Some RAWS records for Oregon

IbrChris · November 28, 2014

July 2009 - Willamette Valley max temps

NWS/COOP
112* Lebanon...29th
109 Estacada 2SE...30th (likely max from day prior)

108 Oregon City...29th

108 Lyons 3N....28th

108 Molalla 7NE...30th

107 Salem (SLE)...28th

107 Aurora (UAO)...29th
107 Leaburg 1SW...29th

107 McMinnville...29th
106 Eugene (EUG)...28th

106 Portland (PDX)...29th

106 Foster Dam....29th

I agree the Lebanon COOP reading seems too high considering two other stations in Lebanon area recorded 105 and 107.

Interestingly CW9252 Estacada recorded 111 on July 29, 2009. Appears to be very close to the Estacada 2SE COOP station that saw 109.

http://mesowest.utah.edu/cgi-bin/droman/meso_base.cgi?stn=C9252&unit=0&hours=24&year1=2009&month1=7&day1=29&past=1&time=LOCAL&hour1=24

IbrChris · November 28, 2014

Dec 1919 arctic event...probably the coldest in the Anglo era in the Willamette Valley (although records prior to 1890 are very incomplete).

-24 McMinnville....12th

-15 Forest Grove...12th
-15 Albany....13th
-14 Corvallis...12th

-11 Miramonte Farm...13th

-10 Medford....13th

-6 Salem....14th

-4 Cottage Grove...13th

-3 Mt Angel....13th
-3 Eugene...13th
3 Portland...13th

SilverFallsAndrew · November 28, 2014

Dec 1919 arctic event...probably the coldest in the Anglo era in the Willamette Valley (although records prior to 1890 are very incomplete).

-24 McMinnville....12th
-15 Forest Grove...12th
-15 Albany....13th
-14 Corvallis...12th
-11 Miramonte Farm...13th
-10 Medford....13th
-6 Salem....14th
-4 Cottage Grove...13th
-3 Mt Angel....13th
-3 Eugene...13th
3 Portland...13th

That event had a massive snowstorm at onset.

wx_statman · November 28, 2014

Interesting, the state climatological summary for April 1926 (see NCDC publications) lists 99 at Echo on 4-28-1926.

You're right about July 2009...I didn't go back and look thinking SLE and EUG beat PDX by a couple degrees.

Yeah that's weird. I pulled the 94 from the WRCC but they've been wrong before. The 99 could very well be right. In which case I would have no problem calling that reading the April state record for Oregon.

wx_statman · November 28, 2014

That event had a massive snowstorm at onset.

That was the perfect combination for us. We could go another 100 years without seeing it again.

wx_statman · November 28, 2014

Interesting, the state climatological summary for April 1926 (see NCDC publications) lists 99 at Echo on 4-28-1926.

You're right about July 2009...I didn't go back and look thinking SLE and EUG beat PDX by a couple degrees.

All right, I just pulled the hand written observation form for April 1926 in Echo. Sure enough, it was 99 degrees on 4/28. Turns out the WRCC wasn't wrong, they actually don't have 4/28/1926 uploaded. Looks like that data was never digitized, because the NCDC doesn't have it on the QC'd digital form for Echo for April 1926 either. It shows 92 on 4/26, 94 on 4/27, and then missing data for the last three days of the month. What the hell? Someone clearly thought they were dealing with bad data since they chose not to digitize it...but it sure seems legit to me. Just across the state line, both Mottinger and Benton City hit 98, and Wahluke hit 100 - which would have been the WA state record if they hadn't hit 103 in April 1934.

I'm totally comfortable counting the 99 at Echo on 4/28/1926 as the OR state record for the month. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

IbrChris · November 29, 2014

Yeah that's weird. I pulled the 94 from the WRCC but they've been wrong before. The 99 could very well be right. In which case I would have no problem calling that reading the April state record for Oregon.

I've seen other "omissions" of data on digitized versions such as those found at Utah Climate Center. I'm not sure what kind of QC filter they use there, but this brings to the forefront the need to consult the original publications for the observations. Thankfully monthly climatology reports are available back to around 1890 for Oregon.

IbrChris · November 29, 2014

All right, I just pulled the hand written observation form for April 1926 in Echo. Sure enough, it was 99 degrees on 4/28. Turns out the WRCC wasn't wrong, they actually don't have 4/28/1926 uploaded. Looks like that data was never digitized, because the NCDC doesn't have it on the QC'd digital form for Echo for April 1926 either. It shows 92 on 4/26, 94 on 4/27, and then missing data for the last three days of the month. What the hell? Someone clearly thought they were dealing with bad data since they chose not to digitize it...but it sure seems legit to me. Just across the state line, both Mottinger and Benton City hit 98, and Wahluke hit 100 - which would have been the WA state record if they hadn't hit 103 in April 1934.

I'm totally comfortable counting the 99 at Echo on 4/28/1926 as the OR state record for the month. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

Looking at April 1934 NCDC publication for OR I see that supposedly a 100 was reached in April 1897 in their table "Comparative State Data for April"

Noting some cold numbers:

-3 in Apr 1922 (Crater Lake)

-6 in Apr 1929 (Meacham)

Edit: 100 at Vernonia Apr 25, 1897 is not corroborated by surrounding stations. Forest Grove reached 93 on 17th and Portland only 89 same day for warmest temps of the month. Seems like that 99 at Echo is the record for April.

wx_statman · November 29, 2014

I've seen other "omissions" of data on digitized versions such as those found at Utah Climate Center. I'm not sure what kind of QC filter they use there, but this brings to the forefront the need to consult the original publications for the observations. Thankfully monthly climatology reports are available back to around 1890 for Oregon.

Yeah I've definitely seen other errors/omissions. But then I've also seen a bunch of clearly bogus numbers make it into the database. Makes you wonder.

wx_statman · November 29, 2014

Looking at April 1934 NCDC publication for OR I see that supposedly a 100 was reached in April 1897 in their table "Comparative State Data for April"

Noting some cold numbers:
-3 in Apr 1922 (Crater Lake)
-6 in Apr 1929 (Meacham)

Edit: 100 at Vernonia Apr 25, 1897 is not corroborated by surrounding stations. Forest Grove reached 93 on 17th and Portland only 89 same day for warmest temps of the month. Seems like that 99 at Echo is the record for April.

The Vernonia numbers are totally bogus for April-May 1897. I don't know what was going on there. There was definitely an impressive early heat wave in April 1897. Downtown Portland had 87 on 4/16 and 89 on 4/17, which would be considered top tier warmth for April even in today's climate. The 93 at Forest Grove is probably accurate too. Canyon City near John Day hit 97 on the 17th which looks legit to me.

Its interesting that our two greatest mid-April heat waves both occurred in that era. 1897 and 1904.

IbrChris · November 30, 2014

Yeah I've definitely seen other errors/omissions. But then I've also seen a bunch of clearly bogus numbers make it into the database. Makes you wonder.

Kinda makes me want to throw out most stuff before about 1900-1910...even then a lot of wrong data.

IbrChris · November 30, 2014

Formatting will probably be poor but here's a compilation of data from 1848-1875 for PNW stations pre-Weather Bureau.

Winter Weather History – Oregon and Washington 1848-1868

1848-49
Station Nov Dec Jan Feb Notes

Oregon City --- --- 32.4 36.0 First winter with any records, cold

1849-50
Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Ft. Steilacoom 46.8 36.3 35.9 39.1

Ft. Vancouver --- 34.6 38.1 41.0 Coldest low 18 in December

Oregon City 46.7 37.9 39.5 45.3

1850-51

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 46.4 40.7 43.0 43.6

Ft. Dalles 37.9 32.6 38.0 41.4

Ft. Steilacoom 41.2 37.2 40.6 40.8

Ft. Vancouver 43.1 35.8 42.0 42.9 Coldest low 15 in December

Oregon City 38.5 44.0 44.7

1851-52

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 45.8 40.7 --- ---

Ft. Steilacoom 46.3 41.2 43.3 42.6

Ft. Vancouver --- 36.9 42.7 42.2

Oregon City 41.0 --- ---

1852-53
Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Ft. Dalles 41.2 25.0 32.3 37.1 Coldest low -5 in December

Ft. Steilacoom 43.8 33.3 39.7 39.8 Coldest low 0 in December

Ft. Vancouver 45.1 33.2 37.8 42.1 Coldest low 7 in December

Port Orford 50.6 44.2 48.7 46.5

1853-54

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 46.5 43.6 32.3 39.0

Ft. Dalles 41.8 40.1 22.0 38.9 Coldest low -15 in January

Ft. Steilacoom 45.1 44.6 30.6 39.6 Coldest low -1 in January

Ft. Vancouver 45.4 41.8 29.9 38.0

1854-55

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 49.9 43.0 42.2 44.8

Ft. Dalles 44.3 37.1 40.2 42.6

Ft. Steilacoom 46.7 43.1 42.0 43.2

Ft. Vancouver 52.5 36.8 42.1 43.7

Port Orford 53.2 48.2 48.0 49.3

1855-56
Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 45.0 35.8 42.4 44.2

Ft. Dalles 46.4 29.5 --- 42.3 Coldest low -5 in December

Ft. Steilacoom 44.9 34.5 42.2 43.2 Coldest low 5 in December

Ft. Vancouver 42.1 28.3 37.8 43.8 Coldest low -1 in December

Port Orford 47.0 53.2 49.0 48.4

1856-57
Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 46.2 39.9 39.7 43.1

Ft. Dalles --- 32.2 26.6 42.1 Coldest low -10 in January

Ft. Hoskins 42.1 38.5 38.6 42.4 Coldest low 0 in January

Ft. Steilacoom 43.8 37.8 38.6 40.7 Coldest low 2 in January

Ft. Umpqua 47.7 44.6 46.8 47.3 Coldest low 26 in January

Ft. Vancouver 43.4 37.6 34.5 43.4 Coldest low 2 in January

Ft. Walla Walla --- --- 27.4 39.8 Coldest low -20 in January

Ft. Yamhill 43.7 38.9 38.8 41.8 Coldest low 9 in January

1857-58

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 46.1 44.0 40.6 41.4

Camp Semiahmoo 40.1 39.2 37.5 33.9

Ft. Bellingham 43.8 42.6 41.0 37.3 Coldest low -2 in February

Ft. Dalles 42.3 41.1 36.8 38.3 Coldest low 1 in February

Ft. Hoskins 44.5 42.9 40.1 42.4 Coldest low 14 in February

Ft. Simcoe 36.3 36.4 31.9 31.6 Coldest low 1 in February

Ft. Steilacoom 42.8 41.3 38.0 36.6 Coldest low 10 in February

Ft. Umpqua 50.9 48.9 46.1 47.9

Ft. Vancouver 43.2 42.2 39.4 39.0 Coldest low 14 in February

Ft. Walla Walla 39.6 38.6 34.0 33.9 Coldest low 2 in February

Ft. Yamhill 43.6 42.4 38.4 40.6 Coldest low 13 in February

1858-59

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 47.6 39.0 40.1 40.0

Block House 49.1 39.0 41.2 41.8 Coldest low 10 in December

Camp Semiahmoo 43.8 34.9 35.5 38.0

Ft. Bellingham 45.2 37.0 39.0 38.9 Coldest low 12 in December

Ft. Cascades 45.2 34.6 34.9 36.5 Coldest low 9 in December

Ft. Dalles 42.8 33.9 33.4 36.7 Coldest low -6 in December

Ft. Hoskins 47.7 37.9 39.6 40.5 Coldest low 9 in December

Ft. Simcoe 41.7 29.1 28.7 32.1 Coldest low 1 in December

Ft. Steilacoom 44.3 37.7 36.3 36.9 Coldest low 11 in December

Ft. Umpqua 50.7 44.2 44.1 44.7 Coldest low 23 in December

Ft. Vancouver 46.8 37.4 37.2 39.5 Coldest low 8 in December

Ft. Walla Walla 42.7 30.5 34.7 36.7 Coldest low -4 in December

Ft. Yamhill 43.9 35.8 37.4 38.1 Coldest low 10 in December

1859-60

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 41.9 37.4 41.5 43.6

Block House 42.4 40.3 43.2 44.6

Camp Semiahmoo 37.1 33.6 37.2 33.9 Coldest low 10 in December

Ft. Cascades 39.6 30.3 37.6 43.3 Coldest low 10 in December

Ft. Colville 22.5 16.8 23.6 31.3

Ft. Dalles 35.0 25.2 33.4 40.5 Coldest low -3 in December

Ft. Hoskins 40.5 36.1 41.1 44.2 Coldest low 8 in December

Ft. Steilacoom 37.4 35.6 37.6 42.7 Coldest low 10 in December

Ft. Umpqua 46.1 43.5 46.7 47.5 Coldest low 20 in December

Ft. Vancouver 39.6 31.3 37.7 43.3 Coldest low 10 in December

Ft. Walla Walla 34.6 22.4 31.4 39.4 Coldest low -6 in December

Ft. Yamhill 38.2 34.7 39.7 42.2 Coldest low 7 in December

1860-61

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 45.6 43.8 40.6 43.4

Block House 47.6 40.5 39.4 45.4

Ft. Cascades 45.8 39.2 37.9 44.8

Ft. Colville 36.8 28.7 20.2 30.8

Ft. Dalles 47.2 38.0 37.0 44.2

Ft. Hoskins 48.6 40.9 42.2 43.9

Ft. Steilacoom 46.5 42.4 39.6 43.4

Ft. Umpqua 51.2 46.1 45.4 48.2

Ft. Vancouver 45.8 39.6 39.9 43.1

Ft. Walla Walla 45.4 33.0 32.1 44.3

Ft. Yamhill 45.3 39.3 40.4 42.7

San Juan Island 47.7 43.0 39.2 42.0

1861-62

The coldest winter in recorded history across the Pacific Northwest with January monthly mean temperatures in excess of 15 degrees below normal. At Ft. Vancouver the temperature fell to -7 on Jan 14^th and -10 on the 15^th.

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 43.1 40.5 28.2 34.6

Block House 44.9 42.0 29.7 37.3

Ft. Colville 34.0 27.0 2.5 15.0 Coldest low -30 on Jan 17

Ft. Dalles 42.6 33.8 10.9 22.9 Coldest low -23 on Jan 17

Ft. Hoskins 46.1 40.9 26.8 35.4 Coldest low 0 on Jan 17

Ft. Steilacoom 44.5 38.9 24.1 31.9 Coldest low -8 on Jan 16, 17

Ft. Umpqua 48.7 45.8 36.0 41.0 Coldest low 16 on Jan 17

Ft. Vancouver 43.6 40.1 21.3 28.7 Coldest low -10 on Jan 17

Ft. Walla Walla 42.9 38.3 9.0 22.3 Coldest low -24 on Jan 16, 17

Ft. Yamhill 43.5 38.8 23.9 32.6

San Juan Island 42.8 39.3 29.3 36.2

1862-63

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 44.6 41.2 41.1 39.1

Ft. Colville 29.0 27.1 23.3 26.4

Ft. Dalles 38.6 35.6 37.3 36.0

Ft. Steilacoom 41.4 39.3 40.1 38.1

Ft. Hoskins 46.5 41.4 41.4 40.2

Ft. Vancouver 42.2 40.0 40.8 39.4

Ft. Walla Walla 36.8 34.9 38.1 38.9

Ft. Yamhill 42.7 39.6 40.0 38.7

San Juan Island 43.1 43.6 42.0 39.2

1863-64

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 44.8 42.9 39.6 44.6

Ft. Colville 29.9 24.5 21.2 29.9

Ft. Dalles 44.7 38.7 34.4 45.0

Ft. Hoskins 44.5 44.5 40.2 46.4

Ft. Klamath --- 27.8 23.7 28.2

Ft. Steilacoom 43.1 42.2 39.4 44.5

Ft. Vancouver 44.0 42.5 38.5 44.5

Ft. Walla Walla 43.0 39.8 36.2 44.8

Ft. Yamhill 43.2 42.1 38.1 44.2

Neah Bay 43.0 40.9 39.5 42.5

San Juan Island 44.4 42.6 40.0 43.5

1864-65

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 48.2 38.0 38.0 38.1

Ft. Canby 50.6 46.8 42.4 41.0

Ft. Dalles 42.5 32.7 29.6 33.6

Ft. Klamath 34.2 26.4 21.0 19.2

Ft. Steilacoom 44.3 36.5 37.0 36.7

Ft. Vancouver 43.8 36.0 35.4 37.5

Ft. Walla Walla 42.3 31.4 28.1 32.5

Ft. Yamhill 43.7 36.8 36.9 37.2

Neah Bay 43.4 36.8 38.0 36.7

San Juan Island --- 37.7 38.8 38.8

1865-66

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 48.1 35.0 39.0 38.7

Ft. Dalles 47.0 28.4 29.2 30.3

Ft. Klamath 35.0 20.7 23.7 28.2

Ft. Steilacoom 48.2 33.8 35.7 36.0

Ft. Stevens 49.1 36.3 39.3 39.8

Ft. Vancouver 47.8 33.3 35.1 37.0

Ft. Yamhill 47.6 33.4 37.6 37.8

Neah Bay 45.8 35.1 37.2 37.3

San Juan Island --- --- 37.9 38.6

1866-67

While not typically a winter month, March was the coldest on record in 1867.

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

Astoria 48.6 44.1 40.7 39.4 37.4

Ft. Canby 50.8 46.9 42.6 41.2 40.3

Ft. Colville 37.8 29.4 24.7 26.3 19.5

Ft. Steilacoom 47.7 43.2 40.5 39.3 36.3

Ft. Stevens 49.8 44.4 43.7 41.2 40.3

Ft. Vancouver 48.8 42.8 40.8 41.1 36.1

Ft. Walla Walla --- 35.7 35.0 39.2 33.0

Neah Bay 43.5 40.1 40.6 38.8

San Juan Island 47.3 43.5 40.3 39.5 37.9

1867-68

This winter was probably the second-coldest in recorded history based on the mean temperature of the coldest month, January 1868. On the morning of January 10, 1868 Eugene fell to -15 and at Albany -4. The next night Albany fell to -6.

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Albany --- --- 22.8 --- Coldest low -6 in January

Astoria 47.3 42.6 29.7 39.5

Camp Harney --- 33.3 11.8 19.0

Camp Three Forks --- --- 15.5 29.4

Camp Warner --- --- 16.2 30.3

Camp Watson 39.5 32.8 12.1 26.4

Ft. Canby 50.4 45.3 34.4 43.3

Ft. Colville 34.9 26.4 7.0 16.7

Ft. Steilacoom 45.7 40.9 26.8 41.4

Ft. Stevens 49.5 43.7 31.9 41.3

Ft. Townsend 39.8 29.6 40.8

Ft. Vancouver 44.8 40.7 22.4 35.4

San Juan Island 45.4 40.5 31.1 40.4

1868-69

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 45.7 44.2 41.7 41.5

Camp Harney 39.0 35.3 29.3 30.7

1869-70

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 48.0 42.3 41.2 42.4

Camp Harney 41.6 28.9 27.1 35.0

Eola --- --- 36.4 39.0

1870-71

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 47.5 36.8 43.0 40.3

Camp Harney 40.6 24.6 33.6 33.3

Eola 42.1 33.2 40.2 37.1

Portland 48.4 37.1 45.1 42.9

1871-72

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 44.5 39.1 40.1 44.3

Camp Harney 36.9 32.6 27.8 35.8

Eola 41.0 34.6 34.5 41.0

Ft. Stevens 46.1 39.4 41.6 45.5

Portland 46.0 38.4 38.0 42.3

1872-73

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 42.9 41.9 40.1 39.2

Camp Harney 27.6 29.7 30.4 24.5

Eola 37.6 38.4 39.5 35.3

Ft. Klamath --- 31.2 26.6 27.8

Ft. Stevens 42.3 42.3 44.7 39.6

Portland 42.3 42.2 44.6 40.6

1873-74

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 57.4 37.7 40.4 40.1

Camp Harney 40.4 22.9 --- ---

Eola 42.6 --- 42.7 42.7

Ft. Klamath 39.9 26.3 26.9 26.1

Ft. Stevens 46.0 38.3 40.9 40.7

Portland 47.5 36.3 42.9 43.7

1874-75

A brutally cold January across the Pacific Northwest, surpassed only by 1861-62 and 1867-68. At New Westminster, BC it fell to -5, the coldest temperature recorded in the immediate Vancouver, BC area to date.

Station Nov Dec Jan Feb

Astoria 45.2 42.1 32.2 40.1

Camp Harney 35.2 29.0 16.8 25.3

Cathlamet 42.2 32.0 38.3

Eola 45.0 41.6 30.0 39.3

Ft. Canby --- --- 29.6 41.8

Ft. Colville 27.3 28.9 5.7 21.8

Ft. Klamath 35.7 28.8 26.6 28.4

Ft. Stevens 44.7 43.5 34.2 40.7

Ft. Townsend 40.1 30.0 41.3

Portland 45.3 42.6 30.3 40.4

Neah Bay 44.0 32.7 ---

wx_statman · November 30, 2014

Great stuff. Thanks a lot for posting that, Chris.

wx_statman · November 30, 2014

Kinda makes me want to throw out most stuff before about 1900-1910...even then a lot of wrong data.

A lot of good data too though. You really have to do detective work when digging through the old records, as I'm sure you know. A lot of cross referencing with other stations.

wx_statman · November 30, 2014

Regarding the winter of 1848-49, the Columbia was frozen at Ft. Vancouver on February 27th. An incredibly late date for that to happen. At about the same time there was a snowstorm that dropped "two feet of snow on the lower Columbia." This is according to a website called "Columbia River Historical Dates" which used to exist anyway. I can't find it now. They actually provided specific newspaper/journal/diary references to their events, which is what made it interesting.

wx_statman · November 30, 2014

New Westminster, BC actually fell to -17F in January 1862. That is their coldest reading, eclipsing the -5F in January 1875. I got this bit from an 1865 publication on the climate of western North America. They had a table summarizing monthly extremes for a bunch of stations in the 1850's and 1860's...New Westminster was on there.

BLI snowman · November 30, 2014

Regarding the winter of 1848-49, the Columbia was frozen at Ft. Vancouver on February 27th. An incredibly late date for that to happen. At about the same time there was a snowstorm that dropped "two feet of snow on the lower Columbia." This is according to a website called "Columbia River Historical Dates" which used to exist anyway. I can't find it now. They actually provided specific newspaper/journal/diary references to their events, which is what made it interesting.

Yeah, I used to use that site a lot for historical anecdotes. Too bad it appears to be gone.

BLI snowman · November 30, 2014

Very nice stats, Chris. Any idea if the NCDC has had luck digitizing some of Vancouver's 1856 to 1895 data? As far as I know, there aren't any available Vancouver stats for the 1868 to 1891 period.

IbrChris · November 30, 2014

I pulled this from a doc I typed up awhile ago...still a work in progress to some degree as I'd like to take it forward in time using key stations in WA/OR, as well as consider precip but for a summary it works well. I wasn't aware of that 1862 value at New Westminster but it sounds reasonable given what we have for other areas in WA/OR that winter. And to think that may have been only a nasty late LIA winter...in all likelihood there were others as cold or maybe colder in the 17th-early 19th century.

IbrChris · November 30, 2014

Very nice stats, Chris. Any idea if the NCDC has had luck digitizing some of Vancouver's 1856 to 1895 data? As far as I know, there aren't any available Vancouver stats for the 1868 to 1891 period.

The FORTS project is ongoing re: digitizing old Signal Service/Army Fort registers from 1820-1890 roughly. Ft. Vancouver data to my knowledge is reasonably complete from 1849-1868 with a gap of about 4 years between that and the start of the Portland weather bureau record.

IbrChris · November 30, 2014

New Westminster, BC actually fell to -17F in January 1862. That is their coldest reading, eclipsing the -5F in January 1875. I got this bit from an 1865 publication on the climate of western North America. They had a table summarizing monthly extremes for a bunch of stations in the 1850's and 1860's...New Westminster was on there.

I wouldn't mind locating that publication if you know the title.

IbrChris · November 30, 2014

"Table of Meteorological Observations taken by order of Col. li. 0. Moody, 11.E., at the station nf the Royal Engineers at New Westminster, B.C, in the year 1862."

Latitude 49° 12' 47" 5 N. Longitude 122° 53' 19 W.

Some notable items include:

Highest shade temp: 88.5 on Aug 29th
Lowest shade temp: -2.0 on Jan 15th (9:30 am)
Lowest shade temp: 6.0 on Jan 15th (3:30 pm)
Lowest shade temp: -15.0 on Jan 16th "on the grass" ie at ground level
Mean 9:30 am temp: 19.0
Mean 3:30 pm temp: 23.0

I assume the other temps were taken near mid-body or head height versus ground level.

"Ice appeared on the 1st January, 1862, and the river at New Westminster was unnavigable on the 4th; it was completely frozen over on the 9th, and the ice attained a thickness of 13 inches in the channel opposite the R. E. Camp, on the 12th of February. Sleighs were running from Langley to several miles below New Westminster, and persons walked from Hope to the latter place, a distance of 80 miles, on the ice, at the end of January. Lake Harrison and the other Lakes were frozen. Navigation from New Westminster was open to the mouth of the river on the 11th of March, and from Yale on the 12th April. Again on the 5th of December, there was ice in the river at New Westminster for one day. In January, 1861, there was ice at New Westminster, but the navigation to the mouth of the river was not impeded. In 1860 there was no ice."

The observations were taken by 2nd Corporal P. J. Leech and Lance Corporal J. Conroy, R.E.

(Signed) R. M. Parsons, Captain, R.E.

At Lillooet we have the following for Jan 1862:

Average temp for 14 days in Jan 1862: 14.0 F
For other 9 days average temp was -9 F!!
Approx mean temp was 7.3 F for the month as a whole

Warmest day: 26F
Coldest night: -22F (this suggests New Westminster was milder than -17F)

Snowfall: 28"

Hottest day in 1862: 106 on July 5th

wx_statman · November 30, 2014

"Table of Meteorological Observations taken by order of Col. li. 0. Moody, 11.E., at the station nf the Royal Engineers at New Westminster, B.C, in the year 1862."
Latitude 49° 12' 47" 5 N. Longitude 122° 53' 19 W.

Some notable items include:

Highest shade temp: 88.5 on Aug 29th
Lowest shade temp: -2.0 on Jan 15th (9:30 am)
Lowest shade temp: 6.0 on Jan 15th (3:30 pm)
Lowest shade temp: -15.0 on Jan 16th "on the grass" ie at ground level
Mean 9:30 am temp: 19.0
Mean 3:30 pm temp: 23.0

I assume the other temps were taken near mid-body or head height versus ground level.

"Ice appeared on the 1st January, 1862, and the river at New Westminster was unnavigable on the 4th; it was completely frozen over on the 9th, and the ice attained a thickness of 13 inches in the channel opposite the R. E. Camp, on the 12th of February. Sleighs were running from Langley to several miles below New Westminster, and persons walked from Hope to the latter place, a distance of 80 miles, on the ice, at the end of January. Lake Harrison and the other Lakes were frozen. Navigation from New Westminster was open to the mouth of the river on the 11th of March, and from Yale on the 12th April. Again on the 5th of December, there was ice in the river at New Westminster for one day. In January, 1861, there was ice at New Westminster, but the navigation to the mouth of the river was not impeded. In 1860 there was no ice."

The observations were taken by 2nd Corporal P. J. Leech and Lance Corporal J. Conroy, R.E.
(Signed) R. M. Parsons, Captain, R.E.

At Lillooet we have the following for Jan 1862:

Average temp for 14 days in Jan 1862: 14.0 F
For other 9 days average temp was -9 F!!
Approx mean temp was 7.3 F for the month as a whole

Warmest day: 26F
Coldest night: -22F (this suggests New Westminster was milder than -17F)
Snowfall: 28"

Hottest day in 1862: 106 on July 5th

I couldn't find that publication anywhere online. I dug around for a while too, because I'm curious myself at this point. I'm pretty sure it was on Google Books at some point and maybe it still is. I don't know.

I do remember the -17F, and I remember talking about it on Western a few days after I found it. Having said that, it might have been a typo in the publication. Maybe they meant to type -15F, because that's the reading that appears to have been measured. Regardless, it appears to be an "on the grass" reading which would make it meaningless for climo purposes. That's really too bad. I don't know why they bothered with ground level readings, much less why they published them. No official standards back then so maybe that's why. Makes me wonder how many other cold readings from the old days aren't "real" in that sense.

This is another publication that I found which references the -15F "on the grass" reading on January 16, 1862:

http://books.google.com/books?id=JOoRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA182&lpg=PA182&dq=january+1862+new+westminster&source=bl&ots=Lj4WMCvNRR&sig=5xaJoIo5vjr38AtqiofCEZa8tQM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VVt7VK77K8_hoAS0_YGwAQ&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=january%201862%20new%20westminster&f=false

wx_statman · November 30, 2014

Yeah, I used to use that site a lot for historical anecdotes. Too bad it appears to be gone.

Yeah whoever uploaded that information did so back in the 1990's, and never touched it again. I'm guessing at some point they got tired of paying the hosting fees.

IbrChris · December 1, 2014

I couldn't find that publication anywhere online. I dug around for a while too, because I'm curious myself at this point. I'm pretty sure it was on Google Books at some point and maybe it still is. I don't know.

I do remember the -17F, and I remember talking about it on Western a few days after I found it. Having said that, it might have been a typo in the publication. Maybe they meant to type -15F, because that's the reading that appears to have been measured. Regardless, it appears to be an "on the grass" reading which would make it meaningless for climo purposes. That's really too bad. I don't know why they bothered with ground level readings, much less why they published them. No official standards back then so maybe that's why. Makes me wonder how many other cold readings from the old days aren't "real" in that sense.

This is another publication that I found which references the -15F "on the grass" reading on January 16, 1862:

http://books.google.com/books?id=JOoRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA182&lpg=PA182&dq=january+1862+new+westminster&source=bl&ots=Lj4WMCvNRR&sig=5xaJoIo5vjr38AtqiofCEZa8tQM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VVt7VK77K8_hoAS0_YGwAQ&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=january%201862%20new%20westminster&f=false

I actually find the -2 pretty reasonable at New Westminster. In Fraser events often it's the area south of Vancouver closer to Surrey/White Rock to Bellingham that are actually coldest as the LLJ coming out of the Fraser Gap is aimed more SW'ly versus due W or NW. Looking at a topo map of the area you can note that the Fraser makes a decent turn to come out at Vancouver. Even though New Westminster was -2 I wouldn't be surprised if parts of modern day Whatcom County fell to -10 or even a bit lower in the Jan 1862 event. Assuming the -10 reading at Ft. Vancouver is legit it seems the Gorge could account for colder temps vs further N. Even so, Steilacoom fell to -8 in western WA and credible reports from Denny of a -2 in Seattle during Jan 1862.

From this I'd posit that areas near the Puget Sound were anywhere from about zero to -10 while wind-sheltered areas away from the water (Oly, Shelton, McChord) could have dipped to -15 to -20 for a low Jan 16-17. Down in the Willamette Valley/Portland area we see temps of -5 to -10 likely around Portland with zero to -10 down as far as Albany/Corvallis. East side readings were commonly from -20 to -25 in the lower Columbia Basin and -30 to -40 in north-central and NE Washington. Just a hunch but areas like Mazama/Winthrop would have had a legit shot at -50s in this regime, probably 5 degrees or so colder than the state record set in Dec 1968.

Given what we know from highs at New Westminster and Ft. Vancouver in Jan 1862 it appears the coldest day had highs in the single digits from about Bellingham to Vancouver (6 at New Westminster for a mid-afternoon temp, likely close to high). Down in Ft. Vancouver we see a high of 13 on Jan 17th and NE winds noted (speed absent) with 22" of snow on the ground (snowfall for the month was 45.3" melted to 3.47" liquid). Highs from Seattle southward were likely in the teens, probably 15-20 in parts of SW Washington and low 20s on the immediate coast with temps again in the mid-upper teens in the northern Willamette Valley and 20s on the OR coast possibly as far south as Newport. Hyper-active storm track into CA suggests limited southward penetration of true arctic air in Jan 1862 so areas like Brookings etc were probably colder in Dec 1990 event than Jan 1862.

Fun to speculate!

I should add that Ft. Walla Walla was -10/-24 for the coldest day in Jan 1862.

Portland's coldest high remains the otherworldly 9 degrees in Jan 1888, which was the only instance besides Jan-Feb 1950 with a low below zero at Portland (-2).

wx_statman · December 1, 2014

I actually find the -2 pretty reasonable at New Westminster. In Fraser events often it's the area south of Vancouver closer to Surrey/White Rock to Bellingham that are actually coldest as the LLJ coming out of the Fraser Gap is aimed more SW'ly versus due W or NW. Looking at a topo map of the area you can note that the Fraser makes a decent turn to come out at Vancouver. Even though New Westminster was -2 I wouldn't be surprised if parts of modern day Whatcom County fell to -10 or even a bit lower in the Jan 1862 event. Assuming the -10 reading at Ft. Vancouver is legit it seems the Gorge could account for colder temps vs further N. Even so, Steilacoom fell to -8 in western WA and credible reports from Denny of a -2 in Seattle during Jan 1862.

From this I'd posit that areas near the Puget Sound were anywhere from about zero to -10 while wind-sheltered areas away from the water (Oly, Shelton, McChord) could have dipped to -15 to -20 for a low Jan 16-17. Down in the Willamette Valley/Portland area we see temps of -5 to -10 likely around Portland with zero to -10 down as far as Albany/Corvallis. East side readings were commonly from -20 to -25 in the lower Columbia Basin and -30 to -40 in north-central and NE Washington. Just a hunch but areas like Mazama/Winthrop would have had a legit shot at -50s in this regime, probably 5 degrees or so colder than the state record set in Dec 1968.

Given what we know from highs at New Westminster and Ft. Vancouver in Jan 1862 it appears the coldest day had highs in the single digits from about Bellingham to Vancouver (6 at New Westminster for a mid-afternoon temp, likely close to high). Down in Ft. Vancouver we see a high of 13 on Jan 17th and NE winds noted (speed absent) with 22" of snow on the ground (snowfall for the month was 45.3" melted to 3.47" liquid). Highs from Seattle southward were likely in the teens, probably 15-20 in parts of SW Washington and low 20s on the immediate coast with temps again in the mid-upper teens in the northern Willamette Valley and 20s on the OR coast possibly as far south as Newport. Hyper-active storm track into CA suggests limited southward penetration of true arctic air in Jan 1862 so areas like Brookings etc were probably colder in Dec 1990 event than Jan 1862.

Fun to speculate!

I should add that Ft. Walla Walla was -10/-24 for the coldest day in Jan 1862.

Portland's coldest high remains the otherworldly 9 degrees in Jan 1888, which was the only instance besides Jan-Feb 1950 with a low below zero at Portland (-2).

I actually think that January 1875 may have produced colder temperatures in the northern interior of WA, including favorable cold spots like Chesaw, Republic, or locations in the Methow. The advection of Arctic air into the PNW was off the charts in that event. Fort Colville had four consecutive lows at -30 or lower, something that has never happened there in the official era. They bottomed out at -33 which is also where they landed in December 1968. That tells me the potential was there for readings well below -40 in the colder valleys and maybe pushing -50. That area was not as cold in January 1862 as the coldest anomalies seemed to be concentrated in the lower Columbia Basin.

January 1875 also produced the strongest CAA on record into both the central Willamette Valley (as evidenced by Eola) and into the southern WA coastline (as evidenced by Fort Canby). Eola had a 2pm reading of 7F at the height of the event, and Fort Canby had a 2pm reading of 8F...on the coast. Downtown Portland pulled off a 12/3 day with that, which would have been the coldest day in Portland's history if not for January 1888.

IbrChris · December 1, 2014

Just how does Jan 1862 compare to modern records? Let's do some comparisons:

New Westminster, BC (analog to Vancouver, BC)
Jan 1862 mean temp: 21 deg F (likely a bit high since it's mean of 9 am and 3 pm temps)
Jan 1862 lowest temp: -2 on 1/15/1862 (9 am temp...low could have been closer to -10).
Modern era coldest temp: 0 on 1/14/1950 at Vancouver, also -5 on 1/17/1875 and 1/18/1875 at New Westminster
Present airport location (CYVR) a poor location for historical comparison due to being right on water, likely a +5 F bias in arctic events esp calm nights.

Lillooet, BC
Jan 1862 mean temp: 7.3
Jan 1862 lowest temp: -22
Modern era lowest temp: -26 in Nov 1985 at Lillooet airport.

Ft. Steilacoom, WA (rough analog to McChord/Olympia)
Jan 1862 mean temp: 24.1
Jan 1862 lowest temp: -8 on 1/16/1862 and 1/17/1862
Modern era lowest temp: -8 at Olympia on 1/1/1979
This is most remarkable because the lowest a near-shore station has gotten in Tacoma area in modern era was 5 degrees in Nov 1955.

Ft. Vancouver, WA (analog to Portland/Vancouver)
Jan 1862 mean temp: 21.3 (mean of 7 am, 2 pm and 9pm temps...probably within a degree or so of reality)
Jan 1862 lowest temp: -10 on 1/17/1862 (7 am temp)
Honorable mention: -7 on 1/16/1862 (7 am temp)
Modern era lowest temp: -3 at Portland on 2/2/1950
Modern era coldest month: 27.0 at Portland (apt) in Jan 1950

Astoria, OR
Jan 1862 mean temp: 28.2
Jan 1862 lowest temp: ??
Modern era lowest temp: 10 on 1/16/1888
Modern era coldest month: 31.0 in Jan 1949

Fort Yamhill, OR
located near Grande Ronde, west of Willamina
Jan 1862 mean temp: 23.9
Jan 1862 lowest temp: ??
Modern era lowest temp: -11 at Dallas, OR on 1/31/1950 (closest station)
Modern era coldest month: 28.9 in Jan 1949 and Jan 1950 at Dallas

Ft. Hoskins, OR (no good modern analog...19 mi NW of Corvallis in Kings Valley)
Note: It's located east of the Coast Range divide so Corvallis may not be a bad comparison
Jan 1862 mean temp: 26.8
Jan 1862 lowest temp: 0 on 1/17/1862
Modern era lowest temp: 2 at Corvallis Water Bureau on 2/4/1989 and 12/8/1972 (closest station)
-14 at Corvallis State Univ on 12/12/1919
Modern era coldest month: 31.2 in Dec 2009 at Corvallis Water Bureau
29.4 in Jan 1930 at Corvallis State Univ

Ft. Umpqua, OR (modern-day Elkton, OR)
located SW of Eugene in Douglas County
Jan 1862 mean temp: 36.0
Jan 1862 lowest temp: 16 on 1/17/1862
Modern era lowest temp: 0 on 12/8/1972 (same night Eugene hit -10 and Salem -12)

Modern era coldest month: 32.0 in Jan 1937

Ft. Dalles (analog to The Dalles, OR)
Jan 1862 mean temp: 10.9
Jan 1862 lowest temp: -23 on 1/17/1862
Modern era lowest temp: -30 on 12/13/1919 (same event McMinnville hit -24)
Honorable mentions: -26 on 12/12/1919 and -25 on 1/21/1930 and 2/3/1950
Modern era coldest month: 18.5 in Jan 1979 at The Dalles (apt), 18.7 in Jan 1937 at The Dalles (city)

Ft. Walla Walla, WA (analog to Walla Walla)
Jan 1862 mean temp: 9.0
Jan 1862 lowest temp: -24
Modern era lowest temp: -24 on 12/30/1968 however Ft. Walla Walla had -29 on 1/8/1875
Modern era coldest month: 16.5 in Jan 1950 (airport), 15.1 in Jan 1979 at Whitman Mission

Ft. Colville (analog to Colville, WA, fort was 3 miles N of modern town)
Jan 1862 mean temp: 2.5
Jan 1862 lowest temp: -30 on 1/17/1862
Modern era lowest temp: -33 on 12/30/1968
Honorable mention: -29 on 1/11/1909 and 2/9/1933
Modern era coldest month: 5.6 in Jan 1937

IbrChris · December 1, 2014

I actually think that January 1875 may have produced colder temperatures in the northern interior of WA, including favorable cold spots like Chesaw, Republic, or locations in the Methow. The advection of Arctic air into the PNW was off the charts in that event. Fort Colville had four consecutive lows at -30 or lower, something that has never happened there in the official era. They bottomed out at -33 which is also where they landed in December 1968. Impressive, I see that now, thx. That tells me the potential was there for readings well below -40 in the colder valleys and maybe pushing -50. That area was not as cold in January 1862 as the coldest anomalies seemed to be concentrated in the lower Columbia Basin.

January 1875 also produced the strongest CAA on record into both the central Willamette Valley (as evidenced by Eola) and into the southern WA coastline (as evidenced by Fort Canby). Eola had a 2pm reading of 7F at the height of the event, and Fort Canby had a 2pm reading of 8F...on the coast. Downtown Portland pulled off a 12/3 day with that, which would have been the coldest day in Portland's history if not for January 1888.

Ya Jan 1875 event was spectacular...probably 2nd only to Jan 1862 and perhaps Jan 1868...it appears to have been quite a bit shorter duration thus not affecting the monthly mean as much. As we saw previously New Westminster fell to -5 that month.

Remarkable that Canby saw afternoon temp of 8 degrees when modern record LOW for Astoria (well, sorta modern) is 10 on 1/15/1888 (Portland hit -2).

IbrChris · December 1, 2014

Some quick Jan 1862 vs Jan 1875 comparisons:

Vancouver/New Westminster, BC
Coldest temp in 1862 was -2, coldest in 1875 was -5

Portland/Vancouver

Coldest temp in 1862 was -10, coldest in 1875 was 3.
mean temp 21.3 in Jan 1862 vs 30.3 in Jan 1875

Astoria
mean temp 28.2 in Jan 1862 vs 32.2 in Jan 1875

Ft. Colville
Coldest temp was -30 in 1862 vs -33 in Jan 1875 (haven't seen Jan 1875 documentation for Ft. Colville myself but I take WxStatman's word for it.)
mean temp 2.5 in Jan 1862 vs 5.7 in Jan 1875

Ft. Walla Walla

Coldest temp -24 in 1862 vs -29 in 1875

Actually appears Jan 1868 probably was a tad colder in Willamette Valley than Jan 1875. Eugene fell to -15 on 1/10/1868 and Albany -6 following night.
Mean temp Jan 1868: 29.7 at Astoria, 22.4 at Ft. Vancouver, 26.8 at Ft. Steilacoom, 7.0 at Ft. Colville

In terms of region-wide effects I'd rate them 1) Jan 1862, 2) Jan 1868 and 3) Jan 1875...although I agree Jan 1875 could have been on par with Jan 1862 for extreme northern portion of WA and southern BC, there's just not enough data to make a true call there. For instance Ft. Colville was 3 degrees warmer for a mean temp in 1/1875 versus 1/1862.

IbrChris · December 1, 2014

Of course another very remarkable month was March 1867, which would have been considered a cold January in and of itself...mean at Ft. Vancouver was 36.1! Astoria 37.4. Ft. Colville had a mean temp of 19.5 which is only slightly warmer than the coldest January in the modern era at The Dalles (to put it into perspective).

I've seen daily data for March 1867 at Albany, OR which notes a very late low of 15 on Mar 14th preceded by a 16 and followed by a 19. This is quite a bit colder than the March 1906 event which managed 21 at Eugene on March 16th and 17th (Corvallis 22 on the 17th). March 1906 had the latest arctic wave of this magnitude since 1867 in Oregon.

wx_statman · December 2, 2014

Ya Jan 1875 event was spectacular...probably 2nd only to Jan 1862 and perhaps Jan 1868...it appears to have been quite a bit shorter duration thus not affecting the monthly mean as much. As we saw previously New Westminster fell to -5 that month.

Remarkable that Canby saw afternoon temp of 8 degrees when modern record LOW for Astoria (well, sorta modern) is 10 on 1/15/1888 (Portland hit -2).

January 1875 was still a very cold month, just not quite as spectacular as 1862 or 1868. Those two months have never been equaled in the official era. Downtown Portland averaged 30.3 in January 1875. I linked to New Westminster daily data for that month below - note that every low was below freezing!

http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climateData/dailydata_e.html?timeframe=2&Prov=BC&StationID=812&mlyRange=1874-01-01%7C1966-12-01&Year=1875&Month=1&Day=1

wx_statman · December 2, 2014

Of course another very remarkable month was March 1867, which would have been considered a cold January in and of itself...mean at Ft. Vancouver was 36.1! Astoria 37.4. Ft. Colville had a mean temp of 19.5 which is only slightly warmer than the coldest January in the modern era at The Dalles (to put it into perspective).

I've seen daily data for March 1867 at Albany, OR which notes a very late low of 15 on Mar 14th preceded by a 16 and followed by a 19. This is quite a bit colder than the March 1906 event which managed 21 at Eugene on March 16th and 17th (Corvallis 22 on the 17th). March 1906 had the latest arctic wave of this magnitude since 1867 in Oregon.

Almost. There was also March 1870 which had similar timing and even colder temperatures west of the Cascades. Eola posted back to back days where the 2PM temp was 28 degrees on 3/13 and 3/14. That's colder than either 1867 or 1906. Jim (Snow_Wizard) has some numbers from the Puget Sound for that event. I remember him posting that Camp San Juan pulled off something like 22/10, and that's surrounded by water.

Having said that, March 1867 was unmatched for overall monthly negative anomalies. We've never seen another March average in the upper 30's in the Willamette Valley. The cold wave when Albany hit 15 was incredible. I remember looking at Fort Colville daily data and they hit something like -20. This would have been right around the 13th-14th.

wx_statman · December 3, 2014

This is the fort/signal service data thread from Western -

http://theweatherforums.com/archive/index.php?/topic/29191-i-have-acquired-some-fortsignal-service-data/

Lots of old time stats in there!

wx_statman · December 3, 2014

I found a couple posts I made a few years ago on Western, regarding the cold waves in 1847 and 1854. I figure this is a good place to re-post them.

*************************************************************************************************************

January 1854 was one of the best Arctic outbreaks since pioneer settlement. I've talked about it before on this forum and thrown around some stats about that month. This was one of the few events in history where the temp was supposedly below zero in downtown Portland. This was also known as the "Great California Freeze" until January 1913 came about and took the crown, and overall was a famous California winter that shocked the new settlers who had no idea how cold it could get there. The previous mega cold wave down there had occurred in January 1847 (also an exceptionally severe cold wave here), just before the gold rush and when the territory was still officially part of Mexico, and during the Mexican American war to boot. So there weren't really any settlers there yet to have a collective memory of that event. January 1854 also completely devastated the young citrus industry there which was just getting off the ground. Supposedly credible observers reported 15 to 17 degree temperatures in Sacramento, and San Francisco had its coldest day ever at 35/25 - they've never seen a colder day since, not in the official era where the all-time records are 35/27 since the 1870's. This was one of only two occurrences - along with January 1888 - that ice floes were observed floating down the Sacramento River and exiting into San Francisco Bay.

BTW wanted to add - the snow depth in Portland was reported as 14" per the Oregonian. It also prompted a humorous editorial in the January 28, 1854 edition:

The Weather - It is a matter of great regret that we cannot say anything flattering of the weather in this part of Oregon the present winter. The weather has become exceedingly capricious and independent, of late; so much so that no further dependence can be placed upon it. We would advise all hereafter to look out for regular New Hampshire winters in Oregon. If the past is any criterion for the future, nothing else may be expected.

***********************************************************************************************************

What I do know of January 1847 paints an epic picture, along the same lines of 1854, 1862, or 1868. This was reported as a harsh winter with much suffering both in Oregon City and surrounding Willamette Valley settlements, and in Whitman Mission and surrounding areas in the Columbia Basin. Diary accounts at Whitman Mission painted an especially bleak picture, I actually visited the historic site a few years ago and read the copies of diaries on display there, which talked in part about the hard winter of 1846-47. Back on this side of the mountains, the Columbia and Willamette Rivers were reported to have frozen over for two weeks. I've also read diary accounts from two white settlers who spent that winter with the Spokane Indians around present day Spokane, I think one of them was a missionary and the other a doctor. They wrote of the immense suffering of that winter as well - it was the most severe winter that the "oldest Indian elders" could remember. Snow "lay 4 to 5 feet on the level and covered fences whole." They reported temps "probably around -35" on the coldest mornings of January 18th and 19th (ironically this cold wave appears to have peaked on the same dates as 1854, 1862, and 1875!). The Spokane Indians lost so many horses during the winter that they made a spring journey south to trade for more horses with the Nez Perce, according to the white diary authors.

There are also reports from present day San Francisco - at that time home to Mexican presidios as well as US military personnel involved in the Mexican American War - of very cold weather and frozen ponds, enough to allow ice skating. So this speaks of a similar Arctic blast to 1854 or 1888, or more recently 1972 or 1990 down there. What's interesting is that there was another big late cold wave in the 2nd week of March, around March 10th - snow and ice pellets were reported in San Francisco with a high "around 40." Also a US Naval hospital ship anchored in Monterey Bay reported snow from that event on the ship decks, as well as in town in Monterey itself, as noted by a naval surgeon on board who kept a diary of the weather. This is in the 2nd week of March! Interestingly this cold wave was also recorded at Fort Snelling, MN, present day Minneapolis, which observed a "ten day cold snap" and a low of -12F on March 11th.

snow_wizard · December 3, 2014

Almost. There was also March 1870 which had similar timing and even colder temperatures west of the Cascades. Eola posted back to back days where the 2PM temp was 28 degrees on 3/13 and 3/14. That's colder than either 1867 or 1906. Jim (Snow_Wizard) has some numbers from the Puget Sound for that event. I remember him posting that Camp San Juan pulled off something like 22/10, and that's surrounded by water.

Having said that, March 1867 was unmatched for overall monthly negative anomalies. We've never seen another March average in the upper 30's in the Willamette Valley. The cold wave when Albany hit 15 was incredible. I remember looking at Fort Colville daily data and they hit something like -20. This would have been right around the 13th-14th.

Amazingly there are actually records for Seattle from March 1870. I will post that and the stuff from the San Juans shortly.

wx_statman · December 7, 2014

Amazingly there are actually records for Seattle from March 1870. I will post that and the stuff from the San Juans shortly.

You have the floor, Jim.

Jesse · December 10, 2014

Since folks may be interested in WA stats here they are:

Extreme Max Temp

Jan: 74 at Darrington on 31/1940
Feb: 83 at Centerville on 27/1895
Mar: 87 at Mottinger on 10/1914
Apr: 103 at Wahluke on 28/1934
May: 107 at Dallesport on 30/1986
Jun: 112 at John Day Dam on 18/1961
Jul: 118 at Wahluke on 24/1928
Aug: 118 at Ice Harbor Dam on 5/1961
Sep: 108 at Glenoma on 3/1988
Oct: 99 at Glenoma on 2/1987
Nov: 83 at Kosmos on 3/1949
Dec: 74 at Sedro Woolley on 5/1939

Interesting that the wintertime records are up in NW Washington.

I wonder how that location did in today's extreme pattern?

Scott · September 12, 2016

Interesting. I have the following records for Oregon, by month

Record Lo Min:

Jan: -52 at Austin on 8/1937
Feb: -54 at Seneca and Ukiah on 9/1933
Mar: -30 at Fremont on 1/1922
Apr: -23 at Meacham on 1/1936
May: 0 at Juniper Lake on 2/1968
Jun: 11 at Crater Lake NP on 12/1952
Jul: 14 at Fremont on 2/1955
Aug: 13 at Seneca on 28/1937
Sep: 1 at Seneca on 1/1931
Oct: -11 at Seneca and Fort Rock on 31/2002
Nov: -32 at Ukiah on 23/1985
Dec: -53 at Riverside on 25/1924

Rec Lo Max: -21 at Austin on Jan 19, 1937
Rec Hi Min: 85 at Arlington on Jul 13, 2002

Personally, I don't think that the 0F at Juniper Lake on May 2 1968 is legit. The high at Juniper Lake that day supposedly was 81F. If that is legit, it must be either the or one of the greatest diurnal temperature changes ever to occur in the country, or at least the greatest that I am aware of.

Looking at the WRCC data though, it appears that the reading may not be legit. The WRCC data gives a record low of 25F for May 2, recorded in 1967.

If the 0F is legit, then the May record low is colder than the record low for November. It would also make it the coldest temperature at that location recorded anytime between March 1 and December 11. None of the other nearby weather stations have gotten even close to that cold in May either (actually none of the nearby stations have even gotten that cold in April, or even that close to 0F in April). Those stats paired with the reported high of 81F that day, would mean that it would have to be one of the most freak instances of a 0F ever recorded.

wx_statman · September 13, 2016

Personally, I don't think that the 0F at Juniper Lake on May 2 1968 is legit. The high at Juniper Lake that day supposedly was 81F. If that is legit, it must be either the or one of the greatest diurnal temperature changes ever to occur in the country, or at least the greatest that I am aware of.

Looking at the WRCC data though, it appears that the reading may not be legit. The WRCC data gives a record low of 25F for May 2, recorded in 1967.

If the 0F is legit, then the May record low is colder than the record low for November. It would also make it the coldest temperature at that location recorded anytime between March 1 and December 11. None of the other nearby weather stations have gotten even close to that cold in May either (actually none of the nearby stations have even gotten that cold in April, or even that close to 0F in April). Those stats paired with the reported high of 81F that day, would mean that it would have to be one of the most freak instances of a 0F ever recorded.

I remember researching the Juniper Lake reading a few years ago. I determined its not legit based on a lack of corroborating readings and the station's history. The real state record low for May is probably the 4F at Fremont on May 1, 1954.

Scott · September 13, 2016

I remember researching the Juniper Lake reading a few years ago. I determined its not legit based on a lack of corroborating readings and the station's history. The real state record low for May is probably the 4F at Fremont on May 1, 1954.

Fremont may also have the record low for June as well. Supposedly it was 10F on June 3 1931. I'm not sure why that one didn't make it into the state records, but Fremont's low records for March, (now) May, and July did.

Some RAWS records for Oregon

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