Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS Medford, OR
Issued by NWS Medford, OR
000 CXUS56 KMFR 021307 CLMMFR CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD, OR 606 AM PDT MON OCT 02 2023 ................................... ...THE MEDFORD OR CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2023... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1911 TO 2023 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 110 09/02/1988 LOW 29 09/30/1950 09/26/1934 09/26/1926 HIGHEST 100 09/15 107 09/06 LOWEST 43 09/21 46 09/30 09/28 AVG. MAXIMUM 80.7 84.3 -3.6 87.1 AVG. MINIMUM 53.6 51.2 2.4 55.6 MEAN 67.1 67.7 -0.6 71.3 DAYS MAX >= 90 7 10.5 -3.5 13 DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MIN <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 4.22 1977 TOTALS 2.39 0.48 1.91 0.52 DAILY AVG. 0.08 0.02 0.06 0.02 DAYS >= .01 7 3.1 3.9 5 DAYS >= .10 5 1.4 3.6 1 DAYS >= .50 1 0.2 0.8 0 DAYS >= 1.00 1 0.0 1.0 0 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.26 09/29 TO 09/30 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 0.0 2010 TOTALS 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 SINCE 7/1 0.0 0.0 0.0 MM DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 61 48 13 8 SINCE 7/1 61 56 5 MM COOLING TOTAL 131 130 1 207 SINCE 1/1 1286 897 389 MM FREEZE DATES RECORD EARLIEST 09/13/1921 LATEST 06/12/1952 EARLIEST MM LATEST 04/13 ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 3.3 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 21/300 DATE 09/25 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 29/300 DATE 09/25 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.24 NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 21 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 6 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 3 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 53 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 1 MIXED PRECIP 0 HEAVY RAIN 3 RAIN 5 LIGHT RAIN 8 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0 LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0 FOG 7 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 1 HAZE 18 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH INFLUENCED THE WEATHER DURING THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH, WITH COOL AND WET CONDITIONS THROUGH THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND. THIS BROUGHT A MUCH WELCOMED CHANGE TO THE WEATHER AS WIDESPREAD WETTING RAINS RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT DENT TO THE ONGOING FIRE SEASON. POOR AIR QUALITY DUE TO WILDFIRE SMOKE WAS ALLEVIATED DURING THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF SEPTEMBER AS MANY OF THE AREA`S WILDFIRES RECIEVED ENOUGH PRECIPITATION TO GREATLY REDUCE FIRE ACTIVITY. THE MEDFORD AIRPORT RECORDED ALMOST A QUARTER INCH OF PRECIPITATION ON THE FIRST DAY OF MONTH, WHICH WAS THE MOST PRECIPITATION SINCE JUNE 19TH. BENIGN CONDITIONS CONTINUED AFTER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND AS A BROAD TROUGH AND QUASI-ZONAL FLOW LINGERED OVER THE REGION THROUGH AROUND THE 10TH. DRY WEATHER AND WARMER TEMPERATURES (THOUGH VALUES REMAINED NEAR NORMAL) PERSISTED THROUGH THIS TIME AND AIR QUALITY GENERALLY REMAINED GOOD AS FIRE ACTIVITY WAS DAMPENED. SUMMER LIKE CONDITIONS RETURNED AROUND THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH WHEN HIGH PRESSURE DEVELOPED OVER THE REGION. THE HOTTEST TEMPERATURES OF THE MONTH WERE RECORDED DURING THIS TIME AND THE MEDFORD AIRPORT RECORDED IT`S LAST 100 DEGREE DAY OF THE YEAR ON THE 15TH. JUST PRIOR TO THIS DATE, A MODERATE OFFSHORE FLOW EVENT REINVIGORATED FIRE ACTIVITY AS DRY EAST TO NORTHEASTERLY WINDS KEPT HUMIDITIES FAIRLY LOW COMPARED TO NORMAL ALONG THE COAST AND IN PORTIONS OF WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY. IN RESPONSE TO THESE CONDITIONS, THE ANVIL FIRE IN CURRY COUNTY WAS EXTREMELY ACTIVE AND DOUBLED IN SIZE OVER THE COURSE OF ONE NIGHT. THE SMITH RIVER COMPLEX ALSO SAW INCREASED FIRE ACTIVITY AS WELL AS THE HAPPY CAMP COMPLEX. THIS IS NOTABLE BECAUSE, IN ADDITION TO THE HOT TEMPERATURES THAT FOLLOWED, POOR AIR QUALITY IMPACTED AREAS WEST OF THE CASCADES YET AGAIN DUE SMOKE FROM THIS INCREASED ACTIVITY. THE HEAT LINGERED THROUGH AROUND THE 18TH, THOUGH THE SMOKE HELPED TO MODERATE TEMPERATURES SOME WEST OF THE CASCADES. MEANWHILE, WEAK LOW PRESSURE LINGERED OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST AND THIS RESULTED IN A FEW DAYS OF THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY EAST OF THE CASCADES. THE PATTERN TRANSITIONED BACK TO COOL AND WET FOR THE LAST THIRD OF THE MONTH AS UPPER LEVEL TROUGHING DOMINATED THE WEATHER. THE FIRST OF THESE TROUGHS LARGELY AFFECTED AREAS EAST OF THE CASCADES, BUT STILL LOWERED TEMPERATURES WEST OF THE CASCADES AS WELL. TEMPERATURES DROPPED TO AS MUCH AS 15 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL EAST OF THE CASCADES AND THIS BROUGHT THE FIRST FREEZE OF THE SEASON AND THE END OF THE GROWING SEASON THERE. A STRONGER TROUGH AND FRONT AFFECTED THE REGION ON THE 25TH AND 26TH. THIS FRONT WAS PARTICULARLY STRONG FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR AND BROUGHT THE FIRST ATMOSPHERIC RIVER OF THE SEASON TO THE AREA ALONG WITH STRONG WINDS. SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL ACCOMPANIED THIS FRONT, DELIVERING 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN TO AREAS ALONG THE COAST WITH 0.50 TO 1 INCH FOR AREAS WEST OF THE CASCADES. EVEN LOCATIONS EAST OF THE CASCADES RECORDED 0.25 TO 0.50 INCHES OF RAIN. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE AMOUNT OF RAIN THAT FELL, PUT A HALT TO FIRE SEASON AND SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED, IF NOT SUPPRESSED, THE AREA`S WILDFIRES AND AIR QUALITY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED. BROAD TROUGHING LINGERED OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH AND MAINTAINED BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES. PERIODS OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS PERSISTED THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH. ONE ROUND OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS ON THE 29TH BROUGHT SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL TO THE VALLEYS WEST OF THE CASCADES. THE MEDFORD AIRPORT SET A NEW DAILY RAINFALL RECORD ON THE 29TH WHEN 1.25 INCHES OF RAIN FELL. THIS SHATTERED THE OLD RECORD OF 0.79 INCHES SET IN 2013 AND ALMOST DOUBLED THE TOTAL MONTHLY PRECIPITATION. ALSO WORTH NOTING IS THE ADDITION OF THIS 1.25 INCHES MADE SEPTEMBER 2023 THE THIRD WETTEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD. OVERALL, SEPTEMBER 2023 FINISHED WITH BELOW NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION. /BR-Y $$