Climatological Report (Annual)
Issued by NWS Portland, OR
Issued by NWS Portland, OR
592 CXUS56 KPQR 011248 CLAPDX ANNUAL CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR 448 AM PST WED JAN 1 2020 ...PORTLAND 2019 WEATHER IN REVIEW... ================================================================ 2019 MONTHLY WEATHER RECAPS... JANUARY...JANUARY WAS FOR THE MOST PART A RATHER MILD MONTH, WITH AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BEING A BIT ABOVE NORMAL. A STRONG FRONT BROUGHT RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS ON THE 4TH AND 5TH, WITH SOUTH WIND GUSTING TO 54 MPH AT THE AIRPORT. ANOTHER STRONG FRONT PUSHED ACROSS REGION ON THE 17TH AND 18TH, BRINGING OVER AN INCH OF RAIN AND WINDS GUSTING AROUND 40 MPH. RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH WAS ABOUT HALF OF WHAT IS NORMALLY EXPECTED. FEBRUARY...OLD MAN WINTER SHOWED UP DURING THE FIRST PART OF THE MONTH, WITH SNOW AND COLD TEMPERATURES. SNOW FELL ON THE 4TH AND 5TH, BUT NOT A LOT. THEN ANOTHER SYSTEM ARRIVED ON THE 8TH AND 9TH, BRINGING 2 TO 7 INCHES OF SNOW TO MUCH OF THE METRO, WITH THE HEAVIEST ACCUMULATIONS CLOSER TO THE GORGE. DOWNTOWN PORTLAND MEASURED 3.5 INCHES, WHILE THE AIRPORT RECEIVED 4.9 INCHES. IT WAS A COLD START TO FEBRUARY, WITH OVERNIGHT LOWS DROPPING INTO THE 20S. THEN, ON THE 10TH AND 11TH, MILDER AIR PUSHED INTO THE REGION AND BROUGHT RAIN AND EVEN A FEW THUNDERSTORMS. ANOTHER ROUND OF COLD AIR ARRIVED ON THE 24TH, WITH MINOR ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW AGAIN EACH DAY FROM 24TH TO 27TH. OVERALL, IT WAS THE 3RD COLDEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD FOR THE AIRPORT (1989 AND 1956 WERE THE COLDEST). ADDITIONALLY, THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH WAS ONLY 50 DEG, WHICH OCCURRED ON THE 2ND. THIS IS FIRST TIME SINCE 1956 THAT TEMPERATURES FAILED TO RISE ABOVE 50 DEG. MARCH...RATHER UNEVENTFUL MARCH, WITH SLIGHLY COOLER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES ABOUT HALF THE NORMAL RAINFALL. COOLER WEATHER ON THE 6TH TO 8TH MAINTAINED LOW SNOW LEVELS. WITH SHOWERS DURING THAT TIME, DID SEE MINOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ON THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS AROUND THE METRO. HIGH PRESSURE EAST OF THE CASCADES BROUGHT OFFSHORE EASTERLY WINDS, AND MUCH MILDER CONDITIONS FROM 15TH TO THE 20TH, WITH TEMPERATURES WELL INTO THE 60S AND EVEN LOWER 70S. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2016 PORTLAND SAW BACK TO BACK DAYS WITH AT LEAST 70 DEG (ON THE 19TH AND 20TH). AFTERWARD, IT WAS BACK TO MORE TYPICAL CONDITIONS FOR LATE MARCH. APRIL...EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE A LOT OF DAYS WITH RAIN IN APRIL, APRIL ENDED WITH PRECIPITATION CLOSE TO NORMAL. BUT, WITH MORE RAINY DAYS, SO BOOSTED WERE NUMBER OF CLOUDY DAYS AND NIGHTS. SO, OVERALL TEMPERATURES WERE ABOVE NORMAL, MOSTLY DUE TO MILDER NIGHTS. MAY...IT WAS A MONTH FOR GARDENERS, AS A WARM AND DRY START GOT MANY THINKING ABOUT THEIR YARDS. IT WAS THE 3RD WARMEST MAY ON RECORD, WITH AVERAGE TEMP OF 62.6 DEG (TIE WITH 2016 AND 1997), WITH WARMEST DAY BEING 89 DEG ON THE 10TH. NO RAIN FELL ON THE FIRST 13 DAYS OF THE MONTH, THEN DID FINALLY GET SOME RAIN AT TIMES AFTERWARDS. BUT, MAY RAINFALL ENDED ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF NORMAL. JUNE...RATHER SPECTACULAR JUNE, CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF MILD DRY DAYS. NORMALLY, PORTLAND SEES 7 DAYS OF AT LEAST 80 DEG IN JUNE. BUT THERE WERE 12 FOR JUNE 2019, WHICH WAS THE 2ND MOST SEEN FOR JUNE SINCE 2003 (21 DAYS IN 2015). THE WARMEST STRETCH WAS ON THE 11TH AND 12TH, WITH HIGHS OF 97 AND 98 DEG. THUNDERSTORMS BROUGHT EXCITEMENT AND SOME SPECTACULAR LIGHTNING DISPLAYS ON THE NIGHT OF THE 25TH INTO THE 26TH. THOUGH RAINFALL WAS BIT SPOTTY, SOME SPOTS DID SEE 2 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN IN ONLY A FEW HOURS. JULY...JULY STARTED WITH A BANG, AS THUNDERSTORMS ROLLED ACROSS THE METRO AREA ON THE 1ST. ONE OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS DID PRODUCE A WEAK TORNADO IN NORTHEAST PORTLAND, AROUND 520 PM. THE DAMAGE PATH WAS ABOUT 50 YARDS WIDE AND 1.6 MILES LONG, FROM AROUND 16TH AND NE GOING ST, EXTENDING TO NORTHEAST TO ABOUT 38TH AND NE SHAVER. DAMAGE WAS MOSTLY TO TREES, BUT THERE WAS MINOR DAMAGE TO POWER POLES, AS WELL AS SOME DAMAGE TO SHINGLES AND ROOFING ON HOME. FORTUNATELY, NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. AFTER THE ACTIVE START TO JULY, WEATHER PATTERN SETTLED DOWN, WITH RATHER QUIET AND MILD WEATHER AFTERWARDS. AUGUST...IT WAS A WARM AUGUST, WITH 6 DAYS ABOVE 90 DEG, AND 20 DAYS OF AT LEAST 80 DEG. WHILE NOT A RECORD BY ANY MEANS, THESE WARM DAYS LEAD TO SOME WARM NIGHTS, WITH 21 NIGHTS SEEING OVERNIGHT LOWS STAYING ABOVE 60 DEG. THIS WAS ALMOST A RECORD (RECORD IS 22 IN 2013 AND 2014). THE WARMEST WEATHER WAS ON THE 27TH AND 28TH, WITH BACK TO BACK DAYS OF 98 DEG. THESE TWO DAYS, ALONG WITH JUNE 12TH, WOULD BE THE WARMEST DAYS OF 2019. IT WAS ALSO THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2014 THAT THE PORTLAND AIRPORT FAILED TO MAKE 100 DEG AT ANY TIME DURING THE YEAR. THUNDERSTORMS ROLLED ACROSS THE METRO AREA FROM SOUTH TO NORTH ON THE NIGHT OF THE 29TH INTO THE 30TH, WITH RATHER SPECTACULAR LIGHTNING DISPLAYS FROM OREGON CITY NORTHWARD ACROSS EAST PORTLAND INTO VANCOUVER. THERE WERE SEVERAL REPORTS OF LIGHTNING STRIKING AND DAMAGING TREES. ONE SUCH LIGHTNING STRIKE DAMAGED A TREE, WHICH THEN FELL ONTO A HOME IN THE OAK GROVE AREA. SEPTEMBER...SEPTEMBER OPENED ON THE WARM SIDE, WITH HIGHS IN 80S. BUT, A STRONG FRONT ARRIVED ON THE 7TH, COOLING THE REGION. THOUGH THERE WERE SOME MILD DAYS, TEMPERATURES FOR REST OF THE MONTH STAYED IN THE 60S TO MIDDLE 70S. AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN BROUGHT SEVERAL FRONTS TO THE REGION, ALONG WITH RAIN, INTERMIXED WITH SHOWERS AND SOME THUNDERSTORMS. ON THE 8TH, A THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED A WEAK TORNADO NEAR CORNELIUS PASS ROAD AND ROCK CREEK JUNCTION. NO INJURIES, BUT THERE WAS DAMAGE TO LIGHT STRUCTURES AND EVEN A CORN MAZE. HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCED HEAVY RAIN IN PARTS OF INNER EAST SIDE OF PORTLAND, WITH LOCALLIZED FLOODING AROUND I84 NEAR I5 RAMPS AND IN PARTS OF NORTHWEST VANCOUVER. ACTIVE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN ON THE 28TH. ONE STORM OVER NORTHEAST PORTLAND PRODUCED IMPRESSIVE CLOUD ROTATION, SPARKING MANY VIDEOS. THERE WERE STRONG WINDS WITH MINOR DAMAGE ALONG NE HALSEY AND 75TH AVE BACK TO WEST TOWARDS NE GLISAN AND 60TH. BUT, NO TORNADO WAS REPORTED, AS DAMAGE DUE TO STRAIGHT-LINE OUTFLOW WINDS. AFTER A COOL START ON THE 29TH, TEMPERATURE ONLY ROSE TO 52 DEG. THIS TIED AS THE COLDEST HIGH TEMPERATURE IN SEPTEMBER ON RECORD (TIED 26TH SEP 1948). TOTAL RAINFALL FOR SEPTEMBER WAS NEARLY 2.5 TIMES ABOVE NORMAL, AS ALMOST 4 INCHES RECORDED AT PORTLAND AIRPORT. OCTOBER...TYPICALLY, THE BIG TRANSITION FROM THE DRY MILD FALL WEATHER TO THE COOL WET WEATHER OCCURS AROUND THE 10TH. THIS OCTOBER WAS CLOSE TO THAT, AS COOLER TEMPS DOMINATED AFTER THE 7TH, WITH HIGHS MOSTLY IN THE 50S TO LOWER 60S. BUT, RAIN WAS NOT AS PERSISTENT, WITH THE MOST RAINY PERIOD BEING FROM THE 16TH TO 22ND. BUT, THIS WAS ONE OF THE DRIER OCTOBERS, WITH ONLY 1.51 INCHES OF RAIN AT PORTLAND AIRPORT (NORMAL IS 3.00 INCHES). SINCE 1940, OCTOBER 2019 ENDED AS 13TH DRIEST (TIED WITH 1991) OUT OF 80 YEARS. COLD HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES ALLOWED CHILLY AIR TO SETTLE INTO THE COLUMBIA BASIN TOWARDS END OF THE MONTH. THIS CHILLY AIR SEEPED WESTWARD, AND FILLED MOST AREAS WEST OF THE CASCADES BY THE 29TH. MANY AREAS IN THE OUTLYING AREAS HAD TEMPERATURES DROP INTO THE MIDDLE AND LOWER 20S, BUT, AIRPORT ONLY GOT DOWN TO 29 DEG ON HALLOWEEN, THE COLDEST SINCE 28 DEG HALLOWEEN MORNING BACK IN 1995. ADDITIONALLY, THIS 29 DEG WAS THE 8TH COLDEST LOW TEMP FOR ANY OCTOBER DAY SINCE 1940 (COLDEST IN OCT...26 DEG IN 1971, 1946). OVERALL, OCT 2019 ENDED AS THE 3RD COLDEST ON RECORD. NOVEMBER...A MILD MONTH, AS STORM TRACK WAS MOSTLY SHIFTED SOUTH OF THE REGION. THIS BROUGHT A LOT MORE IN WAY OF DRY DAYS, BUT ALSO LOT MORE IN WAY OF LATE NIGHT AND MORNING FOG. A FRONT ARRIVED ON THE 22ND, BRINGING SOME RAIN AND MUCH COOLER AIR. A REINFORCING SHOT OF COLD AIR ARRIVED ON THE 29TH, WITH OVERNIGHT LOWS DROPPING INTO THE UPPER TEENS IN OUTLYING AREAS, BUT ONLY TO THE MID TWENTIES IN INNER PORTLAND FOR 29TH AND 30TH. A WEAK FRONT LIFTING ACROSS THE AREA EARLY ON THE 30TH PRODUCING LIGHT SNOW FOR A FEW HOURS. BUT, ONLY A DUSTING WAS REPORTED BY MOST ACROSS THE METRO AREA. NOVEMBER ENDED AS THE 5TH DRIEST ON RECORD. DECEMBER...A RATHER BENIGN START TO THE MONTH, WITH RATHER WEAK FRONTS MOVING ACROSS THE METRO AREA FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH. BUT, A RETURN TO MUCH MORE ACTIVE WEATHER BY THE 18TH, AS A SERIES OF WET FRONTS ARRIVED. HEAVIEST RAIN STAYED TO WEST AND NORTH OF PORTLAND, BUT RAIN ACROSS THE METRO WAS HEAVY ENOUGH TO CREATE MINOR FLOODING OF LOWLYING AREAS. DECEMBER ENDED WITH ANOTHER FRONT, BRINGING RAIN AND BREEZY SOUTH WINDS. ============================================================== NEW RECORDS SET IN 2019 (PREVIOUS RECORD IN PARENTHESES) + INDICATES MOST RECENT OF MULTIPLE OCCURRENCES JANUARY... 18TH NEW. DAILY RAINFALL 1.11" (1.06"/2017+) FEBRUARY... 9TH NEW. DAILY SNOWFALL 4.9" ( 0.6"/1994 ) *** 3RD COLDEST FEB ON RECORD (AVG TEMP 37.6 DEG) *** FIRST TIME SINCE 1956 HIGHEST TEMP OF MONTH FAILED TO GET ABOVE 50 DEG. MARCH.... NO NEW RECORDS SET IN MARCH. APRIL... 6TH NEW. DAILY RAINFALL 0.78" (0.61"/2013 ) MAY... 10TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 89 ( 85 /1993 ) *** 3RD WARMEST MAY (AVG TEMP 62.2 DEG, TIED 2016 AND 1997) JUNE... 11TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 97 ( 95 /1941 ) 11TH TIED. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 60 ( 60 /1986+) 12TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 98 ( 93 /2002 ) 12TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 68 ( 62 /2006 ) JULY.. 1ST NEW. DAILY RAINFALL 0.54" (0.28"/1983 ) AUGUST... 10TH NEW. DAILY RAINFALL 0.80" (0.36"/1957 ) 27TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 98 ( 97 /1972 ) 29TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 66 ( 65 /2013 ) 30TH TIED. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 65 ( 65 /2013 ) SEPTEMBER... 1ST NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 66 ( 63 /1979 ) 15TH NEW. DAILY RAINFALL 0.78" (0.57"/1955 ) 29TH NEW. DAILY COOL HIGH TEMP 52 ( 56 /1971 ) SEPT TIED. COOL HIGH OF 52 DEG ON 29TH TIES WITH 26TH/1948 AS COOLEST HIGH TEMPERATURE IN SEPTEMBER. OCTOBER... 10TH NEW. DAILY COLD LOW TEMP 33 ( 35 /1960 ) 12TH NEW. DAILY COLD LOW TEMP 38 ( 39 /1977 ) 29TH TIED. DAILY COOL HIGH TEMP 47 ( 47 /1991+) *** 3RD COOLEST OCTOBER ON RECORD (AVG TEMP 51.5 DEG) NOVEMBER... *** 5TH DRIEST NOVEMBER ON RECORD (TOTAL RAIN 1.52 INCHES) DECEMBER... NO NEW RECORDS SET IN DECEMBER. ============================================================== 2019 PORTLAND MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION RANKINGS THIS SHOWS WHERE MONTH/YEAR RANKS IN PORTLANDS CLIMATE RECORD (OCT 1940 THROUGH 2019). RANKINGS APPLY TO ALL OF SAME MONTH, OR IN OTHER WORDS, WHERE JAN 2019 COMPARES TO ALL OTHER JAN. RANKINGS ARE 1 TO 79, WHERE 1 IS WARMEST OR WETTEST ON RECORD AND 79 IS DRIEST OR COLDEST ON RECORD. JA FE MA AP MA JU JL AU SE OC NO DE 2019 AVG T 16 77 40 7 3 13 19 9 32 77 36 16 14 PRECIP 64 30 74 25 55 73 21 18 6 66 75 55 76 MAX T 14 78 30 23 5 12 39 20 61 71 20 18 23 MIN T 16 75 39 3 6 15 6 2 1 76 50 18 12 ============================================================= 2019 PORTLAND 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 49.2 37.1 43.1 +1.7 DEG 57 /23RD 29 / 1ST FEB 42.9 32.3 37.6 -6.2 DEG 50 / 2ND 23 / 7TH+ MAR 56.6 38.7 46.7 -1.5 DEG 72 /20TH 24 / 5TH APR 62.6 46.1 54.4 +2.1 DEG 76 /18TH 38 /28TH MAY 72.7 51.6 62.2 +3.9 DEG 89 /10TH 41 / 1ST JUN 76.6 54.8 65.7 +2.1 DEG 98 /12TH 50 / 7TH+ JUL 80.3 60.3 70.3 +1.1 DEG 92 /26TH 55 /24TH AUG 82.6 60.9 71.8 +2.3 DEG 98 /28TH+ 55 /22ND SEP 72.1 56.8 64.4 -0.1 DEG 88 / 5TH 39 /30TH OCT 60.8 42.1 51.5 -3.4 DEG 71 / 6TH 29 /31ST NOV 54.4 39.2 46.8 +0.2 DEG 66 / 6TH 26 /30TH+ DEC 48.1 38.0 43.1 +2.6 DEG 59 /20TH 27 /26TH 2019 63.4 46.4 54.9 +0.5 DEG 98 /AUG 28+ 23 /FEB 7+ NORMAL 63.2 45.7 54.5 DAYS IN 2019 WITH TEMPERATURE OF... |------ MAXIMUM TEMP --------||------ MINIMUM TEMP ---| <=32 60+ 70+ 80+ 90+ 100+ <=20 <=32 60+ 70+ -------------------------------------------------------------- JAN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 FEB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 MAR 0 13 3 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 APR 0 19 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MAY 0 30 19 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 JUN 0 30 24 12 2 0 0 0 2 0 JUL 0 31 29 18 3 0 0 0 21 0 AUG 0 31 31 20 6 0 0 0 21 0 SEP 0 29 16 7 0 0 0 0 11 0 OCT 0 19 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 NOV 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 DEC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 2019 0 208 126 64 11 0 0 43 55 0 NORMAL 2 197 120 54 12 1 2 30 21 0 FIRST/LAST OCCURRENCES OF... IN 2019 NORMAL LAST 32 DEG OR COLDER IN SPRING MAR 29 (MAR 19) FIRST 70+ DEG OF THE YEAR MAR 19 (MAR 30) FIRST 80+ DEG OF THE YEAR MAY 6 (MAY 10) FIRST 90+ DEG OF THE YEAR JUN 11 (JUN 16) LAST 90+ DEG OF THE YEAR AUG 28 (SEP 8) LAST 80+ DEG OF THE YEAR SEP 12 (SEP 29) LAST 70+ DEG OF THE YEAR OCT 6 (OCT 18) FIRST 32 DEG OR COLDER IN FALL OCT 30 (NOV 15) ============================================================== 2019 PORTLAND 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 2.79 -2.09 13 7 1 1 1.13 JAN 18-19 FEB 4.10 +0.44 21 13 2 0 1.03 FEB 11-12 MAR 1.54 -2.14 11 5 0 0 0.57 MAR 11-12 APR 2.98 +0.25 17 11 1 0 1.04 APR 6-7 MAY 1.51 -0.96 9 6 0 0 0.60 MAY 18-19 JUN 0.45 -1.25 6 3 0 0 0.17 JUN 26-27 JUL 0.80 +0.15 6 2 1 0 0.54 JUL 1 AUG 1.23 +0.56 7 3 1 0 0.91 AUG 9-10 SEP 3.85 +2.38 15 10 2 1 1.19 SEP 17-18 OCT 1.51 -1.49 12 4 0 0 0.45 OCT 18-19 NOV 1.52 -4.11 10 6 0 0 0.60 NOV 18-19 DEC 4.39 -1.10 16 12 2 0 0.88 DEC 21 2019 26.67 -9.36 143 82 10 2 1.19 SEP 17-18 NORMAL 36.03 155 91 19 4 TOTAL SNOWFALL... 6.1 INCHES (NORMAL 4.3 INCHES) PORTLAND WATER YEAR 2018-19 (1 OCT 2018 THROUGH 30 SEP 2019) 30.62 INCHES 5.41 INCHES BELOW NORMAL ============================================================ 2019 PORTLAND AIRPORT WIND AND PRESSURE DATA... AVERAGE SPEED (MPH) STRONGEST WIND GUST 2019 (NORMAL) DIRECTION SPEED DATE ----------------------------------------------------------- JAN 8.9 (9.3) SOUTH 54 MPH JAN 5 FEB 9.2 (8.7) EAST 46 MPH FEB 26 MAR 7.6 (7.7) EAST 40 MPH MAR 18+ APR 6.9 (7.1) NORTHWEST 36 MPH APR 27 MAY 5.8 (6.7) EAST 35 MPH MAY 9 JUN 6.7 (7.0) WEST 31 MPH JUN 6 JUL 5.8 (7.2) WEST 41 MPH JUL 1 AUG 5.6 (6.8) EAST 29 MPH AUG 27 SEP 5.6 (6.2) SOUTH 31 MPH SEP 17 OCT 6.5 (6.3) EAST 45 MPH OCT 29 NOV 12.6 (8.0) EAST 43 MPH NOV 26 DEC 6.4 (9.3) SOUTH 37 MPH DEC 20 2019 6.8 (7.5) SOUTH 54 MPH JAN 5 HIGHEST PRESSURE IN 2019...30.53 INCHES JAN 26 LOWEST PRESSURE IN 2019...29.10 INCHES FEB 14 ============================================================== WILLAMETTE RIVER DATA (AT MORRISON STREET BRIDGE)... HIGHEST 15.6 FT 12 APR 2019 LOWEST... -0.6 FT 7 OCT 2019 NOTE: FLOOD STAGE IS 18.0 FT =============================================================== PORTLAND AIRPORT CLIMATE PERIOD OF RECORDS... OCT 1940 TO 2019 PORTLAND AIRPORT CLIMATE NORMALS BASED ON... 1981 TO 2010 =============================================================== DATA COMPILED BY ROCKEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON ONLINE AT: WEATHER.GOV/PORTLAND $$