We know how October works, right?
We start warm in Portland. And we end up all wet.
But rarely do we get this wet–6.14″ of rain, 205% of average! All that and not even in the top 5 wettest Octobers. Oh well, maybe next time.
Also, just for fun, I asked KOIN Local 6 Weather Intern Jeff to break down the month and see which days were wettest and driest–by day of the week.
If you’re a rain lover than Friday’s were your day! If you like it dry, Thursday was the best for you. I love seeing how these things break down. Even with all the rain, Portland ended up slightly warmer than average because the first week was so warm and many of the rain systems came in from the southwest, bringing mild air with them.
Normally, the wettest months of the rainy season are ahead of us at this point. Here are the long term averages in Portland.
But what’s funny about this? All of these averages are lower than the amount of rain Portland had in October 2012!
November 2012 Rain Outlook For Salem, Portland, Vancouver, Seattle
This is hot off the presses from NOAA. The agency believes from about Kelso, Washington and south through Portland and Vancouver all the way to Medford, it will be somewhat drier than average during November 2012. Places like Olympia, Seattle and Spokane are more likely to be closer to average this month. Temperatures are forecast to be close to average.
We’ll see how it goes. I just hope it’s (at least a little!) drier than October was. And colder, so we can get skis and snowboards back in action.
This was my 6th wettest October in 38 years, Bruce. (9.60 inches) So I’m ready for a drier than average November. Too bad for me: I live in the Vancouver north of the 49th latitude!
Roland–we’re too far north in Portland. You guys are really, really, too far north! But hopefully it still works out for some ‘dry time’ this month…for all of us.
Dear, Bruce Sussman thank you for the good information that you send to us on your Blog. We have just moved back to Oregon from Arkansas ans we where living in Searcy Arkansas for the past 7 yeare. And what news station where you on about 7 years ago and was it “KGW 8” but glad to be back home again. Thank you again Bruce and may You and your Family have a Safe and Great HOLIDAY SEASON and a Wonderful NEW YEAR. Charles & Pamala Forsyth. (11/03/12)
Charles & Pamala:
Thanks for writing and it’s good to have you back in Oregon! You are right, I was on Channel 8 in the old days. Now I’m over at Channel 6 having a great time on the anchor desk with Jeff Gianola and Kelley Day. Those two are so fun to work with.
My best to you guys this holiday season, as well.
Hope Jeff’s enjoying his internship – he seems to really be dedicated to weather, especially cold/wet/snowy weather.
Speaking of which, I did my own flavor of weather geekery by coming up with what I call the October Warmth Index: every day with a high of 70-74 in October earns 1 point, every day 75-79 earns 2 points, and so on up in 5-degree increments. Here’s what I found out:
http://www.facebook.com/notes/karl-bonner-djbonneromics/october-warmth-indexes-1961-2012-for-portland-the-dalles-and-medford/10151210208487767
The 2005-2012 period is probably the worst 8-year stretch for warm October days in the past 52 years at least. It can only go uphill from here, no?