Month: November 2021

Wet November and stormy Monday

On By bryanweatherIn Salem Area Forecast, WEATHER ALERTSLeave a comment

I know I’m at risk of losing popularity for saying this, but I have really enjoyed the rainy weather this fall. We were due for a really wet November. Saturday was the first totally dry day we have had this month. Hard to say if the second half of the month will be equally wet, but we are definitely on the “right track” for a wetter than average November. Here’s the extended forecast. Notice it’s not nearly as damp as what we saw last week.

Highlights and details

Monday is going to be a stormy day. A very potent cold front moves in Monday. This front will be a fairly strong with gusty south winds ahead of it. Gusts will range from 30 to 40mph. Expect a few hours of steady rain – some of which will be quite heavy and could lead to some isolated street flooding where drains are clogged. A sharp drop in temperature will follow behind the front as winds shift to the west northwest. Snow levels will drop from over 7000′ down to 3000′ Monday night; however, only a few inches of snow is expected in the passes as most of the precip with this storm will be fall on the warm side of the front.

Then we have a two day stretch of cool, sunny, and dry weather. Could end up with a bit of stubborn fog here in the valley, but it will definitely be dry and the mountains and coast should be very nice and sunny!

I’m keeping a close eye on Thursday and Friday as another dynamic storm moves across the state. This one could bring another round of very gusty winds to the region along with mountain snow.

Have a great week!!

October 2021

On By bryanweatherIn 2021, Weather Year 2021/2022Leave a comment

This past October was odd in a few ways. Salem received rainfall 18 days this October; however, the vast majority of that rain was not heavy enough to give us a “wet month.” We ended up with 78% of our normal rainfall at 2.71″.

As far as temperature goes, it was a near average October. at 0.3° below normal. There was no widespread freeze this month with our coldest temp only being 35° on the 12th. We have had some cold October weather in recent years, but not this year. There were no significant warm spells either. In fact, our warmest temp was just 73° on the 3rd.

On October 24th and 25th a powerful low pressure spun up several hundred miles offshore. There were no historic impacts right here as it was several hundred miles away; however, the storm still brought some locally heavy rain and a solid 24 hours of south/southwest winds which gusted between 30 and 45mph right here in Salem. This lead to some power outages and a few downed tree branches and limbs. Massive waves were also common along the coast during this storm. Below is an image from Mark Nelson over at Fox12 Oregon. It shows the strength and path of both “bomb cyclones” which effected the Pacific Northwest. Had the storms moved up the coast “inside” (east) of the red line then we would have seen significant damage, so I guess you could say we dodged a couple of big bullets with these two storms.

Satellite image of the first big storm on the 21st.

SUMMARY

All in all it was a fairly typical October with a mostly dry first half, and then the rainy season showed up right on cue the second half of the month. Those two big cyclone storms were hands down the highlights of this month otherwise nothing too crazy.

Soaking rains

On By bryanweatherIn Salem Area Forecast, WEATHER ALERTSLeave a comment

November 2021 is running well above normal in the precipitation department with a little over 2 inches of rain so far this month. Definitely a La Nina feel out there lately. The mountains also picked up a solid foot of snow over the weekend, and now we are looking at what will be the rainiest couple of days we have seen this fall. Take a look at the estimated rainfall for now through Saturday morning.

Moderate to heavy rain moves in overnight. By the time you wake up Thursday morning, over an inch of rain will likely have fallen with almost another inch expected during the day on Thursday through Friday night. This storm is ushering in very mild weather which means rain even up in the mountains. There is also a chance of thunderstorms with the rain tonight. It’s going to be one of those stormy nights.

All this rain plus the melting of our mini snowpack in the Cascades will lead to some flooding. We are under a flood watch and I suspect there will be some minor to moderate flooding along some of our low laying areas, creeks, and streams.

I don’t expect major flooding and I don’t expect any flooding on the large rivers like the Willamette.

The rain shuts off Friday night fairly quickly leaving Saturday and most of Sunday dry. Some showers might sneak in Sunday late in the day. If you have plans this weekend the good news is you should have some decent weather to go with them.

Another storm system rolls in on Monday bringing more rain, cooler air, and mountain snow.

There you have it. Stormy with no big dry stretch in sight. Stay safe and watch for flooding.

Stormy fall weather

On By bryanweatherIn Salem Area Forecast, The Mountains and Beyond, WEATHER ALERTSLeave a comment

We have a nice fall like storm approaching our coastline tonight, and an overall very active and exciting weather pattern shaping up for the next several days. Here’s a satellite image from late this afternoon showing the looming storm.

Impacts here in the mid Willamette Valley

Below is an estimated radar image for around noon tomorrow showing the heavy showers expected on Thursday.

EXTENDED FORECAST

Thursday: Quite stormy with the gusty winds and numerous showers.

Friday: Showers. Dry and maybe even partly sunny near the end of the day. Will cool off quickly once the sun goes down.

Saturday: Much cooler with steady rainfall. Breezy afternoon.

Monday: This day could end up being mostly dry.

Tuesday: More rain and wind arrives and will likely last through Wed also.

I’ve got a nice little October recap in the works. Looks to stay active for awhile, so anticipate more updates in the coming days.

Take care, be extra kind, and stay safe!!