Climatological Report (Annual)
Issued by NWS Portland, OR
Issued by NWS Portland, OR
000
CXUS56 KPQR 021859
CLASLE
ANNUAL CLIMATE REPORT
ANATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
1057 AM PST SUN JAN 2 2022
...SALEM 2021 WEATHER IN REVIEW...
=================================================================
2021 NOTABLE RECORDS... 2021 NOTABLE WEATHER EVENTS...
*** THE WARMEST JUNE *** ICE/SNOW OF MID-FEBRUARY
*** THE WARMEST JULY *** MAJOR HEAT WAVE OF LATE JUNE
*** 3RD WARMEST AUGUST *** HEAT WAVE OF MID-AUGUST
*** 5TH WARMEST SEPTEMBER *** WARMEST SUMMER ON RECORD
*** 7TH WARMEST NOVEMBER *** HEAVY RAIN MID-NOVEMBER
*** MOST DAYS W/HIGHS 90+ *** HEAVY RAIN MID-DECEMBER
*** MOST DAYS W/HIGHS 80+ *** SNOW IN LATE DECEMBER
*** 3RD WARMEST YEAR (ONLY 2015 AND 2014 WERE WARMER)
MONTHLY WEATHER RECAPS...
JANUARY...2021 STARTED ON A SOMEWHAT MILD AND WET NOTE. RAINFALL
OF 8.50 INCHES FOR THE MONTH WAS ABOVE NORMAL, BUT FAR FROM
A RECORD FOR THE MONTH.
FEBRUARY...MILD AND WET WEATHER OF CONTINUED INTO EARLY FEBRUARY.
THEN, A BREAK IN THE WEATHER FROM THE 7TH TO 10TH. AFTERWARDS,
COLD OFFSHORE FLOW ARRIVED, WITH FRIGID EAST WINDS GUSTING 20
TO 40 MPH ACROSS CENTRAL WILLAMETTE VALLEY ON 11TH TO 14TH.
DURING THAT TIME, IT RAIN, WITH WIDESPREAD FREEZING RAIN AND
SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATIONS. GENERALLY, 1 TO 3 INCHE OF ICE
ACCUMULATED, ESPECIALLY FROM SALEM TO THE NORTH AND EAST. THIS
CAUSED WIDESPREAD WIDESPREAD BROKEN TREES AND LONG-LASTING
POWER OUTAGES. POWER WAS OUT 1 TO 2 WEEKS IN THE HEAVY HIT
AREAS SUCH AS CANBY TO SILVERTON.
MILD WEATHER RETURNED TO THE REGION LATER ON THE 14TH, AND
LASTED THROUGH TH4E END OF FEBRUARY.
MARCH...CONSIDERING THE WILD EATHER OF FEBUARY, MARCH ARRIVED LIKE
A LAMB, WITH MILD DRY WEATHER. BUT, IT ALSO ENDED LIKE A
LAMB, WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER 60S. OVERALL, IT WAS A
RATHER TYPICAL FOR MARCH, COMPLETE WITH OCCASIONAL SHOWERS.
APRIL...THIS WAS A WELCOME BREAK FROM NORMALLY WET AND COOLISH
APRILS, AS HIGH PRESSURE DOMINATED THE WEATHER PATTERN. THIS
BLOCKED INCOMING WEATHER FRONTS, ALLOWING FOR DRIER AND
WARMER WEATHER. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WERE OFTEN IN THE 60S
AND 70S. THE WARMEST DAYS WERE 17TH/18TH, WHEN TEMPERATURES
REACHED INTO THE MIDDLE 80S. BUT, IT WAS A MUCH DRIER THAN
NORMAL APRIL, WITH ABOUT HALF THE RAIN THAT IS NORMAL.
MAY...DRY AND MILD CHARACTERIZE MAY 2021, WITH MANY RATHER
PLEASANT SUNNY DAYS. MID MONTH WAS THE WARMEST PERIOD, WITH
A STREATY OF 5 DAYS (12TH TO 16TH) BEING IN THE 80S. BUT,
WAS ALSO DRY, WITH ABOUT LESS THAN AN INCH TOTAL RAINFALL.
A STRONG FAST-MOVING FRONT PUSHED ACROSS REGION ON THE 27TH,
BRING GUSTY WINDS FO 35 TO 40 MPH.
JUNE...JUNE STARTED WARM AND DRY WITH HIGHS IN THE MIDDLE 90S
ON THE 1ST AND 2ND. THEN, WEATHER RESEMBLED THAT MORE LIKE
ANY OTHER JUNE, WITH CLOUDS, RAIN, THE TYPICAL TEMPERATURE
YOYO, FROM MIDDLE 60S TO LOWER 70S. THEN, HIGH PRESSURE
BUILT OVER THE REGION, BRINGING DRY AND WARMER WEATHER.
TEMPERATURES ROSE INTO THE 90S BY THE 20TH, WITH 96 DEG ON
THE 21ST. HIGH PRESSURE WEAKENED A BIT, WITH TEMPERATURES
BACK TO THE MID 80S. BUT, THAT HIGH PRESSURE DOME PUSHED
BACK OVER THE PACIFIC NW ON THE 25TH, BRINGING VERY HOT
WEATHER. TEMPERATURES ROSE TO 105 ON THE 26TH, THEN TO
A RECORD-BREAKING 113 ON THE 27TH. THIS WAS THE HOTTEST
DAY EVER RECORDED IN SALEM (BACK TO 1892). BUT, THAT
RECORD WAS BROKEN AGAIN THE NEXT DAY WITH 117 DEG. WORST
YET, IT TOOK MUCH LONGER TO COOL, BUT ONLY DOWN TO 70
ON MORNINGS OF THE 27TH AND 28TH. THESE WERE AMONG THE
WARMEST OVERNIGHT LOWS EVER. THE ELDERLY AND VERY YOUNG,
ALONG WITH THOSE THAT HAD NO AIR CONDITIONING, SUFFERED
DURING THIS HEAT WAVE. HUNDREDS SUFFERED FROM VARIOUS
HEAT SICKNESSES AND NEEDED TO BE HOSPITALIZED.
JULY...WARM AND DRY WEATHER CONTINUED, WITH ONLY 0.02 INCH
OF RAIN. THERE WERE 16 DAYS WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF
AT LEAST 90 DEG, WITH THE WARMEST DAY BEING 100 DEG ON
THE 29TH. JULY 2021 ENDED AS WARMEST JULY ON RECORD,
NARROWLY EXCEEDING THE PREVIOUS WARMEST OF 2015.
AUGUST...WHILE NOT AS WARM AS JULY OR LATE JUNE, IT STILL
FELT RATHER WARM. ANOTHER ROUND OF HOT TEMPERATURES FROM
THE 10TH TO 13TH, WITH 103 ON 11TH/12TH. BUT, AFTER THAT
HEAT WAVE ENDED O4N THE 15TH, TEMPERATURES WERER MORE
TYPICAL FOR AUGUST, WITH 70S AND 80S. EVEN SO, IT WAS
THE 3RD WARMEST AUGUST ON RECORD.
SEPTEMBER...WAS A MILD MONTH, WITH TEMPERATURES CLOSER TO
THAT EXPECTED FOR A SEPTEMBER. THOUGH FIRST HALF WAS DRY
RAIN ARRIVED ON THE 17TH, WITH RATHER HEAVY RAIN ON THE
18TH AND 19TH. AS SUMMER CLOSED ON THE 20TH, 2021 WOULD
FINISH AS HAVING THE WARMEST SUMMER ON RECORD FOR SALEM,
SURPASSING PRIOR WARMEST 2015 BY A FULL DEGREE).
OCTOBER...IT WAS AN OCTOBER THAT IS MORE EXPECTED, WITH COOL
SWEATER WEATHER AND SOME RAIN FROM TIME TO TIME. WHILE
THERE WERE NOT BIG RAIN EVENTS, OCT RAINFALL FOR ENDED
JUST A WEE BIT BELOW NORMAL. STRONG FRONT PUSHED ACROSS
THE REGION ON THE 24TH AND 25TH, WITH WINDS GUSTING 50
TO 60 MPH ON THE 24TH.
NOVEMBER...RAINS CONTINUED THROUGH THE MONTH, ALONG WITH MILD
TEMPERATURES. AS IS THE CASE WITH MANY RAINY NOVEMBERS,
CLOUDIER SKIES AND MILD TEMPERATURES OFTEN PREVENT THE
TEMPERATURES FROM DROPPING BELOW FREEZING. NORMALLY,
THERE ARE 6 NIGHTS THAT DROP BELOW FREEZING. BUT, THIS
YEAR, ONLY 1 NIGHT, WITH 30 DEG ON THE 21ST. OVERALL, IT
WAS THE 7TH WARMEST NOVEMBER ON RECORD.
ON THE 11TH AND 12TH, A RATHER SLOW MOVING ATMOSPHERIC
RIVER SHIFTED FROM SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE REGION. HEAVY
RAIN FELL, WITH 1 TO 3 INCHES REPORTED AROUND THE SALEM
AREA. MINOR FLOODING WAS COMMON IN AREAS WITH POOR
DRAINAGE, SUCH AS LOW SPOTS WHERE STREET DRAINS WERE
CLOGGED WITH TREE LEAVES.
DECEMBER...
MILD WEATHER OF LATE NOVEMBER EXTENDED INTO EARLY DAYS OF
DECEMBER, WITH TEMPERATURES INTO THE MID 60S ON THE 1ST.
BUT, RETURN TO ONSHORE FLOW AND ARRIVING FRONT ON THE 4TH
BROUGHT MORE REALISTIC EARLY DECEMBER WEATHER, WITH RAIN
AND TEMPERATURES IN THE 40S. HEAVY RAIN FELL ON THE 18TH
TO 20TH, AS A FRONT STALLED OVER THE AREA, WITH RAINFALL
OF 3 TO 6 INCHES REPORTED. THIS PUSHED MANY SMALLER
STREAMS TO MINOR FLOODING, INCLUDING MILL STREAM. A BREAK
FROM THE RAIN ON 21ST TO 25.12ND. BUT, COLDER WEATHER SPREAD
ACROSS THE REGION, WITH SNOW ON CHRISTMAS NIGHT INTO THE
27TH. SNOWFALL WAS 2 TO 5 INCHES ACROSS THE SALEM AREA.
COOL, SHOWERY WEATHER CONTINUED TO CLOSE OUT THE MONTH.
==============================================================
NEW RECORDS SET IN 2021 (PREVIOUS RECORD IN PARENTHESES)
+ INDICATES MOST RECENT OF MULTIPLE OCCURRENCES
JANUARY...
*** 6TH WARMEST JANUARY ON RECORD
FEBRUARY...
12TH NEW. DAILY COOL HIGH TEMP 30 ( 34 /1905 )
APRIL...
16TH TIED. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 82 ( 82 /1897 )
17TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 85 ( 84 /2016 )
*** 5TH WARMEST APRIL ON RECORD
JUNE...
1ST NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 61 ( 60 /1968 )
1ST NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 97 ( 96 /1970 )
12TH NEW. DAILY RAINFALL 0.62" (0.53"/1912 )
13TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 61 ( 60 /1929 )
20TH TIED DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 60 ( 60 /2018+)
21ST NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 63 ( 60 /1970+)
26TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 67 ( 65 /2015 )
26TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 105 ( 103 /2006 )
27TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 113 ( 99 /2000 )
28TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 68 ( 65 /2015 )
28TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 117 ( 101 /2008 )
29TH TIED. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 61 ( 61 /2013+)
**** HIGH OF 117 IS HIGHEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED AT
SALEM. PRIOR TO 2021, THE HIGHEST WAS 108 DEG, SET
9 AUG 1981, 15 JUL 1941, AND 23 JUL 1927.
**** HIGHS 113 ON 27TH AND 117 ON THE 28TH ARE THE TWO
WARMEST DAYS ON RECORD FOR THE SALEM AREA.
**** LOW OF 71 DEG ON THE 27TH WAS WARMEST TIES THE RECORD
WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE FOR JUNE (OTHER DATE WAS
71 DEG ON 27 JUN 2015). IT WAS JUST SHY OF THE
WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE EVER, WHICH IS 74 DEG SET
BACK ON 22 JUL 2006.
**** JUNE 2021 IS THE WARMEST JUNE ON RECORD, WITH AVERAGE
TEMP OF 69.5 DEG (PRIOR RECORD WAS 69.3 IN 2015).
JULY...
2ND NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 65 ( 64 /1942 )
30TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 65 ( 62 /2018+)
31ST NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 69 ( 64 /1910 )
**** JULY 2021 IS THE WARMEST JULY ON RECORD, WITH AVERAGE
TEMP OF 73.3 DEG (PRIOR RECORD WAS 73.1 IN 2015).
AUGUST...
5TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 63 ( 61 /1999+)
6TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 64 ( 63 /1895 )
11TH TIED. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 67 ( 67 /2014 )
12TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 69 ( 64 /2014+)
13TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 69 ( 63 /2002 )
14TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 64 ( 63 /2008 )
15TH TIED. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 65 ( 65 /2013 )
**** JULY 2021 IS THE THIRD WARMEST AUGUST ON RECORD, WITH
AVERAGE TEMP OF 72.3 DEG (RECORD WAS 73.0 IN 2017).
SEPTEMBER...
22ND TIED. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 57 ( 57 /2014+)
18TH NEW. DAILY RAINFALL 1.13" (1.05"/2010 )
**** SEPT 2021 IS THE 5TH WARMEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD, WITH
AVERAGE TEMP OF 66.0 DEG (RECORD WAS 66.6 DEG IN 2011).
NOVEMBER...
11TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 54 ( 53 /1897 )
29TH TIED. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 62 ( 62 /1917 )
DECEMBER...
1ST NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 65 ( 64 /1958 )
FOR THE YEAR...
MOST DAYS WITH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES OF AT LEAST 80 DEG...
98 DAYS IN 2021 (PRIOR RECORD WAS 95 DAYS IN 1967)
MOST DAYS WITH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES OF AT LEAST 90 DEG...
41 DAYS IN 2021 (PRIOR RECORD WAS 34 DAYS IN 1958)
MOST DAYS WITH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES NO LOWER THAN 60 DEG...
37 DAYS IN 2021 (PRIOR RECORD WAS 29 DAYS IN 2015)
WARMEST SUMMER (21 JUL TO 22 SEP) ON RECORD...
AVG TEMP 72.1 DEG (PRIOR WARMEST 2014 WITH 70.8 DEG)
3RD WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD...TIES 1926 AS 3RD WARMEST.
(ONLY 2014 AND 2015 WERE WARMER)
==============================================================
2021 SALEM MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION RANKINGS
THIS SHOWS WHERE A MONTH/YEAR RANKS IN SALEM PERIOD OF RECORD
(1892 TO 2021). RANKINGS ONLY APPLY TO ALL OF THE SAME MONTH,
IN OTHER WORDS, WHERE JAN 2021 COMPARES TO ALL OTHER JANUARYS.
RANKINGS 1 TO 130...WHERE 1 IS THE RECORD WARMEST OR WETTEST,
AND 130 IS THE RECORD DRIEST OR COLDEST.
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 2021
AVG T 19 78 93 14 14 1 1 3 5 52 7 45 3
PRECIP 27 52 105 111 106 34 92 100 15 70 72 22 18
MAX T 22 104 66 6 21 2 1 10 23 93 6 72 6
MIN T 18 41 113 75 18 1 1 1 4 21 6 23 5
===============================================================
2021 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 49.4 37.5 43.4 +2.2 DEG 59 /13TH+ 26 /23RD
FEB 48.1 36.2 42.1 -1.0 DEG 57 /28TH 26 /10TH
MAR 55.0 34.1 44.5 -2.4 DEG 67 /31ST 28 /16TH
APR 67.3 39.3 53.3 +2.9 DEG 85 /18TH+ 29 /11TH+
MAY 71.6 47.1 59.4 +1.7 DEG 90 /31ST 36 / 8TH
JUN 83.5 55.5 69.5 +6.8 DEG 117 /28TH 42 / 9TH
JUL 88.4 58.2 73.3 +4.0 DEG 100 /29TH 52 /22ND
AUG 86.3 58.3 72.3 +3.1 DEG 103 /12TH+ 46 /23RD
SEP 79.0 52.9 66.0 +1.9 DEG 91 /24TH 45 /16TH
OCT 62.4 45.6 54.0 -0.3 DEG 73 /13TH 35 /12TH
NOV 56.4 43.2 49.8 +3.5 DEG 66 /14TH+ 30 /21ST
DEC 46.8 37.5 42.1 +0.8 DEG 65 / 1ST 26 /31ST
2021 66.3 45.5 55.9 +1.8 DEG 117/AUG 28 26/DEC 31+
NORMAL 64.4 43.9 54.1
DAYS WITH TEMPERATURES IN 2021 WHERE...
|------ MAXIMUM TEMP --------||------ MINIMUM TEMP ---|
<=32 60+ 70+ 80+ 90+ 100+ <=20 <=32 60+ 70+
--------------------------------------------------------------
JAN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0
FEB 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0
MAR 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0
APR 0 23 11 3 0 0 0 3 0 0
MAY 0 31 15 9 1 0 0 0 0 0
JUN 0 30 22 19 10 3 0 0 11 1
JUL 0 31 31 30 16 1 0 0 10 0
AUG 0 31 31 22 11 2 0 0 15 0
SEP 0 30 26 15 3 0 0 0 1 0
OCT 0 20 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NOV 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
DEC 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0
2021 1 213 139 98 41 6 0 37 37 1
NORMAL 1 197 124 59 15 1 3 50 4 0
FIRST/LAST OCCURRENCES OF... IN 2021 NORMAL
LAST 32 DEG OR COLDER IN SPRING 11 APR (19 APR)
FIRST 70+ DEG OF THE YEAR 1 APR (31 MAR)
FIRST 80+ DEG OF THE YEAR 16 APR ( 9 MAY)
FIRST 90+ DEG OF THE YEAR 31 MAY ( 3 JUN)
LAST 90+ DEG OF THE YEAR 24 SEP ( 8 SEP)
LAST 80+ DEG OF THE YEAR 25 SEP (30 SEP)
LAST 70+ DEG OF THE YEAR 28 OCT (20 OCT)
FIRST 32 DEG OR COLDER IN FALL 21 NOV (24 OCT)
==============================================================
2021 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 8.50 +2.54 22 14 5 2 2.53 JAN 11-12
FEB 5.02 +0.46 21 13 4 0 0.77 FEB 2-3
MAR 2.33 -1.66 14 8 1 0 0.53 MAR 5
APR 1.27 -1.54 5 3 0 0 0.50 APR 24-25
MAY 0.94 -1.31 10 4 0 0 0.22 MAY 1
JUN 1.72 +0.47 7 4 2 0 1.19 JUN 12-13
JUL 0.02 -0.23 1 0 0 0 0.02 JUL 31
AUG 0.02 -0.37 1 0 0 0 0.02 AUG 25-26
SEP 2.89 +1.43 8 5 2 1 1.23 SEP 17-18
OCT 2.71 -0.76 18 10 1 0 0.84 OCT 21-22
NOV 5.50 -0.45 21 15 3 1 1.69 NOV 10-11
DEC 9.90 +2.93 24 16 8 4 2.07 DEC 18-19
2021 40.82 +0.74 152 92 26 8 2.53 JAN 11-12
NORMAL 40.08 144 91 25 6
SALEM WATER YEAR 2020-21 (1 OCT 2020 THROUGH 30 SEP 2021)
36.75 INCHES 3.33 INCHES BELOW NORMAL
============================================================
2021 SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT WIND AND PRESSURE DATA...
AVERAGE SPEED (MPH) STRONGEST WIND GUST
MONTH 2020 NORMAL DIRECTION SPEED DATE
----------------------------------------------------------
JAN 6.3 (7.1) SOUTH 43 MPH JAN 12
FEB 7.5 (6.9) SOUTH 41 MPH FEB 2
MAR 6.0 (7.4) SOUTH 38 MPH MAR 8
APR 6.2 (6.9) NORTHEAST 37 MPH APR 13
MAY 6.3 (6.4) SOUTHWEST 34 MPH MAY 27
JUN 6.0 (6.5) WEST 29 MPH JUN 28
JUL 6.4 (6.5) NORTH 26 MPH JUL 24+
AUG 6.3 (6.0) WEST 30 MPH AUG 16
SEP 6.7 (5.5) SOUTH 33 MPH SEP 17
OCT 6.9 (5.7) SOUTHWEST 57 MPH OCT 24
NOV 7.0 (7.1) NORTHWEST 43 MPH NOV 15
DEC 8.3 (7.1) SOUTH 48 MPH DEC 11
2021 6.5 (6.6) SOUTH 44 MPH NOV 17
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE EXTREMES...
HIGHEST 30.62 INCHES 24 FEB ( 1130 AM PST )
LOWEST 29.34 INCHES 24 DEC ( 0830 AM PST )
============================================================
2021 SALEM WILLAMETTE RIVER DATA (AT DOWNTOWN)...
HIGHEST LEVEL 20.9 FT 21 DEC 2021
LOWEST LEVEL 4.7 FT 21 AUG 2021
(FLOOD STAGE IS 28.0 FT)
============================================================
SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT PERIOD OF RECORD... 1892 TO 2021
SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT CLIMATE NORMALS... 1991 TO 2020
============================================================
DATA COMPILED BY ROCKEY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
ONLINE AT: WEATHER.GOV/PORTLAND
$$