Coldest January in Years!

We just closed out a chilly January here in the Metro Portland/Vancouver area. We had it all, bitter cold, snow, sleet, freezing rain, regular rain and even a little sunshine just for good measure. The local news in nearby Portland, OR has been reporting that last month was the coldest January on record sine 1979 and the coldest month since 1985. Of note, January 1979 was MUCH colder as sub zero temps were recorded here in the 'Couv' that year.

For those reading this blog from places like Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, laugh it up because our "coldest" is about normal for you guys. For us it was a bona fide chilly month.

Starting with the temperatures, we were well below average. My 16 year average for January is 33.47 low and 44.62 high. Last month I observed an average low of 27.34 and average high of 39.34. That is a whopping 6 under on the low and 5 under on the high! Most of this was driven by a very cold first two weeks and then a typical last two weeks. Unlike 1979 which was driven by a massive arctic event with the aforementioned sub zero and single digit marks that may have skewed the whole month, this last month was not driven by epic cold but rather an extended cold. I have a several daily record lows based on my 16 years reporting. Here are my daily records for overnight lows, again I only have 16 years of data and most of these lows are not likely all-time daily lows. They are however recent daily lows and to have this many in one month is what is unusual not the actual temps themselves. None of these lows are any where near as cold as the lowest I have recorded in the last 16 years at this location.

• Jan 5th 17.2
• Jan 6th 13.3
• Jan 7th 19.0
• Jan 13th 13.5
• Jan 14th 13.3
• Jan 15th 14.5
• Jan 16th 21.0

I also had a couple of daily highs that were the coldest on record for me at this location but none were anywhere near my all time record cold. Here they are:

• Jan 6th 35.2
• Jan 7th 31.1
• Jan 8th 37.0
• Jan 11th 31.6
• Jan 13th 28.0
• Jan 17th 34.3

Temperatures in the rural areas just outside of Vancouver, such as Brush Prairie, WA saw temperatures plunge into the low single digits. Long after the frozen ponds in the city thawed they remained frozen for weeks in the country. The all-time record low that I have recorded here dating back to 2002 is 8.7 degrees on the 9th of December 2009. The coldest daytime high I recorded here is January 6th 2004 when 20.2 was the warmest temp of the day. These lows fail miserably against the all time lows for Orchards, Washington which is the closet "official" station to me where -11 degrees is the mark to beat. Do to the heavy urbanization of this part of Vancouver since 1950 when that mark was recorded, it is likely to remain in perpetuity.

January 2017 had six days with lows under 20 degrees and 22 days below freezing. There were 5 days in which the mercury was unable to break above freezing and that is above the average for the whole season. The coldest low came on the 6th with 13.3, the warmest overnight low was 38.7 on the 19th. The warmest temp arrived on the same day as the warmest low when we had out lone 50 plus day at 51.3 degrees. The chilliest daytime high was the 13th when 28 under sunny skies was all she had. We can't underestimate the effect of a foot or so of snow on the ground had on the overnight lows. 

January 11th. 2017, Northeast Vancouver

Precipitation was light as far as water content rainfall is concerned but snow was well above average for the month. A typical January yields 7.05 inches of rain and last month garnered just 3.19. It was a very dry and cold air mass and that low water count was offset by 8.05 inches of frozen precipitation at my location. I average about 40 percent more snow than PDX but this last month the snow was heavier along the I-5 corridor than it was at my location. Downtown Vancouver had over a foot on the ground last month. The bulk of my snowfall came over two days when 5 inches and 2 inches hit on the 10th and 11th of the month. The 8 plus inches I recorded is the second most in January since I started measuring in 2002. It does pale against the more than 16 inches that came in January of 2004. It is the 4th snowiest month since 2002 for me and it was well above the 3.3 inches I average in January. This season so far is the 4th snowiest winter I have dating to the 2001-2002 season. I am sitting at 13.85 inches thus far and I still have two potentially snowy months ahead. February and March average for me 1.28 and 0.91 respectively so it is possible that we could knock the number three season out since we just need a 1/4 inch to do it. I have not had ANY snowfall in February since 2014 when I had over 11 inches. I haven't had any sticking snow in March since 2012 when I had a crazy 7.85 inches. My gut says I'll get another 1/2 inch at least before the end of the season so there is a solid chance that this will go down as the 3rd snowiest winter since I started recording data in 2002.

January 12th, Downtown Vancouver

Overall this winter has been the rather chilly by our standards. We are blessed to have a very mild winter despite our northerly latitude of 45.6 degrees. Mind you that is substantially further north than much colder places like Minneapolis, Boston, and even Portland ME. Our close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and the protection of both the Cascades and Rockies from the wicked continental cold keeps us relatively warm. Our winters are rather short all things considered with about six weeks in the fro-zone. 

Here we are in February and the average temps will typically rise steeply. From Mid December to Mid January we are delighted if we get a day that tickles the 50 mark, but in February our average daily high is already approaching 50 degrees. we may not be finished with frozen precipitation but we are headed rapidly towards spring.

Later this week we may see some more snow and ice but it will likely be minor and only serve as a gentle reminder that winter does extend into March; officially at least.

Soak it up my friends, soak it up.

January and Football are Both Done!

What a super bowl game that was yesterday huh? That marked the end of the football season and this weekend put the first weather month of 2015 in the books as well.

This somewhat warm winter continues with above average temps for January. The average low ran 3 degrees above normal with 35.36 and the daily average high ran nearly 5 above at 48.71. That is a January average daily high of darn near 50 degrees. What is this, Northern California? No it is not, but the weather is sure trying to fake us out. We managed to hit a downright toasty 62.2 degrees on the 24th and that is the warmest January temperature I have recorded in January since I started keeping records in 2001. It is also only the second 60 plus reading in January over that time period. We had a mild 46.2 overnight low on the 28th which was the warmest of the month. The coldest temperature reading came on New Year's Day with a 19.5 degree reading which is legitimately chilly but no where near a record for the date. The coldest daytime high was a mild 39.3 degrees on the 2nd of January also no where near any records. January delivered 9 days with sub freezing temps and an amazing 13 days with highs above 50 degrees!

On the rainfall front we were kind of dry. I measured just 3.62 inches which is about half of a typical January. I did have one drenching deluge on the 17th when 1.9 inches came down. I did observe a few days with mixed precipitation but nary a flake of snow that stuck to the ground. That early dusting in mid November remains the only sticking snow of the season.

January was a warm month but weather-wise it was rather uneventful. Get out and soak it up my friends, soak it up.

Warm and Sunny...In January!

Yesterday my mercury topped out over 60 degrees! That high mark at 3pm hit 62.2 and was a personal record for that date with my previous record high for a January 24th coming in at 57 degrees. We had several National Weather Service records fall around the area as well. A toasty warm day in January is not unprecedented, but it is unusual. This whole winter save for a few weeks of nippy cold, has been quite mild.

We still have two months of winter to go and you never know, it could turn chilly on us. Don't get too comfy in those shorts and tee-shirts just yet.

While we have go ahead and soak it up my friends, soak it up.

The Warm Winter Continues

I can't say if we will get cold again this year or not? Temps have been running consistently 5 plus degrees above normal and I don't see a change. You never know, and Arctic air mass could drop down from the North anytime. While we wait for that to happen, just get outside and soak it up my friends, soak it up. I am in the upper forties with big, bold sunshine beaming down from the heavens.

Happy New Year!

2015 has arrived! OK it is January second and I suppose you figured that out already. I would like to wish all of you a happy and prosperous new year.

December 2014 was a balmy month, I mean way above average on the temperatures. The observed average high for the last month of 2014 was 47.13 degrees nearly 5 above my 13 year average at this location. The observed average low last month was a toasty 37.79 more than five above my 13 year average. Hopefully I'll smile when I get my heating bill for December.

December started off by continuing a very chilly cold snap that ended November. The first two days of the month had lows of 19.7 and 21 respectively and daytime highs of 27.4 and 36.1. Hey it was December, no big deal. But then the next 26 days were essentially a winter heat wave! The month managed to close out properly as the 30th and 31st recorded lows of 20.4 and 18.6 respectively and highs in the mid thirties. Now that is more like winter.

The coldest low occurred on the last day of the month with that aforementioned 18.6 mark. That was no where near any records but legitimately chilly. The warmest temperature came on the 11th with 58.8 degrees. Well shy of my December record of 59.9 but the warmest December 11th I have yet to record at this location. The coldest daytime high temperature came on the very first day of the month with that 27.4 mark and the warmest overnight low occurred on the 21st. Longest night, warmest temp? That's weird; I didn't see that coming.

This last December was unusual in that I recorded 16 days where the low temperature was up in the 40s! I only had 5 days with a sub freezing mark and 5 days with highs below 40 degrees. well the jury doesn't have to deliberate long on this case, December 2014 was a warm month.

The rainfall was a little light for a December but a still adequate amount of 6.24 inches landed in the gauge. I tend to get around 8 inches in December. We had one really wet day where 1.15 inches splashed down on the 20th. The month was a bit cloudy overall with just 6 days of sunshine and 19 days with at least some rain.

December had a few bouts with wind as we did in November. I lost two fences this season!

Year end stats go like this...

Days lo<32	44
Days lo<20	5
Days lo>40	234
Days lo<50	221
Days lo>60	23
days hi>100	0
Days hi>90	13
Days hi>60	188
Days hi<50	80
Days hi<40	17
Days hi<32	5
Days sunny	158
Days rainy	139
Days Snow/Ice	9
Total Snowfall	12.20
Average Low	46.05
Average High	63.10
Max Temp	98.4
Min Temp	18.6
Wettest Day	2.01
Days >.24 Rain	64
Tot Precipitation	47.83

Get and soak it up my friends; soak it up.

The Final Month of 2014 Commences!

Wow, 2014 is just about gone. Crazy fast it went this year. Looking ahead I don't know what to think about the weather. We have had warm and cold in the last 30 days. There does not seem to be the proverbial weather harbinger this time around. We'll just have to wait and see.

November was about as spot on average as possible for temperatures. My 13 season average November low is 38.28 and my observed average low last month was 38.23. The 13 year average high is 50.31 and my observed average was 50.67. Like I said, spot on! precipitation was another tale altogether. My 13 season average is 7.98 inches and this year was a scant 3.08. Of the 5 "snow" months November has been the least likely to receive the fluffy white stuff. This time we got 1.1 inches of snow against the 13 season average of 0.49.

So the coldest temp was the 16th with a mark of 20.1. The warmest temperature was a balmy 61.3 on the 26th. The chilliest afternoon high came on the 13th with 36.8 and no surprise that was the day we got most of the month's snow. The warmest overnight low came on the 26th with a toasty July like 54.5 degrees.

We had but 2 days with rainfall exceeding 1/2 an inch. The wettest day a paltry 0.62 on the 21st. I recorded 8 subfreezing low temps.

What will this December bring? Will there be a white Christmas? Odds favor a no on that. Will it be wet? Cold, Warm? Who knows? Not me. It will be a great December and I wish you all a happy holiday season. Now get out and soak it up my friends; soak it up.

A Tickle of Spring

A tickle indeed; for spring is certainly fickle. But let us not forget that winter remains till the last of March has been crossed of the calender. Last week's blast of winter has nearly faded into the recesses of our memories. Sure the giant piles of plowed snow in the parking lots is a reminder that winter is still around. But quickly it is melting with these 50s on the thermometer and showers of rain.

The last little pile of snow that remains on my property has been reduced to just a few snowballs worth. Even with warm temps and rain a foot of snow will will leave little reminders of its week of dominance for quite some time.

Today was a nice day with light overcast and moments of sunshine. But tonight a big storm is headed in bring rain and wind here in the valleys and trainloads of fresh powder to the mountains.
Soak it up my friends; soak it up.

Snowmageddan is over

The mercury pushed its way up past freezing today and the precipitation has stopped. This five year snow event is for the most part, over. The kiddies get one more day off from school to give the neighborhood streets a chance to clear up a bit. later this week it will be back to a normal mid winter cycle of chilly rain and occasional sunshine 'teasery'.

I am not saying that Old Man Winter is completely done. We may see a few flakes fly before the summer birds return, but I doubt we get more than a dusting or two.

This is the total snowfall from this event thus far. It is possible that we could see a little more snow or freezing rain tonight but I am doubtful that it will amount to anything much.

This will go down as my snowiest February since I started record keeping here in 2001. More than eleven inches of snow has fallen this month and it is only the 9th. Most of this came from the 6th through the 8th.

Temperatures during this event were well below average. The 6th was the chilliest afternoon with a high of just 22.2 and over 5 inches of very light and fluffy snow. The temps stayed in the teens and twenties until today when things began to warm up into the low thirties. After these larger snow events people often start comparing to other snow events over the years. The biggest snow event in the last 40 years was 1980 when Vancouver recorded 42 inches of snow in the month of January! Later that year the mighty Mount St. Helens had her historic eruption.

Here are the seasonal snowfall totals at my station for each of the last 13 winters and an annual average. This year is already a touch above average but no where near the monster seasons we had in '03-'04 and '08-'09. We got a legit shot at beating the 14.05 inches in '11-'12

Get out and enjoy this great winter weather. We only get these super snowy events every five years. Don't fret it, soak it up, my friends, soak it up.

The Glorious Sunshine Continues

The mercury bottomed out right at sunrise around 7:45-8:00 AM at a chilly but not too cold 25.8 degrees. We are soaring on our way up the upper 40's this afternoon. There is nothing but gorgeous blue space overhead and a raging ball of fire blazing its way across the winter sky. I have the good fortune to be showing property today under these fabulous conditions.

Later on towards the first part of February, the long term computer models are suggesting a more wintry pattern may develop. Some snowflakes and other assorted freezing precipitation may find its way back to the 'Couv'.

So get out and soak it up my friends, soak it up.

Oh So Gorgeous Today!

It was a gorgeous afternoon today with a high around 44 at my weather station under big bold sunshine and a clear blue sky. It was just fantastic after all these rainy and foggy days since the New Year. The next week appears to be either more of the same or more fog but darn near dead average for temps with lows right at freezing and highs in the low 40s. Ho Hum winter :)

Get out and soak it up my friends, soak it up.

Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays :)

What a nice Christmas Day, cool and wintry but not dangerously so. It's a chilly but comfy 35
degrees this afternoon on Christmas Day. We should stay foggy but dry over the next few days. Temps will stay in the thirties for the most part unless the mighty El Sol manages to bust through the foggy blanket, then 40s will prevail. This time of year that big 'ole' sun can't get much higher than 22-23 degrees above the horizon so she doesn't have the amps to bust through this overcast.

Hey, it's winter, this is better than rain, not quite as desirable as snow, but Christmas is after all a winter holiday and it should be at least a little chilly, and so it is.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a great day :)

A little more snow, a little.

Vancouver City Hall Camera pointed over the new waterfront
development site and the Columbia looking towards
Portland, OR

More light snow falling today but the difference this time is the temperature. We are sitting at a much warmer 29 at my station which is 6 degrees warmer than it was last Friday when the snow was falling and blowing about.

Today could be the day we finally break out of the freeze and see temps above 32. Maybe, maybe not. But that event is looming on the near horizon. Sometimes these cold snaps will trap air down in the valley while the pacific brings in warmer air over the top. This is a recipe for freezing rain and that is a recipe for roadway hell.

There hasn't been much in the way of precipitation so if this changes to freezing rain i think the ice accumulation will be light. None-the-less pay attention out there if the snow changes to rain it could be the freezing variety and that means avoid driving.

Stay warm and soak up this winter weather my friends, soak it up.

Bitter Cold prediction not Quite "Bitter"

Many areas in the Northwest experienced near record lows with Eugene posting a frigid -10 this morning which is legit Minnesota cold! The projection for my general area ranged from 2-6 degrees but I only managed to muster a 9.1. That is 1/2 a degree above my personal all time low at this station of 8.7 degrees back in 2009. I awoke to cloud cover this morning and that may have played a role in keeping the mercury from diving down to zero.

The sun is trying to break through the cloud cover as I write this. If the NWS is correct and we get some brisk east wind today we may see wind chill factor well below zero. I will be out an about with clients in the breezy cold today. Brrr.

Bundled up and enjoy our little upper mid-west style experience, the good news is it only last a few days here whereas our friends in Minnesota have to tolerate it for months.

Possibly some snow on the horizon. This cold air can sometimes be stubborn and a new moisture laden system is poised to attack Monday night. We could see some of winter's nasty precipitation on Wednesday, freezing rain. Be careful and go ahead and soak it up, my friends, soak it up! but dress appropriately.

SUNday was fabulous!

It wasn't a balmy day, but it was gorgeous yesterday. After a week of steady rain and Saturday's dry but cold and foggy episode, Sunday was wonderful. The mercury managed to get into the middle 50s under gloriously delicious sunshine all day long. This is November and it is time for the dark plunge into winter. We the denizens of the Pacific Northwest are a hardy lot. We know the endless gray drip of winter is enough to kill a Southern Californian. We embrace these amazing pockets of sunnylicious goodness as the temperatures continue their spiral into the basement and the clouds darken. Yes, I had to turn on my headlights at 3:30 on Saturday. The trees that have been so brilliant with their bright harvest hues are now yielding to old man winter and his lousy attitude. When these days of sun make their brief but welcome visits in the depths of our winter, we must take notice and most of all... we must soak it up my friends, soak it up.

A Slippery September has Slid into the Books

Daily Rainfall for September

How's that title for a tongue twister? September was quite wet in fact it was the wettest month of 2013, thus far. I recorded more than five inches of rain in a month I typically see less than two and half. That says as much about our dry winter and spring as it does for a damp late summer.

The temperatures were a touch chilly by day and a tad warm by night compared to my long term averages. That said I also recorded the hottest day of 2013, a blistering 94.6 on the 11th. I think that will stick at this point lest we break the all time heat record for October by 5 or 6 degrees. The lowest afternoon high was a cool 53.7 on the 27th. September's evenings were comfy as we enjoyed mild temps most of the month with an average overnight low of just under 55 degrees, the warmest was 62.4 on the 2nd and the chilliest came in at 43.8 on the 19th. The wettest day of this watery month came on the 28th when 1.55 inches fell. That was the second day this past month with over an inch of rain. Although the rain gauge had 5.23 inches for the month, there were only 11 rainy days compared to 13 sunny days.

Daily Temperatures for September

The Autumn Plunge I have talked about this past month is well under way. By Halloween our highs will struggle to get into the mid 50s. It is time to break out the sweaters if you don't like it chilly. For me it is not quite sweater weather yet. I will be watching for our first frost and freeze of the year. I find that both typically arrive in October with a frost in the first ten days and a hard freeze by week three.

I am noticing that some of the early turners have begun to flash some color. Of course, I am talking about autumn leaves. Here in the Northwest we are granted a gift of brilliant and beautiful color as recompense for a precipitous drop in temperature.

Looking ahead to winter, the almanacs are suggesting a cold and snowy season awaits on the other side of Thanksgiving. Those ancient periodicals The Farmer's Almanac and The Old Farmer's Almanac, that have been continuously published since 1818 and 1792 respectfully, are both pointing to reduced solar activity and oceanic conditions in their predictions of a frigid winter. Hmm, we are due for a snowy winter. Last time I had more than ten inches of snow was 2008-09 and that was five years ago. Almanac, schmalmanac, I have my own anecdotal evidence and I think were in for white winter this year. So get outside and soak it up my friends, soak it up.