Category: 2021

December 2021

On By bryanweatherIn 2021, Extra!!, Monthly reports, Salem Area ForecastLeave a comment

It was a wild ride through December. I’ve got a timeline of the major events followed by a look at how we stacked up in the precip and temp departments.

Believe it or not, we had a high of 65° the very first day of the month. This image from Fox 12 Oregon shows a compilation of just some of the record high temps set on December 1st.

Nothing else interesting happened the first 10 days of December. We gradually cooled down and the snowpack very slowly began to build. Then on the 11th and 12th a powerful storm rolled in bringing gusty winds (a peak gust of 47mph to Salem), heavy rain, and mountain snow – tons of it. Within 4 days Hoodoo went from just a few inches of snow to almost 40!! Snow also fell down into the Coast Range.

Heavy rain showers lasted through the 13th. Skies cleared up and temps dropped quickly that night leading to widespread black ice Tuesday morning (the 14th). Many area schools had a 2 hour delay that day due to the icy roads. The picture below shows fresh snowfall up at Mount Hood after the storm had passed.

A second powerful and extremely dynamic storm system moved in on the 18th. Heavy precip on the cold side of the front dragged the snow level down to the valley floor in the Portland metro area dropping a couple of slushy inches of snow. Salem missed out on the snow and saw nothing more than a cold rain for this storm. Heavy rain continued through the 20th with a grand total of 4.78″ of rain in only 3 days! Lots of localized flooding along ditches, small streams and creeks.

Cold and snow dominated the final 8 days of the month. A storm system dropped straight down from Canada bringing with it cold temperatures and snow showers. Neighborhoods around Salem picked up anywhere from 5 to 10 inches over a 3 day span. This cold snap gave Salem 4 days in a row with highs only reaching the 30s. A couple of pictures of the snow cover over at Western Oregon University in Monmouth and some neighborhoods in Salem.

A heavy snow shower rolls through Independence Oregon Dec 26th, 2021.

Salem ended the month with 9.90″ of precip which is well above our average rainfall for December. This made it one of the rainiest Decembers in years coming in at 142% of normal for the month! This map shows total precip in inches for December across the region.

From looking at this you can see it was a great month for the entire west coast in terms of rainfall/precip. The graphic below shows just how far our snowpack came over the month of December.

Our warmest temp for the month was 65° on the 1st, and our coldest temp was 26° on the 31st. Salem only dropped to or below freezing 6 days this month even with the cold snap. Overall we ended December 2021 just 0.8° above average.

That officially wraps up December 2021. It was wild, but we made it! Things have really calmed down for now and they look to stay calm for the foreseeable future. Expect a small chance for just a couple of light rain showers both Tue & Wed. Thursday could end up being a little bit wetter during the morning hours, but then we dry out for Friday through at least next Monday. No sign of any big storms or snowy/icy weather.

Extremely mild and November 2021 recap

On By bryanweatherIn 2021, Extra!!, Salem Area Forecast, The Mountains and Beyond, Weather Year 2021/2022Leave a comment

The second half of October and the first half of November were both quite stormy and active with several small to moderate wind events, plenty of rain, and mountain snow. Since then it has basically been a blowtorch around here. November 2021 ended up being 3.5° above normal which is fairly significant. We still managed to dip below freezing once on the 21st with a low of 30°, but overall it was quite mild with 9 days reaching at least 60°! In the precip category we came up a little bit short despite the very rainy and wet start to the month. 5.50″ was our grand total for the month which is 92% of the monthly average.

November is actually one of the months which became slightly drier when the new averages were updated this past year. Between 1980 and 2010 the normal rainfall for Salem during the month of November was 6.5″. When the 1980s were dropped and the 2010s were added, our average rainfall for November dropped by a little more than half an inch down to 5.95″. Meanwhile, both March and October have turned wetter over the past decade. Interesting don’t you think? The maps below show the changes in average precip for each of these months.

Total Salem rainfall for November going back to 1990.

1995, 1999, 2008, and 2016 all had really mild Novembers as well with temps very similar to what we have seen this year. All 4 of these years were also La Nina winters, and 3 of the 4 years listed ended up delivering at least one good snowstorm here in Salem. I’m sure some of you remember all the snow we had before Christmas in 2008, and then the winter of 2016/2017 had several snow events too, so a warm November does not at all mean a warm winter. It doesn’t guarantee a cold one either, but don’t be too worried about the lack of cold or mountain snow just yet. In fact weather maps are indicating this may be the last week of mild weather for quite some time, so get out there and enjoy it! 🙂

Quick forecast and look ahead

1.) Mild weather continues through Sunday; although today will likely be the last 60 degree day – finally…

2.) A few sprinkles are possible both Thursday and Saturday, but honestly it won’t amount to hardly anything.

3.) The nice weather ends Monday as a significant storm system rolls in bringing a good amount of rain. This storm will be the first of several storms bringing multiple rounds of showers, rain, and mountain snow for the rest of next 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.

September 2021 and a quick forecast

On By bryanweatherIn 2021, Extra!!, Monthly reports, Salem Area Forecast, Weather Year 2020/2021Leave a comment

I figured it was time to bring back the monthly reports. These are definitely a fun way of documenting the month just in general as well as highlighting any major weather events from the month. If you are looking for the forecast then skip down to the bottom. 😉

September 2021 Summary

Much of September 2021 was actually very warm and summer like which is common for September; however, a few good soakings during the second half of the month gave Salem a rainfall total of 2.89″ which is a whopping 198% of our monthly average! This chart below shows the percentage of total precip for each month here in Salem going back to last October.

This image above shows the upper level pattern which brought Salem steady rain on the 27th.

At 1.9° above normal, September ended up being Salem’s 6th warmer than average month in a row in what has been a fairly warm year. This chart shows the number of degrees above or below normal each month has been since last October.

Looking ahead

October is off to a fairly cool and dry start. As of today (Saturday), Salem is sitting at 3.7°F below normal for the month, but with only .19″ of rain. From looking at the long range charts, it seems obvious the cooler weather is here to stay.

FORECAST HIGHLIGHTS

1.) Sunday’s going to be a typical shower and sunbreak type of day with small hail and brief downpours possible. Very cool air with this storm will bring a few inches of snow to the Cascades Sun night and Monday morning.

2.) Plan on Monday being mostly dry with just a very slight chance of a PM shower. The cool airmass behind this system will set us up for our coldest lows of the year Tuesday morning with frost in some of the outlying areas around the valley.

3.) A weak storm system moves though Tuesday night and Wednesday bringing a few showers here and there, but nothing big.

4.) Besides the nice weather we are seeing today, next Tue, Thu, Fri, and Sat all look dry for outdoor projects and adventures. No sign of any late season warmth to go with that dry weather unfortunately as we seem to be locked into a cooler pattern for the foreseeable future.

There you have it. Have a fantastic weekend!

June 2021

On By bryanweatherIn 2021, Extra!!, Monthly reports, Salem Area Forecast, Weather Year 2020/2021Leave a comment

There were 3 major highlights from the month.

Number 1.) The sizzling hot start to the month. Salem set a new record for June 1st with a high of 97°! The heat didn’t last long before we cooled off quite a bit. Then the rain came…

Number 2.) After such a dry spring we finally saw a good soaking with 1 to 2 inches of rain falling between June 11th – 15th. Our wettest stretch of days since the February ice storm.

Number 3.) June 2021 hands down will be known for the insanely hot heatwave near the end of the month which brought record shattering high temperatures three days in a row.

Those high temps were 27, 35, and an incredible 39° above our usual highs for those three days!! Truly remarkable. Here were the high temps across the entire region from Monday (June 28th).

You can see the sharp cutoff in temps out along the coast. Of course this was the day we had that 40 to 45 degree drop in temperature in a matter of hours as the cool ocean air finally flooded the valley ending our unprecedented heatwave.

There are three things which really made this heatwave historic.  The first is (of course) the insanely hot temps.  Prior to this event Salem had never in recorded history been above 108°.  We blew through the record on Sunday with a high of 113 and then we blew through that new record the very next day with a high of 117!!

The warm nights were also a major aspect of this heatwave. Salem’s low temp Monday morning was 76° and there were parts of the Portland metro that never fell below 80° that night. YIKES!!! The warm starts to the days allowed us to warm up quickly which leads me to the third and final aspect of this heatwave and that was the duration of the heat. 

The length of time it was hot each day added to the oppressiveness of the heat. Temps topped 90 degrees by 8AM on Monday! I’ve never seen that here before ever…   Typically on a really hot day we reach 100 degrees right around 3:30 or 4PM and will stay there for just a couple of hours at most.  This time though we experienced 100 degree weather for much longer all three days.  For example, on Sunday many valley locations were above 100 degrees for 7 to 8 hours.

June 2021 Summary

Overall we ended the month an astonishing 6.67° above normal!!! An incredibly hot month with 10 days above 90 and of course our three back to back to back 100 plus degree days. We just lived through one of the hottest months on record! I imagine you all (like myself) are tired of these “once in a lifetime” weather events. In less than a year we have had a historic fire and smoke disaster, a historic ice storm – which left many people without power for days and even weeks, a historically dry spring, and now a historic heatwave. Leaves us wondering what the next “historic” weather event here will be as we seem to be on a roll unfortunately….

What’s funny and odd is how June 2021 ended up being a wetter than normal month. Yes! I know it may not seem like that could be possible, but if you recall we had 5 very wet days right in a row earlier in June putting us at 1.72″ (138% of normal for the month). Goes to show how statistics can be misleading. Everyone will remember this month, and rightfully so, for the intense and historic heat, but few will recall that for the first time since February we had an above/wetter than normal month.

Forecast

Tuesday will be hot with highs in the low 90s.

Wed & Thu will be the nicest and coolest days of the week with AM clouds both days and highs only around 80 or 81°.

Fri & Sat will be hot again as we climb back into the mid 90s!

Next week should feature more typical summer weather with lots of 80s. Still no sign of any rainfall.

Stay cool and stay safe out there!

Brutal heat, May 2021, and a quick look ahead

On By bryanweatherIn 2021, Extra!!, Monthly reports, Salem Area Forecast, Weather Year 2020/2021Leave a comment

First off I would like to recognize the brief, but major heatwave we just experienced. Very rare to see temps so hot this early in the season. Check out the scorching high temperatures we experienced on Tuesday. Lots of new records!

Another nice little graphic I’m borrowing from Fox 12 Oregon showing some of the new records set around the region this past Tuesday.

A significant warm spell for so early in the season, and for those of us who work either outdoors or in buildings with no AC it has been a brutal few days!

Moving on, let’s recap May 2021. Some things just don’t change with yet another very dry month here in Salem. A lack of significant rainfall kept us at 42% of our normal precip for the month (.94 inches). We also ended on the warmer side of things at 2.48° above normal. In the meteorological community, the official spring season is from March 1st through May 31st. This spring will go down as the 8th driest on record here in Salem!

Below is a graph I made showing total rainfall since March started (the blue line) versus our normal cumulative rainfall (the green line). It’s easy to see that since March begun we have fallen further and further behind normal, and until we get some significant rainfall, this gap will continue to grow.

Unless we have a crazy wet summer, our drought conditions will only continue to worsen. Again, keep in mind a drought does not equal or guarantee a bad fire season, but it definitely helps set the stage for one. As much as it kills me to say this, hopefully we can manage a few summertime soakings to help minimize the fire threat.

Extended Forecast

Not a whole lot to report on. We do have some much cooler weather on tap for Saturday through most of next week. We even have a chance for some really light rain/drizzle Saturday.

Main points to know:

  • Light rain/drizzle is possible Saturday, but don’t let it stop you from going outdoors. This will not be a washout type of day at all. Wetter up in the both the Coast Range and Cascades though if your plans take you there…
  • No sign of a rainy or real wet day at all. Sure we will see a few sprinkles, but nothing which will really make a dent in our drought.
  • Most of next week will be cool with highs in the low to mid 70s and lows dipping back down into the upper 40s at night!
  • No sign of another heatwave anytime soon…

Take care, stay safe, and have a fantastic rest of your week!!

April 2021 and look ahead

On By bryanweatherIn 2021, Monthly reports, Salem Area ForecastLeave a comment

It was definitely a very unusual April around here as we started off chilly and dry with some record low temps set around the region with lows dipping into the upper 20s on two separate occasions. Then we flipped the switch to warm and dry (very warm in fact). Whether it was cold or warm, the entire month was extremely dry for April. Some last minute rain Friday night bumped us up to 1.27″ (45% of normal) for the month. I almost hate to say this, but we could sure use some good soaking rainstorms over the next couple of months. Check out this graphic from Fox 12 Oregon for Portland where they saw even less rainfall setting a new all time record for driest April up there.

April ended up warmer than normal coming in at 2.27° above average for the month – pretty impressive considering we had lows in the upper 20s a couple days during the first half of the month. Those 80 degree days the second half sure did help to warm us up! Now let’s take a look at what the next 7 days hold for us.

Forecast

Highlights

  • Wednesday’s going to be the nice summer like day of the week with highs in the low 80s and lots of sunshine.
  • Thursday should start off dry, but showers and maybe even a few thundershowers move in during the afternoon and evening hours.
  • Frequent showers on Friday.
  • Saturday through next Monday will be partly cloudy with a couple of showers each day.

Have a great rest of your Sunday!