Scattered severe thunderstorms are forecast across central and eastern North Dakota, as well as far northwest Minnesota Saturday (Slight Risk level 2 of 5). Damaging wind gusts are the primary threat. Elevated to critical fire weather conditions will persist through the weekend across the Western U.S. Isolated dry thunderstorms could lead to new fire starts over portions of the northern Rockies. Read More >
ANNUAL CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
150 PM PST SUN DEC 31 2017
...PORTLAND 2017 WEATHER IN REVIEW...
================================================================
2017 MONTHLY WEATHER RECAPS...
JANUARY..IT WAS A CHILLY JANUARY, WITH HIGHS THROUGH THE 15TH
OFTEN STRUGGLING TO REACH 32 DEG THANKS TO MODERATE EAST
WINDS. SNOW FELL ON FIRST DAY OF YEAR, WITH 4 TO 7 INCHES
FALLING IN ACROSS FAR SOUTHEAST PORTLAND, OREGON CITY,
AND AREAS EASTWARD. BUT LITTLE IF ANY SNOW FELL ELSEWHERE.
A STRONGER STORM ARRIVED ON THE 7TH THROUGH THE 8TH, WITH
SNOW AND FREEZING RAIN. FROM ONE TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW FELL,
AND 0.10 TO 0.75 INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION FROM FREEZING
RAIN. MANY ABANDONED VEHICLES ON HIGHWAYS, AND OVER 260
FLIGHTS CANCELED AT PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. MORE
LIGHT FREEZING RAIN FELL LATER ON THE 8TH THROUGH THE 9TH.
ANOTHER FRONT BROUGHT THUNDERSTORMS THAT PRODUCED HEAVY
SNOW DURING THE EVENING OF THE 10TH INTO THE 11TH
MANY AREAS FROM HILLSBORO ACROSS EAST PORTLAND AND NORTH
INTO CLARK COUNTY PICKED UP 8 TO 13 INCHES OF SNOW. LOCAL
ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 16 INCHES WEST HILLS ACROSS NORTH
PORTLAND INTO VANCOUVER. THE HEAVY ACCUMULATIONS BROUGHT
DOWN POWER LINES AND CLOSED ROADS. A ROOF ON A HILLSBORO
WAREHOUSE COLLAPSED FROM WEIGHT OF THE WET HEAVY SNOW.
A SIGNIFICANT ICE STORM STRUCK THE REGION ON 16TH AND 17TH.
ACCUMULATIONS OF 0.25 TO 0.50 WERE COMMON, WITH 0.50 TO
1.00 INCH OF ICE COMMON FROM I5 EASTWARD, ABOUT 10 MILES
EITHER SIDE OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER. AGAIN, POWER WAS OUT
FOR MANY PEOPLE. AREAS INSIDE THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE
RECEIVED UP TO 2 INCHES OF ICE, WITH MAJOR TREE DAMAGE.
INTERSTATE 84 WAS CLOSED FOR DAYS DUE TO ICE AND DOWNED
TREES. OVER 180 FLIGHTS WERE CANCELED AT PORTLAND INTL.
IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE 18TH/19TH THAT TEMPERATURES RETURNED
TO MORE NORMAL. FORTUNATELY, WEATHER WAS MUCH MORE QUIET.
FEBRUARY...
STRONG EAST WINDS WERE GUSTED 50 TO 55 MPH FROM THE 1ST
TO 2ND, WITH COLD TEMPERATURES IN PLACE WHEN RAIN ARRIVED
ON THE 3RD. THIS RESULTED IN ROUND OF ICY ROADS, WITH 0.10
TO 0.33 INCH OF ICE ACROSS THE METRO. MOST OF THE FREEZING
RAIN FELL IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE 3RD. THERE WERE MANY
TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS, INCLUDING A 50-CAR PILEUP ON I-5 NEAR
CAPITOL HILL. WARM AIR RETURNED ON THE 4TH AND 5TH, BUT
ALSO CAME A LOT OF RAIN. RAIN ON THE 5TH TOTALED 2.19"
MAKING THE WETTEST SINGLE DAY IN FEB EVER, SURPASSING THE
PREVIOUS RECORD OF 2.16 INCHES SET ON 6 FEB 1996.
MILD WEATHER RETURNED AFTER THE 8TH, WITH MORE TYPICAL
FEBRUARY WEATHER. HEAVY RAIN FELL ON THE 15TH AND 16TH,
WITH 2.50 TO 3.5O INCHES IN MANY AREAS. THIS CAUSED SOME
STREET/LOW LYING AREA FLOODING. FEBRUARY FINISHED WITH
10.36 INCHES OF RAIN, SURPASSING FEB 1996 (10.03 INCHES)
AS THE WETTEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD FOR PORTLAND AIRPORT.
MARCH...MILD MONTH, BUT FAIRLY WET, WITH ABOUT TWICE THE
NORMAL RAINFALL. MARCH 2017 TOTAL RAINFALL WAS ABOUT
A HALF INCH SHY OF THE RECORD, FINISHING AS THE 4TH
WETTEST MARCH. DID HAVE A FEW DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORMS
FROM THE 21ST THROUGH THE 24TH. A THUNDERSTORM ON
THE 24TH PRODUCED AN EF0 TORNADO IN THE COVINGTON AND
ORCHARDS AREA OF VANCOUVER. WINDS WITH THE TORNADO WERE
LIKELY IN THE 65 TO 85 MPH.
APRIL...LIKE MARCH, APRIL WAS GENERALLY UNEVENTFUL, WITH NEAR
NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL. HOWEVER, A POWERFUL LOW
PRESSURE MOVED UP THE OREGON/WASHINGTON COAST ON THE 7TH.
THIS BROUGHT GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS TO THE REGION, WITH
GUSTS OF 55 TO 70 MPH ACROSS THE METRO. PEAK WINDS HIT
57 MPH AT PORTLAND AIPORT AND 61 MPH AT HILLSBORO AIRPORT,
WHILE A 76 MPH GUST WAS RECORDED AT THE OMSI BUILDING IN
DOWNTOWN PORTLAND. THESE WINDS WINDS CAPSIZED A BOAT ON
THE COLUMBIA RIVER NEAR MULTNOMAH FALL, BUT THE FOUR ON
BOARD WERE RESCUED. MANY HOMES LOST POWER.
MAY...A RATHER PLENTY MONTH. STARTED ON WETTER SIDE, BUT ONLY
A TRACE OF RAIN FELL FROM THE 18TH TO THE 31ST. A WARM
SPELL AROUND THE 21ST TO 28TH PEAKED WITH HIGH OF 91 ON
THE 22ND. THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ON 4TH, 13TH, AND 16TH.
THE STORMS ON THE 4TH WERE BIT STRONG, PRODUCING STRONG
GUSTY WINDS, HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL. ONE-INCH DIAMETER HAIL
WAS REPORTED WITH A STORM NEAR VERNONIA, AND CARSON, WA.
JUNE...ANOTHER QUIET MONTH, FOR THE MOST PART. TEMPERATURES
GOT A BIT WARM LATER IN JUNE, WITH 3-DAY STRETCH OF 90
DEG OR WARMER. HOTTEST DAY WAS THE 25TH, WITH 101 DEG.
JULY...AND JUST LIKE THAT, THE RAIN WAS GONE. ONLY A TRACE OF
RAIN WAS RECORDED FOR THE WHOLE MONTH, AND THAT FELL ON
THE 20TH. WITH NOT MUCH RAIN OR CLOUDS, TEMPERATURES WERE
OFTEN IN THE 80S AND 90S.
AUGUST...AUGUST WAS MUCH LIKE JULY, WITH NOT MUCH IN WAY OF
RAINFALL AND PLENTY OF WARM DAYS. WARMEST STRETCH OF
DAYS STARTED ON 29TH OF JULY AND ENDED ON THE 11TH OF
AUGUST. MANY OF THOSE DAYS WERE IN THE 90S, WITH WARMEST
DAYS BEING THE 2ND (103 DEG) AND THE 3RD (105 DEG).
2017 ALSO SAW A STRETCH OF 57 DAY DAYS (STARTING 17 JUN)
AND ENDING ON 13 AUG. THIS IS THE 3RD LONGEST STRETCH
OF DRY DAYS, WITH THE MOST BEING 71 DAYS BACK IN 1967.
SMOKE WAS A COMMON VISITOR IN AUGUST, LOFTING OVERHEAD.
MAIN SOURCE FOR THE SMOKE WAS FROM FIRES OVER THE
CASCADES AND SOUTHWESTERN OREGON, AS WELL AS NORTHERN
CALIFORNIA.
AUGUST 2017 HAD 27 DAYS WITH HIGHS OF AT LEAST 80 DEG.
THIS MAKES A NEW RECORD FOR AUGUST, BREAKING PREVIOUS
RECORD OF 26 DAYS SET IN AUG 2016. THE 11 DAYS OF 90+
DEG DAYS WAS THE MOST SEEN FOR ANY AUGUST SINCE 1986,
BUT DID NOT BREAK THE RECORD MOST (RECORD 13 IN 1967).
AUGUST 2017 FINISHED AS THE WARMEST AUGUST ON RECORD,
WITH AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 73.6 DEG. PREVIOUS RECORD
WAS 2014 (73.1 DEG).
SEPTEMBER...WARM TEMPERATURES CONTINUED INTO SEPTEMBER, WITH
TEMPERATURES ABOVE 90 DEG FOR FIRST 5 DAYS OF THE MONTH.
SMOKE FROM WILDFIRES AROUND THE PAC NW DRIFTED OVER THE
REGION FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT WORST WAS ON 4TH T0 11TH,
AND AGAIN 14TH TO 17TH. THIS WAS DUE TO EAST WINDS
BLOWING SMOKE FROM THE EAGLE CREEK FIRE WESTWARD ACROSS
THE PORTLAND/VANCOUVER METRO AREA.
FIRST STRONG FRONT SINCE EARLY JUNE PUSH ACROSS THE AREA
ON THE 17TH, USERING IN MUCH COOLER AIR WITH HIGHS IN THE
60S. SHOWERY AND COOL WEATHER PERSISTED THROUGH THE 21ST.
A STRONG SHOWER ON THE 19TH PRODUCED FUNNEL CLOUDS NEAR
AURORA AND MOLALLA.
OCTOBER...IT WAS A GREAT AUTUMN MONTH, WITH CRISPY COOL
MORNINGS AND MILD AFTERNOONS. TYPICALLY, THE TRANSITION
FROM WARM LATE SUMMER TO CLASSIC COOLER FALL PATTERN
OFTEN OCCURS AROUND THE 10TH OF OCTOBER. THIS YEAR WAS
NOT MUCH DIFFERENT, WITH SHOWERS AND HIGHS IN THE 50S
ON 10TH. COOL SHOWERY WEATHER LASTED THROUGH THE 13TH.
THUNDERSTORMS ON THE 12TH PRODUCED A WEAK TORNADO IN
SALMON CREEK AREA OF VANCOUVER, WITH MINOR DAMAGE. THAT
SAME DAY, ANOTHER THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED A WEAK TORNADO
NEAR AURORA. THE TORNADO FLIPPED A COUPLE OF AIRPLANES
AT AURORA STATE AIRPORT, AND DID DAMAGE A NEARBY PLANT
NURSERY. BOTH TORNADOES WERE RATED EF0, WHICH MEANS
WINDS WERE LIKELY 65 TO 85 MPH.
STRONGER FRONTS PUSHED ACROSS REGION FROM 18TH TO 22ND,
BRINGING FAIRLY HEAVY SHOT OF RAINFALL. HEAVIEST FELL
ON THE 21ST, WITH 2.13 INCHES OF RAIN AT THE AIRPORT.
NOVEMBER...RATHER UNEVENTFUL NOVEMBER, WITH NEAR NORMAL
TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION.
DECEMBER...AFTER A FEW WET DAYS TO START THE MONTH, DRY AND
SUNNY WEATHER DOMINATED FROM THE 4TH THROUGH THE 15TH
WITH MODERATE EAST WINDS AT TIMES. BUT, RAIN RETURNED
ON THE 16TH, WITH RAIN AT TIMES TO CLOSE THE MONTH.
ROUND OF OFFSHORE WINDS BROUGHT COLDER ARCTIC AIR FROM
THE COLUMBIA BASIN WESTWARD THROUGH THE COLUMBIA GORGE
AND INTO THE METRO. WEAK FRONT OVER THE REGION BROUGHT
SOME SPOTTY LIGHT SNOW ON MORNING OF THE 23RD.
MOISTURE ON THE 24TH BROUGHT A MIX OF SLEET AND SNOW
FOR THE AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING, WITH MOST AREAS
GETTING ABOUT AN INCH OF SNOW. FREEZING DRIZZLE ROUNDED
OUT REST OF THE NIGHT INTO THE 25TH. IT WAS ONLY THE
2ND TIME PORTLAND HAD SNOW ON THE GROUND ON CHRISTMAS
MORNING SINCE 1940 (OTHER TIME WAS 2008), AND ONLY
THE 6TH TIME SINCE 1884.
MILDER PACIFIC AIR RETURNED ON THE 28TH, ALONG WITH
GOOD SHOT OF RAIN. RAINFALL TOTALS AROUND THE METRO
WERE 1.25 TO 1.75 INCHES, ENOUGH TO CREATE MINOR
FLOODING IN AREAS WITH POOR DRAINAGE.
==============================================================
NEW RECORDS SET IN 2017 (PREVIOUS RECORD IN PARENTHESES)
+ INDICATES MOST RECENT OF MULTIPLE OCCURRENCES
JANUARY...
5TH NEW. DAILY LOW TEMP 17 ( 19 /1982+)
11TH NEW. DAILY LOW TEMP 11 ( 16 /1974)
15TH TIED. DAILY LOW TEMP 19 ( 19 /1947)
18TH TIED. DAILY MAX PRECIPITATION 1.06" ( 1.06"/1974)
FEBRUARY...
5TH NEW. DAILY MAX PRECIPITATION 2.19" ( 1.54"/1946)
16TH NEW. DAILY MAX PRECIPITATION 1.70" ( 1.42"/1970)
FEB NEW. WETTEST DAY EVER IN FEB 2.19" ( 2.16"/1996)
FEB NEW. WETTEST FEB EVER 10.36" (10.03"/1996)
MARCH... NO NEW RECORDS SET.
APRIL...
24TH NEW. DAILY MAX PRECIPITATION 1.02" ( 0.54"/1970)
APR 4TH WETTEST APRIL
MAY... NO NEW RECORDS SET.
JUNE...
24TH NEW. DAILY HIGH TEMP 98 ( 96 /1992)
25TH TIED. DAILY HIGH TEMP 101 ( 101 /2006)
JULY.. NO NEW RECORDS SET.
AUGUST...
2ND NEW. DAILY HIGH TEMP 103 ( 96 /1986)
3RD NEW. DAILY HIGH TEMP 105 ( 99 /1952)
AUG NEW. MOST DAYS WITH 80+ DEG 27 DAYS( 26 /2016)
AUG NEW. WARMEST AUG (AVG TEMP) 73.6 ( 73.1 /2014)
SEPTEMBER...NO NEW RECORDS SET.
3RD NEW. DAILY HIGH TEMP 95 ( 94 /2003)
OCTOBER...
21ST NEW. DAILY PRECIPITATION 2.13" ( 1.10"/1951)
NOVEMBER...
22ND NEW. DAILY HIGH TEMP 62 ( 59 /2011+)
23RD TIED. DAILY HIGH TEMP 63 ( 63 /1959)
DECEMBER... NO NEW RECORDS SET.
=============================================================
2017 PORTLAND MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION RANKINGS
THIS SHOWS WHERE MONTH/YEAR RANKS IN PORTLANDS WEATHER RECORD,
1940 TO 2017. RANKINGS ONLY APPLIES TO ALL OF THE SAME MONTH,
OR IN OTHER WORDS, WHERE JAN 2017 COMPARES TO ALL OTHER JAN.
RANKINGS ARE 1 TO 78...WHERE 1 IS THE WARMEST OR WETTEST
AND 78 IS THE DRIEST OR COLDEST ON RECORD.
JA FE MA AP MA JU JL AU SE OC NO DE 2017
AVG T 71 65 32 51 19 16 22 1 10 41 29 55 31
PRECIP 51 1 4 6 43 49 77 66 19 19 27 64 10
MAX T 72 61 46 59 21 23 17 2 23 26 39 55 31
MIN T 71 55 11 33 21 9 31 6 9 52 18 56 30
============================================================
2017 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 39.0 28.0 33.5 -7.9 DEG 52 /19TH 11 /13TH
FEB 46.8 34.8 40.8 -3.0 DEG 59 / 9TH 29 /13TH
MAR 54.2 41.1 47.6 -0.6 DEG 61 /12TH 32 /19TH
APR 58.7 42.7 50.7 -1.6 DEG 69 /21ST 35 /11TH+
MAY 70.2 49.3 59.8 +1.5 DEG 91 /22ND 41 / 6TH
JUN 75.4 55.3 65.4 +1.8 DEG 101 /25TH 48 / 5TH
JUL 82.7 57.3 70.0 +0.8 DEG 91 /30TH 54 /11TH+
AUG 87.1 60.2 73.6 +4.1 DEG 105 / 3RD 52 /14TH
SEP 77.5 55.6 66.6 +2.1 DEG 98 / 2ND 46 /24TH
OCT 64.2 44.4 54.3 -0.6 DEG 74 / 5TH 35 /31ST
NOV 52.6 42.1 47.4 +0.8 DEG 63 /23RD 35 /19TH
DEC 45.3 34.2 39.8 -0.6 DEG 56 /29TH 23 /26TH
2017 62.9 45.5 54.2 -0.3 DEG 105 /AUG 3 11 /JAN 13
NORMAL 63.2 45.7 54.5
DAYS IN 2017 WITH TEMPERATURE OF...
|------ MAXIMUM TEMP --------||------ MINIMUM TEMP ---|
<=32 60+ 70+ 80+ 90+ 100+ <=20 <=32 60+ 70+
--------------------------------------------------------------
JAN 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 21 0 0
FEB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0
MAR 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
APR 0 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MAY 0 26 17 8 1 0 0 0 0 0
JUN 0 30 20 8 3 1 0 0 3 0
JUL 0 31 31 22 3 0 0 0 5 0
AUG 0 31 31 27 11 2 0 0 19 0
SEP 0 30 21 14 6 0 0 0 8 0
OCT 0 22 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NOV 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DEC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0 0
(THROUGH 30 NOV)
2017 6 187 128 79 24 3 1 45 35 0
NORMAL 2 197 120 54 12 1 2 30 21 0
FIRST/LAST OCCURRENCES OF... IN 2017 NORMAL
LAST 32 DEG OR COLDER IN SPRING MAR 19 (MAR 19)
FIRST 70+ DEG OF THE YEAR MAY 3 (MAR 30)
FIRST 80+ DEG OF THE YEAR MAY 3 (MAY 10)
FIRST 90+ DEG OF THE YEAR MAY 22 (JUN 16)
LAST 90+ DEG OF THE YEAR SEP 11 (SEP 8)
LAST 80+ DEG OF THE YEAR SEP 28 (SEP 29)
LAST 70+ DEG OF THE YEAR OCT 28 (OCT 18)
FIRST 32 DEG OR COLDER IN FALL DEC 9 (NOV 15)
==============================================================
2017 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 4.13 -0.75 14 8 4 1 1.42 JAN 17-18
FEB 10.36 +6.70 20 12 9 3 2.19 FEB 5
MAR 7.26 +3.58 23 18 6 0 1.08 MAR 23-24
APR 4.51 1.78 24 12 2 1 1.11 APR 23-24
MAY 1.92 -0.55 11 8 1 0 0.59 MAY 12-13
JUN 1.08 -0.62 8 3 0 0 0.47 JUN 15
JUL T -0.65 0 0 0 0 TRACE JUL 20
AUG 0.06 -0.61 1 0 0 0 0.06 AUG 13
SEP 2.38 +0.91 8 5 1 1 1.36 SEP 19-20
OCT 4.57 +1.57 14 6 3 1 2.45 OCT 21-22
NOV 6.44 +0.81 22 19 4 0 0.92 NOV 20
DEC 3.09 -2.40 15 8 3 0 0.50 DEC 19
2017 45.80 +9.77 160 99 33 7 2.45 OCT 21-22
NORMAL 36.03 155 91 19 4
TOTAL SNOWFALL... 9.4 INCHES (NORMAL 4.3 INCHES)
PORTLAND WATER YEAR 2016-17 (1 OCT 2015 THROUGH 30 SEP 2016)
51.45 INCHES 15.42 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL
============================================================
2017 PORTLAND AIRPORT WIND AND PRESSURE DATA...
AVERAGE SPEED (MPH) STRONGEST WIND GUST
2017 (NORMAL) DIRECTION SPEED DATE
-------------------------------------------------------------
JAN 10.9 9.3 EAST 48 MPH JAN 4
FEB 9.4 8.7 EAST 51 MPH FEB 2
MAR 8.9 7.7 SOUTHWEST 40 MPH MAR 15
APR 8.2 7.1 SOUTHWEST 51 MPH APR 7
MAY 6.3 6.7 NORTHWEST 39 MPH MAY 16
JUN 6.7 7.0 SOUTH 33 MPH JUN 10
JUL 7.2 7.2 NORTHWEST 28 MPH JUL 31
AUG 5.8 6.8 NORTHWEST 26 MPH AUG 25
SEP 5.2 6.2 SOUTHWEST 30 MPH SEP 17
OCT 5.9 6.3 EAST 38 MPH OCT 30
NOV 9.3 8.0 SOUTH 41 MPH NOV 24
DEC 8.6 9.3 EAST 41 MPH DEC 6
2017 7.6 7.5EAST 51 MPH FEB 2
SOUTHWEST 51 MPH APR 7
HIGHEST PRESSURE IN 2017...30.69 INCHES JAN 27
LOWEST PRESSURE IN 2017...29.10 INCHES JAN 20
===============================================================
PORTLAND AIRPORT CLIMATE PERIOD OF RECORDS... OCT 1940 TO 2017
PORTLAND AIRPORT CLIMATE NORMALS BASED ON... 1981 TO 2010
===============================================================
DATA COMPILED BY ROCKEY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
ONLINE AT: WEATHER.GOV/PORTLAND
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on YouTube
PQR RSS Feed