITH MIDDLE 80S FOR THE MOTHERS DAY WEEKEND. THEN, BACK TO
     UNSETTLED WEATHER, WITH RAIN AND COOLER TEMPERATURES. ANOTHER
     WARM SPELL ARRIVED FOR THE 26TH TO 29TH, WITH HIGHS NEAR 90
     DEG ON THE 28TH. COLD FRONT SWEPT ACROSS REGION ON 30TH, WITH
     SHOWERS AND EVEN A FEW THUNDERSTORMS.

JUNE...LIKE MAY, JUNE WAS ANOTHER RATHER PLEASANT MONTH, WITH
     NEAR NORMAL RAINFALL. MOST OF THE RAIN FELL BETWEEN THE 6TH
     16TH. DURING THAT TIME, SEVERAL FRONTS PUSHED ACROSS REGION,
     WITH ALTERNATING RAIN AND SHOWERS. THUNDERSTORMS ON THE 6TH
     BROUGHT SMALL HAIL IN SPOTS, ALONG WITH A FUNNEL CLOUD NEAR
     SODAVILLE. THUNDERSTORMS ON THE 16TH ALSO PRODUCED A FUNNEL
     CLOUD NEAR ALBANY.

JULY...HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE REGION MAINTAINED WARM DAYS AND
     MILD NIGHTS, ALONG WITH DRY WEATHER. ONLY A TRACE OF RAIN
     FELL ON THE 1ST AND AGAIN ON THE 7TH. WARMEST DAY OF JULY
     WAS THE 26TH, WITH HIGHS OF 99 TO 101 ACROSS SALEM AREA.

AUGUST...OVERALL, NOT A LOT OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AUGUST AND
     JULY. AUGUST WAS ALSO ON THE WARM SIDE, WITH MILD NIGHTS.
     WARMEST DAY WAS ON THE 15TH, WITH TEMPERATURES AROUND 100
     DEG. MOST OF THE RAINFALL FOR AUGUST FELL ON THE 6TH.

SEPTEMBER...THE MONTH STARTED WARM AND DRY, WITH HIGHS IN 90S.
     AN ABNORMALLY STRONG UPPER LOW DROPPED SOUTH FROM CANADA
     INTO ROCKIES ON LABOR DAY WEEKEND, WITH SNOW IN THE ROCKIES.
     STRONG HIGH PRESSURE FOLLOWED THAT LOW BROUGHT STRONG DRY
     OFFSHORE FLOW TO THE PACIFIC NW. EAST TO NORTHEAST WINDS OF
     15 TO 25 MPH, WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH WERE FELT ACROSS THE
     CENTRAL WILLAMETTE VALLEY ON THE 7TH AND 8TH. WINDS BROKE
     TREE BRANCHES AND CAUSED SPOTTY POWER OUTAGES.

     BUT, WITH WINDS WERE MUCH STRONGER OVER THE CASCADES. THAT
     DOWNED POWERLINES, SPARKING WILDFIRES WITH THE VERY DRY
     CONDITIONS. THESE FIRES BURNED INTENSELY, WITH LARGE
     AMOUNTS OF SMOKE LOFTED AND SPREADING OVER MUCH OF THE
     REGION. AIR QUALITY PLUMMETED, WITH SMOKE COVER SKIES FROM
     THE 7TH THROUGH THE 18TH. THIS SMOKE KEPT DAY TEMPERATURES
     DOWN, AND OVERNIGHT LOWS MILD. IT ALSO MADE FOR MANY DAYS
     OF QUITE UNHEALTHY AIR QUALITY.

     STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ROLLED NORTHWARD ACROSS THE WILLAMETTE
     VALLEY AND CASCADES ON THE 17TH INTO THE 18TH. THESE STORMS
     PRODUCED VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND GUSTY WINDS, ALONG WITH
     SOME HAIL. MANY SPOTS IN AND AROUND SALEM PICKED UP 1.00
     1.25 INCHES OF RAIN WITHIN 30 MINUTES WITH THE HEAVIER
     STORMS. THIS QUICK RAINFALL TEMPORARILY TURNED STREETS INTO
     INTO RIVERS OF RUNNING WATER. ONE STORM NEAR SILVERTON
     DUMPED 1.52 INCHES OF RAIN IN 30 MINUTES, ALONG WITH GUSTY
     WINDS AND DIME TO NICKEL-SIZED HAILSTONES. THIS CAUSED QUITE
     A BIT OF DAMAGE TO TREES AND VEGETATION. HAIL ALSO DAMAGED
     CROPS AROUND THE SCIO AREA AS WELL.

     AFTERWARDS, WEATHER PATTERN CHANGED, WITH MORE ONSHORE FLOW
     AND SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. THIS ALLOWED SMOKE TO BE SHUNTED
     BACK TO THE EAST, WITH IMPROVING AIR QUALITY. A STRONG
     FRONT ARRIVED ON THE 23RD, BRINGING MORE RAIN.

OCTOBER...AFTER A MILD AND DRY START, THE TRANSITION FROM LATE
     SUMMER-LIKE WEATHER TO AUTUMN BEGAN IN EARNEST BY THE 10TH.
     A SERIES OF FRONTS ARRIVED, WITH A RAINY STRETCH FROM THE
     9TH TO THE 13TH. THEN, IT TURNED MOSTLY DRY THROUGH REST OF
     THE MONTH, WITH 0.05 INCH OF RAIN FROM THE 14TH THROUGH 31ST.
     CHILLY AIR SETTLED OVER REGION LATER IN THE MONTH, WITH
     AUTUMN`S FIRST FREEZE ON 26TH. THE LAST TIME TEMPERATURES
     DROPPED THIS COLD SO EARLY IN THE SEASON WAS IN 1985,
     WHEN TEMPERATURES DROPPED TO 25 DEG ON THE 9TH OF OCTOBER.

NOVEMBER...NOVEMBER 2020 WAS ABOUT AS CLOSE TO NORMAL AS ONE
     WOULD EXPECT FOR NOVEMBER. FROM THE 13TH TO 18TH, FRONTS
     PUSHED ACROSS THE REGION BROUGHT GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS,
     WITH GUSTS 40 TO 45 MPH FROM TIME TO TIME.

DECEMBER...DECEMBER STARTED ON A DRY NOTE. BUT, THEN THE RAIN
     RETURNED, WITH RAIN EVERY DAY FROM THE 5TH THROUGH THE 22ND.
     AN ATMOSPHERIC RIVER PUSHED OVER THE REGION LATE ON THE 19TH
     AND 20TH, WITH HEAVY RAIN. DURING THAT TIME, MANY AREAS IN
     AND AROUND SALEM RECEIVED 1.75 TO 3.00 INCHES OF RAIN. THIS
     PUSHED MANY SMALL STREAMS OUT OF THEIR BANKS, WITH SOME
     MINOR FLOODING ALONG A FEW RIVERS, SUCH AS THE SANTIAM AND
     PUDDING RIVERS IN RURAL MARION COUNTY. WEATHER REMAINED
     MILD THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH.

==============================================================
NEW RECORDS SET IN 2020      (PREVIOUS RECORD IN PARENTHESES)
              + INDICATES MOST RECENT OF MULTIPLE OCCURRENCES

JANUARY...
   *** 5TH WARMEST JANUARY ON RECORD (AVG TEMP 45.4 DEG)

MAY...
  18TH  NEW.  DAILY PRECIPITATION      0.67 INCH ( 0.64 /2019 )

SEPTEMBER...
   3RD TIED.  DAILY WARM LOW TEMP            61  (  61 /2013 )
   8TH NEW.   DAILY WARM LOW TEMP            66  (  64 /2017 )
   9TH TIED.  DAILY WARM LOW TEMP            62  (  62 /2017 )

NOVEMBER...
   4TH  NEW.  DAILY WARM LOW TEMP            58  (  57 /2012 )
   9TH  NEW.  DAILY COLD LOW TEMP            24  (  27 /2018 )

==============================================================
2020 SALEM MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION RANKINGS

THIS SHOWS WHERE A MONTH/YEAR RANKS IN SALEM PERIOD OF RECORD
(1892 TO 2020). RANKINGS ONLY APPLY TO ALL OF THE SAME MONTH,
IN OTHER WORDS, WHERE JAN 2020 COMPARES TO ALL OTHER JANUARYS.

RANKINGS 1 TO 129...WHERE 1 IS THE RECORD WARMEST OR WETTEST,
                    AND 129 IS THE RECORD DRIEST OR COLDEST.

       JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC  2020
AVG T    5  78  87  32  36  45  34  21  13  59  80  37    19
PRECIP 118 113  88 105  32  45  99  78  65  98  65  62   102

MAX T   16  50  74  28  56  77  54  31  51  47  79  18    24
MIN T    3 103  92  47  18  17  29  34   3  68  78  58    28

===============================================================
2020 SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT TEMPERATURE DATA
      (+ BY DATE INDICATES LAST OF SEVERAL OCCURRENCES LISTED)

      |--- AVERAGES ----| MEAN T DEPART| EXTREME TEMPS & DATE|
MONTH |HIGHS LOWS   MEAN|  FROM NORMAL | HIGHEST      LOWEST |
--------------------------------------------------------------
JAN     50.1  40.6   45.4   +4.2 DEG     61 /31ST    26 /26TH
FEB     51.2  32.5   41.9   -1.2 DEG     61 /27TH    25 / 4TH
MAR     54.5  35.1   44.8   -2.6 DEG     65 /20TH    28 /17TH
APR     63.6  40.3   52.0   +1.6 DEG     77 /17TH    31 / 3RD
MAY     68.6  47.1   57.8   +1.6 DEG     90 /28TH    36 / 4TH
JUN     72.7  51.8   62.2   +0.6 DEG     91 /23RD    42 / 1ST
JUL     82.8  54.6   68.7   +1.1 DEG    100 /26TH    50 /25TH
AUG     84.1  54.2   69.1   +1.5 DEG    100 /15TH    46 /30TH
SEP     76.6  53.3   65.0   +2.4 DEG     96 / 3RD    46 /13TH+
OCT     65.0  42.6   53.8   +0.6 DEG     79 / 2ND    27 /26TH
NOV     52.0  37.0   44.5   -1.0 DEG     68 / 4TH    24 / 9TH
DEC     49.3  35.5   42.4   +2.3 DEG     60 /21ST    24 /29TH

2020    64.2  43.7   54.0   +1.0 DEG    100/AUG 15+  24/DEC 29+
NORMAL  63.6  42.4   53.0

DAYS WITH TEMPERATURES IN 2020 WHERE...
       |------ MAXIMUM TEMP --------||------ MINIMUM TEMP ---|
       <=32  60+  70+  80+  90+ 100+  <=20  <=32   60+   70+
--------------------------------------------------------------
JAN      0    1    0    0    0    0      0    11    0     0
FEB      0    1    0    0    0    0      1    16    0     0
MAR      0    9    0    0    0    0      0    12    0     0
APR      0   23    7    0    0    0      0     1    0     0
MAY      0   27   11    6    1    0      0     0    0     0
JUN      0   29   19    6    1    0      0     0    0     0
JUL      0   31   29   18    9    1      0     0    3     0
AUG      0   31   31   23    4    1      0     0    4     0
SEP      0   30   23    9    2    0      0     0    4     0
OCT      0   23    8    0    0    0      0     7    0     0
NOV      0    6    0    0    0    0      0    12    0     0
DEC      0    1    0    0    0    0      0    11    0     0

2020     0  212  128   62   17    2      0    59   11     0
NORMAL   1  197  124   59   15    1      3    50    4     0

FIRST/LAST OCCURRENCES OF...        IN 2020      NORMAL
  LAST 32 DEG OR COLDER IN SPRING    13 APR     (19 APR)
  FIRST 70+ DEG OF THE YEAR           8 APR     (31 MAR)
  FIRST 80+ DEG OF THE YEAR           8 MAY     ( 9 MAY)
  FIRST 90+ DEG OF THE YEAR          28 MAY     ( 3 JUN)

  LAST 90+ DEG OF THE YEAR            3 SEP     ( 8 SEP)
  LAST 80+ DEG OF THE YEAR           29 SEP     (30 SEP)
  LAST 70+ DEG OF THE YEAR           16 OCT     (20 OCT)
  FIRST 32 DEG OR COLDER IN FALL     25 OCT     (24 OCT)

==============================================================
2020 SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT RAINFALL DATA...

       TOTAL  DEPARTURE  DAYS WITH AT LEAST...  GREATEST IN
MONTH   RAIN  FM NORMAL   0.01 0.10 0.50 1.00   24HRS & DATE
--------------------------------------------------------------
JAN     7.95    +1.95      28   22    5    0    1.34 JAN 27-28
FEB     1.78    -2.78      12    6    1    0    0.63 FEB 15-16
MAR     2.92    -1.07      12    9    1    0    0.67 MAR 13-14
APR     1.35    -1.46      11    7    0    0    0.29 APR 22
MAY     2.85    +0.63      14    9    1    0    0.68 MAY 17-18
JUN     1.41    -0.14      11    6    0    0    0.36 JUN  8-9
JUL    TRACE    -0.46       0    0    0    0   TRACE JUL  7
AUG     0.12    -0.33       3    0    0    0    0.09 AUG  6
SEP     1.36    +0.08       5    4    1    0    0.52 SEP 17-18
OCT     1.70    -1.33       7    5    2    0    1.16 OCT 10-11
NOV     5.89    -0.61      20   12    4    1    1.40 NOV 12-13
DEC     6.45    -0.41      21   14    4    1    2.13 DEC 19-20

  2020  32.09   -5.89     144   94   18    2    2.13 DEC 19-20
NORMAL  39.67             144   91   25    6

SALEM WATER YEAR 2019-20 (1 OCT 2019 THROUGH 30 SEP 2020)
      27.91 INCHES     11.76 INCHES BELOW NORMAL

============================================================
2020 SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT WIND AND PRESSURE DATA...

      AVERAGE SPEED (MPH)    STRONGEST WIND GUST
MONTH   2020   NORMAL        DIRECTION   SPEED   DATE
----------------------------------------------------------
JAN      9.8    (7.1)        WEST        43 MPH  JAN  3
FEB      6.0    (6.9)        SOUTHWEST   38 MPH  FEB  1
MAR      6.3    (7.4)        SOUTH       34 MPH  MAR 30
APR      5.6    (6.9)        NORTH       29 MPH  APR 16
MAY      5.6    (6.4)        SOUTHWEST   34 MPH  MAY  2
JUN      6.7    (6.5)        NORTHWEST   29 MPH  JUN 27
JUL      6.3    (6.5)        WEST        26 MPH  JUL 30
AUG      6.3    (6.0)        NORTH       27 MPH  AUG  9
SEP      5.1    (5.5)        SOUTH       41 MPH  SEP 25
OCT      5.1    (5.7)        SOUTH       41 MPH  OCT 13
NOV      6.6    (7.1)        SOUTH       44 MPH  NOV 17
DEC      6.3    (7.1)        SOUTH       38 MPH  DEC 21

2020     6.3    (6.6)     SOUTH       44 MPH NOV 17

BAROMETRIC PRESSURE EXTREMES...
   HIGHEST PRESSURE30.64 INCHES     24 FEB
   LOWEST PRESSURE 29.38 INCHES     13 NOV

============================================================
2020 SALEM WILLAMETTE RIVER DATA (AT DOWNTOWN)...
   HIGHEST LEVEL     21.6 FT      22 DEC 2020
   LOWEST LEVEL       5.3 FT      14 AUG 2020
                     (FLOOD STAGE IS 28.0 FT)
============================================================
SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT CLIMATE PERIOD OF RECORDS 1892 TO 2020
SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT CLIMATE NORMALS BASED ON  1981 TO 2010
============================================================

DATA COMPILED BY ROCKEY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON

ONLINE AT:     WEATHER.GOV/PORTLAND


$$


USA.gov is the U.S. government's official web portal to all federal, state and local government web resources and services.