Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS Medford, OR
Issued by NWS Medford, OR
000 CXUS56 KMFR 011236 AAA CLMMFR CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD, OR 536 AM PDT FRI SEP 01 2023 ................................... ...THE MEDFORD OR CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2023... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1911 TO 2023 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 114 08/08/1981 LOW 39 08/27/1962 HIGHEST 111 08/14 103 08/03 LOWEST 53 08/30 56 08/28 AVG. MAXIMUM 93.6 91.1 2.5 95.7 AVG. MINIMUM 63.2 57.9 5.3 62.4 MEAN 78.4 74.5 3.9 79.1 DAYS MAX >= 90 24 20.1 3.9 28 DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MIN <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 2.83 1976 TOTALS 0.07 0.33 -0.26 T DAILY AVG. 0.00 0.01 -0.01 T DAYS >= .01 1 1.6 -0.6 0 DAYS >= .10 0 0.8 -0.8 0 DAYS >= .50 0 0.2 -0.2 0 DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.0 0.0 0 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 0.07 08/31 TO 08/31 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 0.0 2010 TOTALS 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 SINCE 7/1 0.0 0.0 0.0 MM DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 0 3 -3 0 SINCE 7/1 0 4 -4 MM COOLING TOTAL 421 298 123 442 SINCE 1/1 1155 767 388 MM FREEZE DATES RECORD EARLIEST 09/13/1921 LATEST 06/12/1952 EARLIEST MM LATEST 04/13 ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 4.2 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 24/210 DATE 08/19 24/160 08/20 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 38/200 DATE 08/19 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.17 NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 25 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 2 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 3 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 43 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 2 MIXED PRECIP 0 HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 0 LIGHT RAIN 4 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0 LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0 FOG 1 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 0 HAZE 28 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && AUGUST 2023 SHOWED A WIDE RANGE IN THE WEATHER, BUT WAS OVERALL TYPICAL FOR THE AREA. AUGUST STARTED OFF TYPICALLY WITH DRY WEATHER AND TEMPERATURES THAT WERE NOT TOO HOT. AFTER THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH WHICH SAW A HIGH OF 98 DEGREES, AFTERNOON HIGHS ONLY REACHED INTO THE LOW TO MID 90S THROUGH THE FIRST 10 DAYS. CONDITIONS STARTED TO HEAT UP AND DRY OUT, AND BY MID MONTH, WE EXPERIENCED A 4- DAY HEATWAVE THAT BROUGHT EXTREME TEMPERATURES TO MOST INLAND AREAS WEST OF THE CASCADES. TEMPERATURES SOARED INTO THE TRIPLE DIGITS ONCE AGAIN, AND AT THE PEAK OF THE HEATWAVE ON THE 14TH, MEDFORD SAW A HIGH OF 111 DEGREES WHICH BROKE THE DAILY RECORD OF 108 SET BACK IN 1933. AS IS TYPICAL WITH THESE HEATWAVES, THEY END WITH A PATTERN CHANGE THAT BRINGS THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA. THIS THUNDERSTORM PATTERN WAS PART OF A SLOW MOVING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT TRAVELED NORTHWARD THROUGH CALIFORNIA BEFORE PASSING THROUGH OREGON AND NORTHEAST INTO IDAHO. THIS BROUGHT MULTIPLE DAYS OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA (FROM THE 15TH THROUGH THE 21ST AND THEN AGAIN ON THE 24TH). IN ALL, LAKE COUNTY WAS OUR WINNER WITH 796 LIGHTNING STRIKES FOLLOWED BY SISKIYOU COUNTY WITH 642 LIGHTNING STRIKES IN THAT STRETCH. MEANWHILE, JACKSON COUNTY WAS THIRD WITH 342 LIGHTNING STRIKES. HOWEVER, EVERY COUNTY IN OUR AREA RECORDED AT LEAST 20 STRIKES (EVEN COOS AND CURRY COUNTIES). THE MAJOR THUNDERSTORM DAYS THAT WOULD IMPACT THE WEATHER IN THE ROGUE VALLEY WERE THE 15TH WHERE THUNDERSTORMS PUSHED THROUGH WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY; THE 19TH WHERE JACKSON COUNTY HAD 279 OF THEIR 342 STRIKES; AND THE 21ST WHERE DOUGLAS COUNTY SAW 85 LIGHTNING STRIKES. THESE THREE DAYS ARE THE MOST LIKELY CULPRITS FOR THE STARTS OF ONGOING WILDFIRES IN THE AREA. ADDITIONALLY, DURING THIS TIME, THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TAPPED INTO DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE FROM THE REMNANTS OF HURRICANE HILARY. THIS PARTICULAR INTERACTION HAPPENED ON THE 21ST AND BROUGHT SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL TO PORTIONS OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND AREAS EAST OF THE CASCADES IN SOUTHERN OREGON. KLAMATH FALLS SAW OVER HALF AN INCH OF RAINFALL IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD FROM THIS. IN ADDITION, MT. SHASTA CITY SAW 0.62 INCHES OF RAIN AND THIS BAND OF HEAVY RAIN CAUSED A DEBRIS FLOW ALONG EVERITT MEMORIAL HIGHWAY, STRANDING PEOPLE ON MT. SHASTA. JUXTAPOSED WITH THIS BAND OF HEAVY RAIN WAS AN AREA OF THICK WILDFIRE SMOKE FROM SEVERAL WILDFIRE COMPLEXES IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN OREGON. ALONG THE BORDER OF THESE TWO WEATHER PATTERNS, A THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPED OVER THE MCKINNEY BURN SCAR BRINGING OVER AN INCH OF RAIN IN AN HOUR CAUSING DEBRIS FLOWS AT THE BURN SCAR. ON THE 24TH, ANOTHER SET OF THUNDERSTORMS PUSHED NORTHWARD WEST OF INTERSTATE 5 AND ALSO FOR PORTIONS OF LAKE COUNTY. WHAT IS NOTABLE ABOUT THESE THUNDERSTORMS IS THAT THEY MOVED THROUGH AREAS OF THICK SMOKE WHICH LIKELY CAUSED A CHARGE REVERSAL IN THE THUNDERSTORMS. DURING A THUNDERSTORM, ICE CRYSTALS CREATE STATIC ELECTRICITY, CALLED CHARGE SEPARATION, AND NEGATIVE IONS GATHER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CLOUD AND POSITIVE IONS GATHER AT THE TOP OF THE CLOUD. WHEN ENOUGH CHARGE BUILDS UP, IT IS DISPERSED IN A LIGHTNING STRIKE, CODED AS POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE BASED ON THE IONS THAT ARE TRAVELLING. HOWEVER, WHEN THUNDERSTORMS OCCUR OVER DENSE SMOKE, THE POSITIVE CHARGES SHIFT AND BUILD AT THE BOTTOM OF CLOUDS AND NEGATIVE CHARGES BUILD OVER THE TOP OF THE CLOUD, WHICH IS DENOTED AS A CHARGE REVERSAL. FOR INSTANCE, JOSEPHINE COUNTY EXPERIENCED UNHEALTHY TO HAZARDOUS AIR QUALITY ON THE 24TH AND SAW 48 LIGHTNING STRIKES THAT DAY. ALL BUT 7 OF THE LIGHTNING STRIKES WERE POSITIVE; THUS SUGGESTING A CHARGE REVERSAL HAD TAKEN PLACE. MEANWHILE, THE ROGUE VALLEY BEGAN SUFFERING PERIODS OF DEGRADED AIR QUALITY--REACHING HAZARDOUS LEVELS AT TIMES. THIS SMOKE WAS LARGELY CAUSED BY THE SMITH RIVER COMPLEX, THE HAPPY CAMP COMPLEX, AND THE TYEE FIRE; AND HAS CONTINUED THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH. ANOTHER HEATWAVE TRIED TO BUILD IN, BUT THE SMOKE LIKELY KEPT TEMPERATURES FROM REACHING THEIR POTENTIAL--ONLY REACHING INTO THE 90S FROM THE 24TH THROUGH THE 26TH. THEN THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF FRONTS BEGAN MOVING THROUGH, BRINGING GUSTY WEST WINDS TO THE AREA, WHICH BROUGHT PERIODS OF IMPROVED AIR QUALITY FROM SMOKE AS WELL AS LOWER TEMPERATURES. IN FACT, ON THE 31ST, MEDFORD SAW ITS FIRST MEASURABLE RAINFALL SINCE JUNE 19TH WITH 0.07 INCHES. $$