What's up with this winter?! (Portland, Medford: school, income, income tax)

[peaceloveandjulie]

So, here I am in this supposedly "Mediterranean climate" area with 290 days of sunshine and it's been either snowing or raining since November. The locals are weary, too, and tell me this is a weird one. Looking at the extended forecast, there's maybe one partly sunny day in sight. Otherwise, it's rain or rain/snow.

What's going on? What could this mean for summer? (Since it looks like we won't really have a Spring.)

[98IndyPacecarguy]

I've lived in the Portland area all my life, and It's been quite a few years since I've seen a more miserable winter than this year. 290 days of sunshine? Maybe in Central/and or So Oregon, but surely not in PDX, although I guess if they are counting a 5 minute sun peek a boo maybe?


But my boss lives in Southern Cali, and complains about how wet it's been this winter, so it's not just limited to the NW I guess this season. My convertible will be staying "top up" for many more months at this rate.


Florida here I come soon!!!!! I'll miss Oregon and it's natural beauty, but I need more warmth and sun (and no state income tax either). lol

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by peaceloveandjulie

So, here I am in this supposedly "Mediterranean climate" area with 290 days of sunshine and it's been either snowing or raining since November. The locals are weary, too, and tell me this is a weird one. Looking at the extended forecast, there's maybe one partly sunny day in sight. Otherwise, it's rain or rain/snow.

What's going on? What could this mean for summer? (Since it looks like we won't really have a Spring.)

The salmon and other fish need the snowpack desperately. And if this summer ends up being less hot and dry than the last few, maybe fire season won't be so intense.

[Larry Caldwell]

This is completely normal. The PDO is just moving into a cool phase.

Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)

Seasons in Oregon follow the calendar by about a month, so you can expect spring to arrive sometime in mid-April. This year, as every year, it will stop raining on the 4th of July and won't rain again until the State Fair opens.

[Hawk J]

You never know what Mother Nature has planned, year to year. This winter there has been an unusually high amount of snow & rain. Last winter it only snowed once here in southwest Oregon. The previous winter it didn't snow at all.

Last week i went in to Grants Pass for groceries, it was 60 & sunny.

Here on the mountain at 2000', many afternoons i've gotten some sunshine during this winter.

Hang in there, Julie. It will get nicer.

The forests, wildlife, wild flowers, & waterways need the rain, to have a more pleasant summer. The water is needed for fire prevention, & fish spawning.


http://web.thedailycourier.com/web_cam_2/

[Tulippsy]

What's going on? Have you heard of climate change, Julie dear? We aren't the only ones with crazy weather. Wildfires in Florida during the wet season, extreme drought followed by torrential rains in Southern California, tornados in February in the Midwest, 100 year storms in back to back years everywhere.....That's what's going on. ✌

[ben young]

Heck seventy years ago,when I was born ,my mom called it weather.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by peaceloveandjulie

So, here I am in this supposedly "Mediterranean climate" area with 290 days of sunshine

Well, first off, you don't have "290 days of sun" - nowhere in Oregon does. Both the Klamath Falls and Bend Chambers of Commerce like to claim 300 days of sun, but Klamath Falls is around 220 and Bend is around 160 (to Portland/Willamette Valley's 140-148 days and Medford's 185). I think Lakeview and Burns tie for the sunniest places in Oregon.

I don't think this is part of the PDO yet, just a weird subset of the El Nino/La Nina variation. I read a lot of technical weather blogs and they are all convinced the the "atmospheric river" (Pineapple Express) weather we have been seeing has to do with some really odd sea levels temps at the equator. There is also a school of thought that links it with the extreme loss of Arctic ice. Eh, we'll see.

We could just as easily go right back to drought after a wet winter/spring. For Medford, anyway, this is the 6th wettest water year on record, 22" of rain since the Oct 1 start of the water year when we are normally at 12" this time of year. Last year we'd already had a week of temps in the lows 70s by now.

[wolfdog]

Last year, it was predicted to be an unusually cool and wet winter.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Sorry, newcomers. This is very typical Oregon weather.