Here we go.The rain and snow have stopped.
Now, it’s dry time starting Wednesday January 16. And beyond. Maybe way beyond!
If you’ve lived here long, or just know Portland’s rainy reputation, you can pretty much guess January should be a wet month. We average about five inches of rain that falls over the course of 18 soggy days. That makes putting an extended dry stretch together extremely difficult. But this year, we’re doing it!
Longest Portland Dry Stretch In Five Years
It seems to me this dry stretch will last at least a week–although our forecast tools are trying to tell me it could be almost two weeks. We’ll see. As long as our streak is 6 days or longer, it will be our longest January dry stretch in years. Here is a look at five years:
It seems to me this dry stretch will last at least a week–although our forecast tools are trying to tell me it could be almost two weeks. We’ll see. As long as our streak is 6 days or longer, it will be our longest January dry stretch in years. Here is a look at five years:
- January 2013 – longest dry stretch – ???? (stay tuned)
- January 2012 – longest dry stretch – 3 days without any rain
- January 2011 – longest dry stretch - 4 days without any rain (6 days with only a trace of rain)
- January 2010 – longest dry stretch – 2 days without any rain
- January 2009 – longest dry stretch – 11 days without any rain (12 days with only a trace)
But as is typical, when it’s dry for an extended stretch in winter, it’s usually cold, too. The dry stretch is starting that way. But as it goes on, it may stay chilly in the valleys while the coast and our foothills and mountains will be downright balmy at times. This is because of an inversion…where it’s warmer up high than down low. And warmer for areas like the coast, where cold air does not get ‘stuck’ like it does during calm winter days in the Willamette Valley.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about this dry stretch? You can wash your car and it will actually stay clean for awhile. I love that…
2 comments
Roland Derksen says:
January 12, 2013 at 8:06 am (UTC -7)
Bruce: In January 2009 we went 13 days without precipitation here. I doubt we’ll reach or exceed that this time, but we’ll see. My overall driest January was in 1985 when we barely had over an inch of preciptation for the whole month. I’ve seen Julys a lot wetter than that!
Portland Dry Stretch Ended, Willamette Valley Inversion Broken Up | Bruce Sussman Portland Weather says:
January 23, 2013 at 11:02 pm (UTC -7)
[...] Seven dry days in a row may not sound like much, but in Portland, it’s rare. I wrote about Portland’s January dry stretches earlier this month. [...]