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Past Arctic Events PNW focused ...


richard mann

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(.. A Basic cataloging, idea.)
 
With the level of interest shown in these types of eventsnot only this year but in years passedwithin the main more "General Discussion" threads monthly initiated for the PNW, with having started this thread I've thought that in addition to having started the "'Arctic Shots' potential more PNW focused 2014-15"  thread that I have only just more recently - also within the section, that it might also perhaps be a good idea to start a thread more here, focusing on past "Arctic Events" ("Shots", "Blasts", whatever.) impacting the region. 
 
This in order more in particular, to perhaps serve as a general reference here more in-forum conneced to the idea. And with different members with decent recollection of different past events perhaps posting whatever they might recall about, or think to post otherwise relative to these events, along with their general timeframes. And with this idea, then perhaps additionally, and where and if enough material is gathered along these lines more general here, a more specific and more chronological thread's perhaps being generated toward better organizing this idea. 
 
.. If interested, perhaps post what you can find or recollect. 
 
http://theweatherfor...-114#entry47205

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1888

 

http://theweatherforums.com/index.php/topic/709-december-2014-observations-for-the-pacific-northwest/?p=48746

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888 Northwest United States cold wave

 

".. 1888 was one of the most brutal winters ever experienced in the Portland area. The mean temperature for January 1888 was an even 22.0 degrees F, which is 16.1 degrees below normal, equivalent to raising the city to 4800 feet-- the elevation of Santiam Pass! Other historic records indicate that December 1884 had very deep snows followed by subzero cold and huge losses of livestock and other damage, and was remembered as the "worst ever" for many decades later."

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Here's all the Arctic events I remember in my life:

 

January 1982-  Snowed at our house and my dad pulled us around on an inner tube and I slid down hills at Fort Columbia in a laundry basket.

 

December 1983-  Snowed at our house and our dog got ran over by a car on Christmas Eve.  Cold/snowy weather bad.

 

November 1985-  We had a field trip to Portland cancelled because of conditions on Highway 30 east of Astoria the middle of the month.  That was aggravating.  Then it snowed a s**t ton Thanksgiving weekend and our town's church burned down.  That was awesome.

 

February 1989-  The global warming freaks really s**t over that one!

 

February 1990-  It thunder snowed at our house and I didn't think it was that big of a deal.  What an idiot!  

 

December 1990-  The global warming freaks needed a colostomy bag at this point.

 

February 1993-  It snowed Saturday morning and my sister put her car in a ditch for the second time that winter.  

 

November 1993-  Whatever.

 

February 1995-  My friend and I cut cookies in the Fred Meyer parking lot in Warrenton and bent one the rims on his Honda CRX.  

 

January 1996-  Snow, not so cold, snow on the ground and cold.  Had to drive to The Dalles to pick up my brother in law and watched a state trooper spin out in front of me and hit the jersey barrier on I-84. It was 8 degrees outside!

 

January 1998-  Snowy.  For some reason I don't remember much about this one except we went sledding in NW Portland Monday night.  Sledding in an urban evironment on significant ice accumulations is fairly dumb.  

 

December 1998-  My wife and I went Christmas shopping on Monday.  It was super cold and cloudy when we went into Lloyd Center, then we came out and it was super cold, cloudy and SNOWING.  We rejoiced.  God is great.

 

December 2000-  Arctic fronts in the Okanogan Valley are fun.  

 

January 2004-  I kept an inch-thick impression of my truck's front license plate in the freezer for several months.

 

February 2006-  Whatever.

 

January 2007-  Snow, then not so cold, then fairly cold, then SNOW!  Thank you split flow, you not-so-shitty-all-the-time-when-it-diminishes-onshore-flow, son a *****.

 

December 2008-  Thanks, Obama!  

 

December 2009-  I think it was Friday night, we had some splattery precip on our windshield when we were on SR 500 near St. Johns.  Then a few days later it could super cold at night. 

 

November 2010-  Clipper mania!!!  

 

February 2011-  Snow, then not so cold, then cold, but kind of like kissing your sister.  Top tier!

 

December 2013-  I saw a bunch of stuff on the news about Eugene, OR.  It was the first time I'd heard of anything happening there since Sublime released April 29, 1992.  

 

February 2014-  500mb ridiculousness leads to ridiculousness in our backyard.  White power!  Or no, no, no... White powder!

 

January 2015-  I did NOT see that coming!  Most impressive was the 16" in Florence, OR while only a trace fell across the Puget Sound and nothing in Whatcom County.  

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My preferences can beat up your preferences’ dad.

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1888

 

http://theweatherforums.com/index.php/topic/709-december-2014-observations-for-the-pacific-northwest/?p=48746

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888 Northwest United States cold wave

 

".. 1888 was one of the most brutal winters ever experienced in the Portland area. The mean temperature for January 1888 was an even 22.0 degrees F, which is 16.1 degrees below normal, equivalent to raising the city to 4800 feet-- the elevation of Santiam Pass! Other historic records indicate that December 1884 had very deep snows followed by subzero cold and huge losses of livestock and other damage, and was remembered as the "worst ever" for many decades later."

 

I find the 22.0 average for Portland hard to buy because the final week of that month was an epic torch.  I'll have to look into that one.

 

EDIT:  It appears that 29.2 was the actual average for Portland.  Still very cold.  Jan 1862 has a monthly average around 22 in the Portland area.  An epically cold month and winter.  I doubt many cities have had a winter as anomalous as that one was in the NW.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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Here's all the Arctic events I remember in my life:

 

 

December 1990-  The global warming freaks needed a colostomy bag at this point.

 

 

Serves those bastards right!

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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I find the 22.0 average for Portland hard to buy because the final week of that month was an epic torch.  I'll have to look into that one.

Aaah, you know. .. You can find anything on the internet. I found what I'd tacked in italicized there above, listed as a "tidbit", in one of the things that I dialed up with checking "google" for: "1888 PNW cold".

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Here's [a list of] all [of] the Arctic events I remember in my life:

 

January 1982-  Snowed at our house and my dad ....

 

.... Of coursetoward better organizing what's gathered here better, even more chronologically, latersomeone will have to sift through some these above to check to see whether or not they qualify as more true, or perhaps more just more "moderated" Arctic air "brushes". .....

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Here's all the Arctic events I remember in my life:

 

January 1982-  Snowed at our house and my dad pulled us around on an inner tube and I slid down hills at Fort Columbia in a laundry basket.

 

December 1983-  Snowed at our house and our dog got ran over by a car on Christmas Eve.  Cold/snowy weather bad.

 

November 1985-  We had a field trip to Portland cancelled because of conditions on Highway 30 east of Astoria the middle of the month.  That was aggravating.  Then it snowed a s**t ton Thanksgiving weekend and our town's church burned down.  That was awesome.

 

 

Coast got owned in 1984-85. Losers.

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.. It's more less academic anyway you look at it. (.. c'est la vie.)

 

This is just a spot to gather ideas related to the theme more generally.

I think it's good. The PNW's past Arctic outbreaks haven't ever really been discussed in depth. Maybe this will finally break the ice, no pun intended.

My preferences can beat up your preferences’ dad.

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1888

 

http://theweatherforums.com/index.php/topic/709-december-2014-observations-for-the-pacific-northwest/?p=48746

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888 Northwest United States cold wave

 

".. 1888 was one of the most brutal winters ever experienced in the Portland area. The mean temperature for January 1888 was an even 22.0 degrees F, which is 16.1 degrees below normal, equivalent to raising the city to 4800 feet-- the elevation of Santiam Pass! Other historic records indicate that December 1884 had very deep snows followed by subzero cold and huge losses of livestock and other damage, and was remembered as the "worst ever" for many decades later."

 

Interesting fact: I started that Wiki page back in 2006. Other people have added erroneous information since, such as the 22F average for Portland for the month. That was only the average for the first three weeks of the month. 

 

However, my wording remains unchanged in the body of that article:

 

Record low temperatures were set, including −65 °F (−54 °C) at Fort Keogh (near Miles City, Montana) on January 14. At the time, it was the lowest temperature ever recorded in the continental United States.[4] It was not until 1933 that a lower temperature was read in the lower 48 states (−66 °F or −54 °C in West Yellowstone, Montana).

 

Other notable records set during this cold wave are −41 °F (−41 °C) in St. Paul, Minnesota, −30 °F (−34 °C) in Spokane, Washington, −28 °F (−33 °C) in Boise, Idaho, −2 °F (−19 °C) in downtown Portland, Oregon, 1 °F (−17 °C) in Newport, Oregon, and 20 °F (−7 °C) in Eureka, California. All of these readings still stand as the record low for each location. Further, high temperatures of −10 °F (−23 °C) in Spokane and 9 °F (−13 °C) in Portland still stand as the coldest maximum temperatures ever recorded.

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Interesting fact: I started that Wiki page back in 2006. Other people have added erroneous information since, such as the 22F average for Portland for the month. That was only the average for the first three weeks of the month. 

 

However, my wording remains unchanged in the body of that article:

 

Record low temperatures were set, including −65 °F (−54 °C) at Fort Keogh (near Miles City, Montana) on January 14. At the time, it was the lowest temperature ever recorded in the continental United States.[4] It was not until 1933 that a lower temperature was read in the lower 48 states (−66 °F or −54 °C in West Yellowstone, Montana).

 

Other notable records set during this cold wave are −41 °F (−41 °C) in St. Paul, Minnesota, −30 °F (−34 °C) in Spokane, Washington, −28 °F (−33 °C) in Boise, Idaho, −2 °F (−19 °C) in downtown Portland, Oregon, 1 °F (−17 °C) in Newport, Oregon, and 20 °F (−7 °C) in Eureka, California. All of these readings still stand as the record low for each location. Further, high temperatures of −10 °F (−23 °C) in Spokane and 9 °F (−13 °C) in Portland still stand as the coldest maximum temperatures ever recorded.

Never knew you were so into Hurricanes.

Everett Snowfall (510 feet elevation)

Snow since February 2019: 91"

2023-24: 6"

2022-23: 17.5"

2021-22: 17.75"

2020-21: 14.5”

2019-20: 10.5"

2018-19: 24.75"

 

 

 

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January 1862 had a mean of 21.3 at Ft Vancouver or a departure of roughly 19 degrees considering the 1981-2010 normals for the Portland area (~40 in January). It's pretty significant for a maritime climate however. Compare that departure to the -11.4 mean at Cut Bank, MT in Feb 1936 (normal mean 21.6) for a departure of -33 F.

The Pacific Northwest: Where storms go to die.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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.. In line with the general theme here, with having scanned through "Cliff Mass's" fuller collection of Blog posts reaching back through 2009, I've generated links here below to entries of his to his main online Blog, focusing on Arctic Blasts in one way or another. 
 
Some dealing with cold if only more moderated or "modified", by Arctic air not in fact having moved into the PNW more specifically. And some more about Climate and Arctic air.
 
With this idea, as links I've used the fuller and not more truncated versions of the main urls connected to each of these main blog-entries, toward working to provide a better clue as to both their dates, along with the general focus of each. 
 
2009
 
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2009/01/transition-to-colder-air-over-weekend.html
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2009/01/cold-but-no-snow-in-seattle.html
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2009/03/cold-and-snow.html
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2009/03/arctic-air-in-march.html
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2009/03/3-pm-snow-story.html
 
2010-11
 
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2010/11/cold-wave-over-lowlands.html
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2010/11/bellingham-fun-fraser-outflow-and.html
 
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2011/01/dry-sun-and-modified-arctic-air.html
 
2011-12
 
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2012/01/snowstorm-of-two-characters.html
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2012/01/wednesday-morning-end-in-sight-and.html
  
2012-13
 
2013-14 
 
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-hard-freeze-and-modified-arctic-air.html
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2013/11/is-arctic-blast-and-snow-coming-to.html
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2013/11/thanksgiving-saved-but-arctic-air-looms.html
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/02/why-does-seattle-times-and-other-media.html
 
2014-15 
 
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/11/localized-strong-winds-cold-air-and.html
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/11/northwest-residents-travel-from-hawaii.html
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/11/arctic-blast-hits-washington-state.html
 
 
.. I'll update this list as time moves forward.

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