Climatological Report (Annual)
Issued by NWS Portland, OR
Issued by NWS Portland, OR
627
CXUS56 KPQR 050409 RRA
CLASLE
ANNUAL CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
800 PM PST THU 4 JAN 2024
...SALEM 2023 WEATHER IN REVIEW...
2023 NOTABLE WEATHER EVENTS AND RECORDS...
* WARMEST MAY ON RECORD
* WARMEST AUGUST ON RECORD (TIED 2017)
* AUGUST THUNDERSTORMS
* 2023: YEAR WITH MOST DAYS WITH HIGHS OF 80 OR MORE (98 DAYS)
PRIOR RECORD WAS 98 DAYS IN 2021.
* 2023: 11TH WARMEST YEAR, 56TH DRIEST YEAR.
MONTHLY WEATHER RECAPS...
JANUARY...FAIRLY ACTIVE WEATHER DURING THE FIRST HALF OF JANUARY.
SEVERAL FRONTS PUSHED ACROSS THE REGION WITH RAIN BEING RECORDED
DURING A STRETCH OF 17 DAYS FROM JAN 2ND THROUGH 18TH, BUT NOT MANY
WERE ALL THAT MUCH IN WAY OF RAIN PRODUCERS. AS SUCH, THE 3.49
INCHES OF RAINFALL AT SALEM WAS LESS THAN 60% OF NORMAL. THE LATTER
HALF OF THE MONTH WAS RATHER DRY. BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES DURING
LAST 3 DAYS OF THE MONTH WITH BELOW FREEZING LOWS IN THE 20S.
FEBRUARY...IT WAS A COOL FEBRUARY, ALONG WITH ANOTHER MONTH OF WELL
BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION. COLDEST MORNING WAS ON THE 25TH, WITH A
MORNING LOW TEMPERATURE OF 20 DEGREES. CHILLY WET WEATHER ON THE
13TH AND 14TH, WITH A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW. COLD WEATHER RETURNED ON
THE 22ND TO 23RD, WITH A HIGH OF ONLY 36 DEG ON THE 23RD AND 1 TO 4
INCHES OF SNOW IN SALEM. ACTIVE WEATHER CLOSED THE MONTH WITH A
COOL, SHOWERY PATTERN BRINGING A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW THE 26TH TO
28TH. THE 2.84 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FINISHED AROUND 63% OF
NORMAL.
MARCH...OVERALL, MARCH WAS COOLER THAN NORMAL, WITH PLENTY OF CLOUDS
AND PRECIPITATION, AND SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL OF 5.17
INCHES. IT WAS THE 9TH COOLEST MARCH FOR SALEM. THE OVERALL PATTERN
CARRIED THE LATE FEBRUARY ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN ON INTO EARLY
MARCH. A PACIFIC FRONT PUSHED INLAND ON THE 13TH, BRINGING HEAVY
RAIN. THE 1.39 INCHES OF RAINFALL SET A DAILY RECORD ON THE 13TH.
MORE MILD WEATHER THE 14TH TO 22ND WITH HIGHS GENERALLY IN THE 50S
TO LOWER 60S. THEN, ANOTHER COLD FRONT PUSHED ACROSS THE REGION AND
ACTIVE WEATHER RESUMED.
APRIL...OVERALL, IT WAS A BIT WETTER AND COOLER THAN MOST APRILS.
THE MONTH CONTINUED TO SEE RATHER PROGRESSIVE WEATHER PATTERN,
MAINTAINING SHOWERY AND COOL CONDITIONS THROUGH THE 23RD. A STRONG
FRONT ON THE 12TH BROUGHT 1.36 INCHES OF RAIN SETTING A DAILY
RAINFALL RECORD. AT THE CLOSE OF THE MONTH, HIGH PRESSURE BROUGHT
MILDER AIR AND A WELCOME BREAK FROM THE CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION.
TEMPERATURES JUMPED WELL ABOVE NORMAL THE 26TH TO 29TH. BIT OF
OFFSHORE FLOW ON THE 28TH BROUGHT SUMMER WARMTH, WITH A HIGH OF 91
DEG. APRIL 2023 TOTAL RAINFALL OF 5.19 INCHES MADE IT THE 9TH
WETTEST APRIL.
MAY...AFTER A RATHER DANKISH AND DAMP SPRING, MAY BROUGHT MUCH
DELIGHT TO AREA GARDENERS, WITH WARM AND DRIER WEATHER. AN UPPER LOW
OVER THE REGION MAINTAINED COOL WEATHER FOR THE FIRST WEEK. THEN,
HIGH PRESSURE BUILT OVER THE PACIFIC NW BRINGING WARM AND DRY
CONDITIONS ALONG WITH OFFSHORE WINDS. WARMEST STRETCH WAS AROUND
MOTHERS DAY, WITH HIGHS INTO THE 90S THE 13TH AND 14TH. THE HIGH OF
93 DEG ON THE 14TH TIED THE DAILY HIGH RECORD SET IN 1939. A STREAK
OF 9 CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF HIGHS ABOVE 80 DEGREES BEGAN ON THE 12TH.
FINISHED AS THE WARMEST MAY ON RECORD, AS WELL AS THE 11TH DRIEST,
REPORTING JUST 0.61 INCH OF RAINFALL AT KSLE.
JUNE...THE DRY WEATHER OF MAY CONTINUED INTO JUNE. GENERALLY WAS A
WARM JUNE, BUT NO RECORD HIGHS THIS YEAR. WARMEST DAY OF THE MONTH
WAS ON THE 6TH, WITH A HIGH OF 91 DEG. BUT, FIRST FRONT OF THE MONTH
ARRIVED ON THE 9TH, WITH SPOTTY LIGHT RAIN. A STRONG UPPER LOW
ARRIVED ON THE 18TH, BRINGING SHOWERS AND A FEW COOLISH DAYS. A
STRONG FRONT BROUGHT CLOUDS, RAIN AND COOL WEATHER FOR FATHERS DAY.
TEMPERATURES RAMPED BACK UP ON THE 21ST WITH HIGHS GENERALLY 80 TO
90 DEGREES THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH.
JULY...WARM AND DRY WEATHER CONTINUED. DRIZZLE ON THE 10TH, AND
PASSING SPRINKLES ON THE 24TH AND 25TH WERE THE ONLY DROPS OF RAIN
IN JULY FOR SALEM. WHILE DRY JULYS ARE NOT ALL THAT UNCOMMON, JULY
2023 JOINS 15 OTHER YEARS AS THE ONLY OTHER MONTHS WITH A TRACE
RECORDED. THE WARMEST DAYS OF THE MONTH OCCURRED ON THE 5TH AND
15TH, WITH A HIGH OF 98 DEG. THE HIGH OF 96 DEG ON INDEPENDENCE DAY
WAS JUST ONE DEGREE SHY OF THE RECORD 97 DEG SET IN 2015. JULY ENDED
THE 12TH WARMEST JULY.
AUGUST...WARM AND DRY AS HIGH PRESSURE DOMINATED. IN FACT, IT WAS
THE 2ND WARMEST AUGUST ON RECORD. MULTI-DAY STRETCH OF HIGHS
EXCEEDING 100 DEGREES THE 13TH TO 16TH. THE HOTTEST DAY OF 105 DEG
ON THE 14TH SET A RECORD DAILY HIGH. MOST OF THE MONTH WAS DRY, WITH
ONLY SPOTTY LIGHT RAIN ON THE 6TH AND AGAIN ON THE 28TH. BUT THAT
ALL CAME TO AN END AS AUGUST CLOSED WITH A RATHER STRONG FRONT. THAT
FRONT BROUGHT OVER A HALF INCH OF RAIN TO THE AREA, ALONG WITH
COOLER WEATHER.
SEPTEMBER...ACTIVE WEATHER CONTINUED IN EARLY SEPTEMBER. AN UNSTABLE
AIRMASS TRIGGERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE 3RD.
AFTERWARDS, SEASONABLY WARM WEATHER, BUT DRY. HIGHS GENERALLY 80 TO
90 THE 8TH TO 16TH. BUT, RETURN TO MORE ACTIVE WEATHER ARRIVED THE
23RD. COOLER AND WET THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH AS A SERIES OF
FRONTAL SYSTEMS MOVED ACROSS THE REGION. HIGHS IN THE 60S THE 23RD
TO 30TH WITH RAIN EVERY DAY. TOTAL RAINFALL OF 2.49 INCHES FOR THE
MONTH ENDED JUST OVER AN INCH ABOVE NORMAL.
OCTOBER...SEASONABLE WEATHER TO START THE MONTH, ALONG WITH A FRONT
THAT MOVED THROUGH ON THE 2ND. THEN, UNSEASONABLY WARM AND DRY THE
6TH TO 8TH WITH HIGHS IN THE 80S. AFTER THAT, A MORE TYPICAL FALL
WEATHER PATTERN ARRIVED. OCCASIONAL FRONTS BROUGHT RAIN AND
GRADUALLY COOLER TEMPERATURES TO THE REGION. HIGH PRESSURE AT THE
END OF THE MONTH BROUGHT DRY WEATHER AND MILD DAYS, ALONG WITH COOL
NIGHTS. CHILLY MORNINGS TO CLOSE OUT THE LAST FOUR DAYS OF THE MONTH
WITH LOWS 29 TO 32 DEG. TOTAL RAINFALL OF 2.73 INCHES FINISHED
SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL.
NOVEMBER...RATHER TYPICAL NOVEMBER WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURE AND
RAINFALL. WARMER AND WET START TO THE MONTH AS A STRONG PACIFIC JET
KEPT ACTIVE WEATHER AROUND THROUGH THE 7TH. RATHER POTENT FRONT ON
THE 4TH BROUGHT HEAVY RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS, WITH WINDS GUSTING 30
TO 40 MPH. HIGH PRESSURE WAS STRONG ENOUGH FOR A TIME TO BRING DRY
WEATHER TO THE REGION FROM 23RD TO 29TH, MAKING FOR A RATHER
PLEASANT THANKSGIVING BREAK. CHILLY MORNINGS ALSO, WITH BELOW
FREEZING LOWS 24TH THROUGH 29TH IN THE 20S. TOTAL RAINFALL OF 5.22
INCHES REMAINED SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL.
DECEMBER...RAIN RETURNED WITH A VENGEANCE TO START THE MONTH. A
SERIES OF ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS BROUGHT HEAVY RAIN DURING THE FIRST
WEEK OF DECEMBER, WITH OVER 5 INCHES OF RAIN TO SALEM. SET A DAILY
RECORD WARM HIGH ON THE 5TH OF 63 DEG. REST OF THE MONTH WAS RATHER
QUIET WEATHERWISE, WITH NEAR SEASONAL TEMPERATURES, ALONG WITH SOME
FOGGY MORNINGS. TOTAL RAINFALL OF 7.62 INCHES WAS SLIGHTLY ABOVE
NORMAL.
==============================================================
NEW RECORDS SET IN 2023 (PREVIOUS RECORD IN PARENTHESES)
+ INDICATES MOST RECENT OF MULTIPLE OCCURRENCES
JANUARY... NO NEW RECORDS SET.
FEBRUARY...
23RD NEW. DAILY COOL HIGH TEMP 36 ( 38 /1917 )
MARCH...
13TH NEW. DAILY RAINFALL 1.39" (0.97"/2016 )
APRIL...
2ND NEW. DAILY COOL HIGH TEMP 46 ( 47 /1982+)
10TH NEW. DAILY RAINFALL 1.36" (1.01"/1984 )
MAY...
14TH TIED. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 93 ( 93 /1929 )
*** WARMEST MAY (AVG TEMP 61.9 DEG, +4.2 DEG ABOVE NORMAL)
JUNE... NO NEW RECORDS SET.
JULY...
5TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 62 ( 61 /1958 )
AUGUST...
6TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 66 ( 64 /2021 )
7TH TIED. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 64 ( 64 /2017 )
10TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 63 ( 62 /1981 )
14TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 65 ( 61 /2021 )
14TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 105 ( 102 /1942 )
15TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 69 ( 65 /2021 )
15TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 102 ( 101 /1933 )
16TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 102 ( 101 /1977 )
17TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 67 ( 64 /2022+)
25TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 66 ( 64 /2011 )
*** AUGUST 2023 TIED AUGUST 2017 AS WARMEST AUGUST
(AVG TEMP 73.0 DEG, +3.8 DEG ABOVE NORMAL
SEPTEMBER...
1ST TIED. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 61 ( 61 /1997 )
25TH NEW. DAILY RAINFALL 0.72" (0.55"/1901 )
OCTOBER... NO NEW RECORDS SET.
NOVEMBER... NO NEW RECORDS SET.
DECEMBER...
4TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 54 ( 53 /1938 )
4TH TIED. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 63 ( 63 /1945 )
5TH NEW. DAILY WARM LOW TEMP 56 ( 49 /1991 )
5TH NEW. DAILY WARM HIGH TEMP 63 ( 59 /1944 )
==============================================================
2023 SALEM MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION RANKINGS
THIS TABLE SHOWS WHERE EACH MONTH/YEAR RANKS IN SALEM`S CLIMATE
RECORD (1892-2023). RANKINGS APPLY TO ALL OF THE SAME MONTH:
FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE JUNE 2023 COMPARES TO ALL OTHER JUNES.
JA FE MA AP MA JU JL AU SE OC NO DE 2023
AVG T 34 109 121 78 1 16 10 1 25 21 69 10 11
PRECIP 103 96 37 10 121 111 101 24 23 70 77 47 77
MAX T 33 107 120 106 6 15 9 6 63 49 71 11 17
MIN T 40 106 114 28 1 39 17 1 16 18 72 10 14
SALEM`S RANGE IS 1 TO 132, WHERE 1 = WARMEST OR WETTEST
132 = DRIEST OR COLDEST
===============================================================
2023 SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT TEMPERATURE DATA
(+ BY DATE INDICATES LAST OF SEVERAL OCCURRENCES LISTED)
|--- AVERAGES ----| MEAN T DEPART| EXTREME TEMPS & DATE|
MONTH |HIGHS LOWS MEAN| FROM NORMAL | HIGHEST LOWEST |
--------------------------------------------------------------
JAN 48.9 35.8 42.4 +0.3 DEG 61 / 5TH 21 /30TH
FEB 48.0 32.4 40.2 -3.8 DEG 56 /17TH+ 20 /25TH
MAR 51.8 34.1 43.0 -4.5 DEG 66 /18TH 29 /27TH
APR 58.4 41.4 49.9 -1.4 DEG 91 /28TH 34 / 3RD
MAY 74.4 49.4 61.9 +4.2 DEG 93 /14TH+ 43 /10TH+
JUN 78.5 50.5 64.5 +1.8 DEG 91 / 6TH 42 / 1ST
JUL 86.8 55.5 71.1 +1.8 DEG 98 /15TH+ 51 / 9TH+
AUG 87.1 58.9 73.0 +3.8 DEG 105 /14TH 50 /23RD
SEP 75.7 53.5 64.0 +0.0 DEG 92 /15TH 44 /21ST
OCT 64.9 45.9 55.4 +1.1 DEG 87 / 6TH 29 /29TH+
NOV 52.4 38.2 45.3 -1.0 DEG 66 / 2ND 23 /28TH
DEC 50.7 38.8 44.7 +3.4 DEG 63 / 5TH+ 29 /16TH
2023 64.8 44.4 54.6 +0.5 DEG 105/JUL 14 21/FEB 23
NORMAL 64.4 43.9 54.1
DAYS WITH TEMPERATURES IN 2023 WHERE...
|------ MAXIMUM TEMP --------||------ MINIMUM TEMP ---|
<=32 60+ 70+ 80+ 90+ 100+ <=20 <=32 60+ 70+
--------------------------------------------------------------
JAN 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0
FEB 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 13 0 0
MAR 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0
APR 0 8 5 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
MAY 0 28 19 12 3 0 0 0 0 0
JUN 0 29 25 15 2 0 0 0 0 1
JUL 0 31 31 29 8 0 0 0 3 0
AUG 0 31 30 27 9 4 0 0 9 0
SEP 0 30 21 11 1 0 0 0 1 0
OCT 0 22 7 3 0 0 0 4 0 0
NOV 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0
DEC 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0
2023 0 191 138 99 24 4 1 49 13 0
NORMAL 2 201 128 66 15 1 2 49 7 0
FIRST/LAST OCCURRENCES OF... IN 2023 AVERAGE
LAST 32 DEG OR COLDER IN SPRING 27 MAR (13 APR)
FIRST 70+ DEG OF THE YEAR 22 APR (31 MAR)
FIRST 80+ DEG OF THE YEAR 28 APR ( 6 MAY)
FIRST 90+ DEG OF THE YEAR 28 APR (15 JUN)
LAST 90+ DEG OF THE YEAR 15 SEP ( 8 SEP)
LAST 80+ DEG OF THE YEAR 8 OCT ( 1 OCT)
LAST 70+ DEG OF THE YEAR 15 OCT (21 OCT)
FIRST 32 DEG OR COLDER IN AUTUMN 28 OCT (31 OCT)
==============================================================
2023 SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT RAINFALL DATA...
TOTAL DEPARTURE DAYS WITH AT LEAST... GREATEST IN
MONTH RAIN FM NORMAL 0.01 0.10 0.50 1.00 24HRS & DATE
--------------------------------------------------------------
JAN 3.49 -2.59 19 12 2 0 0.74 JAN 15-16
FEB 2.84 -1.70 14 10 0 0 0.59 FEB 22-23
MAR 5.17 +0.82 22 13 2 1 1.55 MAR 12-13
APR 5.19 +2.07 19 12 3 1 1.44 APR 9-10
MAY 0.61 -1.64 4 2 0 0 0.40 MAY 4
JUN 0.44 -0.81 3 2 0 0 0.25 JUN 18
JUL TRACE -0.25 0 0 0 0 TR JUL 25+
AUG 0.86 +0.47 2 2 1 0 0.70 AUG 31
SEP 2.49 +1.03 10 6 2 0 0.84 SEP 25-26
OCT 2.73 -0.74 11 7 2 0 0.98 OCT 24-25
NOV 5.22 -0.73 17 13 4 1 1.68 NOV 3-4
DEC 7.62 +0.65 20 11 5 3 2.63 DEC 5-6
2023 36.66 -3.42 141 90 21 6 2.63 DEC 5-6
NORMAL 40.08 148 92 25 6
SALEM WATER YEAR 2022-23 (1 OCT 2022 THROUGH 30 SEP 2023)
36.30 INCHES ( 3.78 INCHES BELOW NORMAL )
============================================================
2023 SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT WIND AND PRESSURE DATA...
AVERAGE SPEED (MPH) STRONGEST WIND GUST
MONTH 2023 NORMAL DIRECTION SPEED DATE
----------------------------------------------------------
JAN 5.8 (7.1) SOUTH 48 MPH JAN 15
FEB 6.9 (6.9) SOUTH 38 MPH FEB 27
MAR 7.0 (7.4) SOUTHWEST 38 MPH MAR 23
APR 7.6 (6.2) SOUTH 37 MPH APR 12
MAY 6.0 (6.4) NORTHEAST 29 MPH MAY 14
JUN 6.7 (6.5) NORTH 31 MPH JUN 4
JUL 6.0 (6.5) WEST 28 MPH JUL 16
AUG 5.4 (6.0) NORTH 25 MPH AUG 13
SEP 5.6 (5.5) SOUTH 32 MPH SEP 26
OCT 4.7 (5.7) SOUTH 34 MPH OCT 10
NOV 5.1 (7.1) SOUTH 38 MPH NOV 11
DEC 5.4 (7.1) SOUTH 41 MPH DEC 2
2023 6.0 (6.6) SOUTH 48 MPH JAN 15
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE EXTREMES...
HIGHEST 30.72 INCHES 25 JAN ( 1058 AM PST )
LOWEST 29.19 INCHES 14 JAN ( 301 PM PST )
============================================================
2023 SALEM WILLAMETTE RIVER DATA (AT DOWNTOWN)...
HIGHEST LEVEL 18.9 FT 12 DEC
LOWEST LEVEL 4.9 FT 4 AUG
(FLOOD STAGE IS 28.0 FT)
============================================================
SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT PERIOD OF RECORD... 1892 TO 2023
SALEM MCNARY AIRPORT CLIMATE NORMALS... 1991 TO 2020
============================================================
DATA COMPILED BY ROCKEY AND HARTSOCK
ADDITIONAL LOCAL CLIMATE DATA AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE AT:
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/WRH/CLIMATE?WFO=PQR
$$