Weather Pictures

[luminen]

Yeah that was a good day. It felt just like Alaska or anywhere cold/dry.

 

Here's one more pic and it's from January 2016 in Vancouver. Pretty much the only snow we got last winter and it melted pretty quickly. 

[wx_statman]

Nothing better than a sunny, snow covered day.

 

Been a long time around these parts.

 

December 15-16, 2008 was the last I've seen, back when I lived in Oregon City. We got 3.3" on the 14th heading into the initial Arctic blast that month.

[Deweydog]

December 15-16, 2008 was the last I've seen, back when I lived in Oregon City. We got 3.3" on the 14th heading into the initial Arctic blast that month.

Just a dusting with that one here. Got to go back to December 1998.

[wx_statman]

Just a dusting with that one here. Got to go back to December 1998.

 

That 12/21 clipper only brought a dusting to OC. I think for the south Metro you'd have to go back to 2/14/1995 for the previous example.

[snow_wizard]

December 15-16, 2008 was the last I've seen, back when I lived in Oregon City. We got 3.3" on the 14th heading into the initial Arctic blast that month.

 

Up here we've had a few times this century.

 

1. Jan 2007

2. Dec 2008

3. Nov 2010

 

All had at least 4 inches on the ground when cold / clear weather set in.  Only Jan 2007 had multiple days, however.

[TT-SEA]

Up here we've had a few times this century.

 

1. Jan 2007

2. Dec 2008

3. Nov 2010

 

All had at least 4 inches on the ground when cold / clear weather set in.  Only Jan 2007 had multiple days, however.

 

 

And just over the hill from your house and a little higher... there have been way too many sunny days with snow on the ground to count.  

 

This was January 2nd of this year...

 

[Deweydog]

That 12/21 clipper only brought a dusting to OC. I think for the south Metro you'd have to go back to 2/14/1995 for the previous example.

 

It's a tough egg to crack around here going into a cold snap.  Hopefully those living in Eugene understand how special December 2013 was.  

 

Ironically, the coast has done far better than the Portland Metro over my lifespan.  We had December January 1982, December 1983 (only about an inch or so), November 1985, February 1989, February 1990, December 1990 and January 1993 while I was living down there.  Even since then they had February 1995, December 1998, January 2007 and December 2013.  

[BLI snowman]

That 12/21 clipper only brought a dusting to OC. I think for the south Metro you'd have to go back to 2/14/1995 for the previous example.

January-February 1996 had a nice run of them. Maybe had melted down there by the time the cold stuff got there though.

[Deweydog]

January-February 1996 had a nice run of them. Maybe had melted down there by the time the cold stuff got there though.

 

I remember there being a pretty stark line of accumulations around Clackamas.  Seems like we still had 2-3 inches on the ground up here when we went into the deep freeze.  

[Front Ranger]

January-February 1996 had a nice run of them. Maybe had melted down there by the time the cold stuff got there though.

 

Yeah, in Tacoma we had 6" that fell on Super Bowl Sunday in Jan 1996, and it turned clear/cold for a few days after that.

 

Also, there was one mostly clear day after the initial snow/ice storm in Dec 1996.

[Front Ranger]

Up here we've had a few times this century.

 

1. Jan 2007

2. Dec 2008

3. Nov 2010

 

All had at least 4 inches on the ground when cold / clear weather set in.  Only Jan 2007 had multiple days, however.

 

Jan 2004 had one clear, cold day with snow on the ground. I believe it was the 4th. About 3" where I lived.

[Deweydog]

Yeah, in Tacoma we had 6" that fell on Super Bowl Sunday in Jan 1996, and it turned clear/cold for a few days after that.

 

Also, there was one mostly clear day after the initial snow/ice storm in Dec 1996.

 

[BLI snowman]

It's a tough egg to crack around here going into a cold snap. Hopefully those living in Eugene understand how special December 2013 was.

 

Ironically, the coast has done far better than the Portland Metro over my lifespan. We had December January 1982, December 1983 (only about an inch or so), November 1985, February 1989, February 1990, December 1990 and January 1993 while I was living down there. Even since then they had February 1995, December 1998, January 2007 and December 2013.

Lots of Western Clark County had 1-2" in December 2013that stayed on the ground. We had 2-3" in Brush Prairie in January 2007 but it melted a lot on the 11th.

[Deweydog]

Lots of Western Clark County had 1-2" in December 2013that stayed on the ground. We had 2-3" in Brush Prairie in January 2007 but it melted a lot on the 11th.

Yeah, 2007 almost qualified but there was that one day delay before things got decently chilly. By the afternoon of the 11th it was just shady patch stuff.

 

And 2013 was a really localized band which ran right along Salmon Creek, then a noticable dusting in Cascade Park. We can do better if we put our minds to it.

[wx_statman]

Up here we've had a few times this century.

 

1. Jan 2007

2. Dec 2008

3. Nov 2010

 

All had at least 4 inches on the ground when cold / clear weather set in.  Only Jan 2007 had multiple days, however.

 

The south Metro here in Portland really missed out on the initial snowfall heading into the January '07 airmass. We just had some snow/graupel showers and that's it. Vancouver got 1-2 inches and the north coast really got slammed. Manzanita had something like 8" on the 11th as the shortwave rode south along the coast, followed by several nights of lows in the 10's. Pretty special event out there. We got ours on the 16th with 3-4" across the metro, including Oregon City. But by that point we were getting ready to transition out. 

[BLI snowman]

Yeah, 2007 almost qualified but there was that one day delay before things got decently chilly. By the afternoon of the 11th it was just shady patch stuff.

 

And 2013 was a really localized band which ran right along Salmon Creek, then a noticable dusting in Cascade Park. We can do better if we put our minds to it.

To be fair, most of those older events had some sunny snow cover in Clark County. 1978-79, January 1982, February and November 1985, February 1989, and February and December 1990. Usually between 1-2" though. We haven't cleared out in a deep airmass immediately after a really huge (6"+) storm since probably December 12, 1972 when Vancouver dropped to -1. Definitely due.

[wx_statman]

It's a tough egg to crack around here going into a cold snap.  Hopefully those living in Eugene understand how special December 2013 was.  

 

Ironically, the coast has done far better than the Portland Metro over my lifespan.  We had December January 1982, December 1983 (only about an inch or so), November 1985, February 1989, February 1990, December 1990 and January 1993 while I was living down there.  Even since then they had February 1995, December 1998, January 2007 and December 2013.  

 

Yeah the coast definitely seems to do better on the front end of Arctic airmasses. Cold air flowing over relatively mild water fuels instability out there. 

[wx_statman]

January-February 1996 had a nice run of them. Maybe had melted down there by the time the cold stuff got there though.

 

Bingo. We had a nice snowstorm on the 27th (3-4"), but it almost completely melted in the following 48 hours. By the time the Arctic front arrived on the 29th it was bare ground. The snow showers associated with the frontal passage itself didn't accumulate. 

 

Do you remember the forecasts for the major snowstorm that was supposed to happen that Tuesday (1/30)? That was the thinking on the evening forecasts on Saturday the 27th. Calls for 5-8" of snow and highs in the lower 20's as the Arctic front moved in and interacted with moisture coming in from the SW. Followed by sunny weather the rest of the week with highs in the 20's and lows in the 0's/10's. That thinking only lasted about 12 hours and by Sunday morning nobody was calling for a Tuesday snowstorm anymore. I got my heart ripped out with that one. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

The best one I can remember as a kid was December 1990. Down in Silverton we had 4" heading into the cold stuff. February 1995 was another good example. The next time we had a few days of cold air with snow was December 14-16th, 2008. 

[Phil]

Here are a few I still have on my phone.

 

Blizzard of January, 2016. Finished with ~35.3". Table is exactly three feet off the ground.

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/5E745797-4E33-405D-B861-261A0AB01000_zpsjdx6zjpa.jpg

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/BC96A0A6-258D-48E9-96BF-A63BD7046C67_zpslpfmxcsj.jpg

 

Severe thunderstorm in February of 2016, producing winds estimated in excess of 100mph by the NWS. Snapped hardwood trees, obliterated evergreens, ripped off roofs/shutters, and blew out windows.

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/A6900641-1F2C-4A4D-A44B-B18971CA5E0F_zps5lrc9r0f.jpg

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/15B089F7-7064-475B-8EFD-719CFC43D2C8_zpshmfgufhf.jpg

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/A337702B-5D5B-4E25-90FF-36D51B3A3474_zpsqekhzzni.jpg

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/2D76EDCC-0E28-43DA-BF43-0FC33407E2EE_zpsntovhhlb.jpg

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/B17C3B08-C24A-42D3-A8AB-8FF3BF1CF762_zpslmz1kjdf.jpg

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/3ACBE35F-2EEC-446B-B5AE-903CCBE1CAF2_zpsfdubjzgo.jpg

[wx_statman]

I remember there being a pretty stark line of accumulations around Clackamas.  Seems like we still had 2-3 inches on the ground up here when we went into the deep freeze.  

 

It didn't start snowing here until later that night, maybe around dawn. We did end up with 3-4" by late morning.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Bingo. We had a nice snowstorm on the 27th (3-4"), but it almost completely melted in the following 48 hours. By the time the Arctic front arrived on the 29th it was bare ground. The snow showers associated with the frontal passage itself didn't accumulate. 

 

Do you remember the forecasts for the major snowstorm that was supposed to happen that Tuesday (1/30)? That was the thinking on the evening forecasts on Saturday the 27th. Calls for 5-8" of snow and highs in the lower 20's as the Arctic front moved in and interacted with moisture coming in from the SW. Followed by sunny weather the rest of the week with highs in the 20's and lows in the 0's/10's. That thinking only lasted about 12 hours and by Sunday morning nobody was calling for a Tuesday snowstorm anymore. I got my heart ripped out with that one. 

 

I remember those forecasts. We got about 3" with the snow on the 27th in Silverton, but it melted overnight. I believe it was Monday the 29th on which the arctic frontal passage was marked by a brief grapuel shower. 

[BLI snowman]

Bingo. We had a nice snowstorm on the 27th (3-4"), but it almost completely melted in the following 48 hours. By the time the Arctic front arrived on the 29th it was bare ground. The snow showers associated with the frontal passage itself didn't accumulate.

 

Do you remember the forecasts for the major snowstorm that was supposed to happen that Tuesday (1/30)? That was the thinking on the evening forecasts on Saturday the 27th. Calls for 5-8" of snow and highs in the lower 20's as the Arctic front moved in and interacted with moisture coming in from the SW. Followed by sunny weather the rest of the week with highs in the 20's and lows in the 0's/10's. That thinking only lasted about 12 hours and by Sunday morning nobody was calling for a Tuesday snowstorm anymore. I got my heart ripped out with that one.

I think the thinking was that the low ahead of the front would be a lot stronger than what we got. We ended up getting a 1/2" dusting with the pre-frontal stuff on the 29th but it was pretty anemic.

 

That upper level airmass itself was a glancing blow for NW OR, mostly darted off to the east which reduced the baroclinic forcing overhead. But it was such an extreme airmass that even the low level hand-me-down was very impressive. A high of 23 with full sunshine on January 30 ain't no joke.

[Phil]

Nasty cold front blew through during May, on my way home from work. Produced heavy winds and dropped temperatures by near 30 degrees.

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/014C7BCD-5583-4818-9A72-79CA18B08657_zpsdpavtxwi.jpg

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/AE1A1482-4297-4F5F-B21C-1CDB4F3B53B0_zpsi817ebex.jpg

 

July thunderstorm under a full moon.

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/7A56FABF-9A38-4D41-B577-2AB9511D7725_zpsmwpm0z4e.jpg

 

Cloud-to-air lightning w/ same storm:

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/6AFC3739-18F8-468C-9667-5B0F1D828FE7_zpscuoevjfr.jpg

 

Storm casting a shadow in the atmosphere under the moonlight:

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/0813A89A-A7C5-4BCF-92EE-D608AC502126_zpsoqsmofob.jpg

 

Late August microburst produces 70mph winds, damaging trees and powerlines.

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/AC4B8EF6-F6A7-4895-AF7C-AF6733D42F9A_zpskxzbg2kc.jpg

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/8C894D57-6D3E-43A2-B524-E26EC81B047C_zpsseglryyo.jpg

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/882B3386-D0B2-4BFF-B65E-C505F16EA6A7_zpsvilhaiie.jpg

[Phil]

Frosty October morning on my way to work.

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/D0E9D45B-77CE-4068-9126-E0F4270BD737_zpsyv3pljyi.jpg

 

Unnerving drive home in pea soup fog.

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/AA514127-204E-4DBA-962A-61D8967D30EE_zpszq8xmxlg.jpg

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/B4278F08-EE37-4FFD-870B-C781BE5BD401_zpsela5ja3a.jpg

 

Driving home in a wet, mid-March snowfall.

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/66D4CBCE-E2CB-46E7-823E-A881EFB3BA3C_zpsbxx1bz2e.jpg

 

Sunset following a cold front passage, on one of the coldest evenings in decades across Montgomery County, as temperatures fell to between -5F/-10F in urban areas and below -20F near Sugarloaf national park. Wind chills bottomed out close to -45F in higher elevations.

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/E66B3936-6F18-4830-B8D3-EDC51BE07148_zpsbxsq7jez.jpg

[wx_statman]

I think the thinking was that the low ahead of the front would be a lot stronger than what we got. We ended up getting a 1/2" dusting with the pre-frontal stuff on the 29th but it was pretty anemic.

 

That upper level airmass itself was a glancing blow for NW OR, mostly darted off to the east which reduced the baroclinic forcing overhead. But it was such an extreme airmass that even the low level hand-me-down was very impressive. A high of 23 with full sunshine on January 30 ain't no joke.

 

That was a tremendous airmass. I took it for granted since I didn't know any better, but we haven't seen a coast to coast cold airmass like that since. Very similar to December 1983, just not quite as extreme. 

[Deweydog]

Bingo. We had a nice snowstorm on the 27th (3-4"), but it almost completely melted in the following 48 hours. By the time the Arctic front arrived on the 29th it was bare ground. The snow showers associated with the frontal passage itself didn't accumulate.

 

Do you remember the forecasts for the major snowstorm that was supposed to happen that Tuesday (1/30)? That was the thinking on the evening forecasts on Saturday the 27th. Calls for 5-8" of snow and highs in the lower 20's as the Arctic front moved in and interacted with moisture coming in from the SW. Followed by sunny weather the rest of the week with highs in the 20's and lows in the 0's/10's. That thinking only lasted about 12 hours and by Sunday morning nobody was calling for a Tuesday snowstorm anymore. I got my heart ripped out with that one.

I remember on Saturday the 27th, Mark "warm bias" Nelsen was going for heavy snow with a high of 24 on Tuesday followed by two days with highs below 20. This was less than two days after all seven day forecasts were going with a fairly quick transition to a rainy pattern after the 27th.

 

It was a lot of fun living in the dark ages.

[wx_statman]

I remember on Saturday the 27th, Mark "warm bias" Nelsen was going for heavy snow with a high of 24 on Tuesday followed by two days with highs below 20. This was less than two days after all seven day forecasts were going with a fairly quick transition to a rainy pattern after the 27th.

 

It was a lot of fun living in the dark ages.

 

It had a certain level of charm. I remember walking a mile in subfreezing cold to the neighborhood grocery store (which was flooded a week later and never reopened) just so I could buy The Oregonian and check the weather section. This was on on Feb 3rd. I knew from watching the Weather Channel that the previous day had set a ton of records across the Midwest (including the -60 in Tower, MN) and I wanted to keep a written record for myself. This was the only way to do it...we didn't have the internet yet. 

[Deweydog]

It had a certain level of charm. I remember walking a mile in subfreezing cold to the neighborhood grocery store (which was flooded a week later and never reopened) just so I could buy The Oregonian and check the weather section. This was on on Feb 3rd. I knew from watching the Weather Channel that the previous day had set a ton of records across the Midwest (including the -60 in Tower, MN) and I wanted to keep a written record for myself. This was the only way to do it...we didn't have the internet yet.

Yeah, December 1998 was the first I remember tracking in any way via the MRF. It was a roller coaster ride. It picked it up about 10 days out, but then did a massive about face around 4-5 days out, then reversed course the next day. This place would have imploded.

[Front Ranger]

We got the internet around 1993, but the tools available to weenies were pretty meager until the late 90s. And everything took so D**n long to load.

[wx_statman]

Yeah, December 1998 was the first I remember tracking in any way via the MRF. It was a roller coaster ride. It picked it up about 10 days out, but then did a massive about face around 4-5 days out, then reversed course the next day. This place would have imploded.

 

Same here. The MRF nailed that one in the long range. I was overconfident in its abilities the following winter as a result, when it busted hard on the New Year's 2000 cold wave in the 6-10 day range. That one hurt too. The thinking was we'd tap into the impressive Alaskan cold wave that was developing in late December (-53 in Fairbanks), but it never happened. 

[wx_statman]

We got the internet around 1993, but the tools available to weenies were pretty meager until the late 90s. And everything took so D**n long to load.

 

You were one of the lucky ones. We didn't get it until October 1996.

[Black Hole]

You were one of the lucky ones. We didn't get it until October 1996.

I suppose it might have been available, but I don't recall checking weather online until maybe 2003. I still had plenty of time to have my heart ripped out though lol

 

In regards to sunny weather with snow on the ground. I don't remember much of that in PDX growing up. However January 2007 was good as I had maybe 2" from a snow squall going into the cold snap. Most of that survived until the bigger storm hit a week later with sunny weather during that period.

 

Here in Utah, we get a LOT of sunny weather following snow. I think I take it for granted a bit at this point, but it is always beautiful to see. 

[Black Hole]

I remember on Saturday the 27th, Mark "warm bias" Nelsen was going for heavy snow with a high of 24 on Tuesday followed by two days with highs below 20. This was less than two days after all seven day forecasts were going with a fairly quick transition to a rainy pattern after the 27th.

 

It was a lot of fun living in the dark ages.

It was definitely fun having so much more uncertainty. It gave you hope that things could turn around much closer to a possible event, or of course bust. It hasn't all gone away though, Nov 2010 was pretty wild with the model swings on that one. Plenty of others too. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

I remember following the MRF on the lead up to the big 1998 blast. I wasn't consistently checking the models run by run until probably about 2002 or 3. Definitely remember being completely obsessed by January 2004. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

The morning of February 7, 2014

 

Going to get a Christmas Tree about a mile from my house on December 7, 2013. It was sunny and about 20 degrees at noon.

Dec. 6 2013

Morning of Dec. 8, 2013

 

 

Dec. 9, 2013 in Albany, OR when I took this pic it was 8:45am and my car thermometer said 11F.

 

[MossMan]

Hopefully we will have many pages worth of 2016-17 snow pics!!

[wx_statman]

I suppose it might have been available, but I don't recall checking weather online until maybe 2003. I still had plenty of time to have my heart ripped out though lol

 

In regards to sunny weather with snow on the ground. I don't remember much of that in PDX growing up. However January 2007 was good as I had maybe 2" from a snow squall going into the cold snap. Most of that survived until the bigger storm hit a week later with sunny weather during that period.

 

Here in Utah, we get a LOT of sunny weather following snow. I think I take it for granted a bit at this point, but it is always beautiful to see. 

 

I keep going back to January 2007 as the event that sort of got away from us. It could have been much better.

[wx_statman]

 

Morning of Dec. 8, 2013

 

 

 

 

I love that shot of Silver Falls!

[Black Hole]

I keep going back to January 2007 as the event that sort of got away from us. It could have been much better.

Yeah the set up was just about perfect with the low sliding down the coast. If I remember correctly, areas along the coast got quite a bit of snow with that. 

 

In the metro area most people didn't get anything but a few of us on the east side did ok from a pop up snow shower. It actually came out of the NE and snowed real hard for about an hour and then the sun came out right after but the snow didn't melt.

 

 

Thinking about it, before that the last time I remember having snow on the ground with some sunshine was right after the new years day storm in 2004. Doesn't seem like there was much with that, but it was something. Am I remembering correctly?

[BLI snowman]

I keep going back to January 2007 as the event that sort of got away from us. It could have been much better.

 

I think that applies more to 2004-05, 2007-08, and 2010-11. All of those felt like they should have been far better for our region.

 

January 2007 was pretty good here, locally. I had around 7" of snow and 10 or so days with a bit on the ground. A number of

[Black Hole]

I think that applies more to 2004-05, 2007-08, and 2010-11. All of those felt like they should have been far better for our region.

 

January 2007 was pretty good here, locally. I had around 7" of snow and 10 or so days with a bit on the ground. A number of

2004/2005 was the most painful winter I remember up there. Others were worse in terms of outcome (02-03 for example), but that one was bad from the 2-3 weeks of near greatness forecasted which resulted in nothing. 

 

I remember at the time I couldn't read models yet, so I relied on the news forecasts. Day after day of blizzard and arctic blast forecasts that kept disappearing as we got closer. It almost drove me out of liking weather it was so bad. 

[wx_statman]

Yeah the set up was just about perfect with the low sliding down the coast. If I remember correctly, areas along the coast got quite a bit of snow with that. 

 

In the metro area most people didn't get anything but a few of us on the east side did ok from a pop up snow shower. It actually came out of the NE and snowed real hard for about an hour and then the sun came out right after but the snow didn't melt.

 

 

Thinking about it, before that the last time I remember having snow on the ground with some sunshine was right after the new years day storm in 2004. Doesn't seem like there was much with that, but it was something. Am I remembering correctly?

 

I was actually out of the country during that time. But looking at obs at the Oregon City COOP shows above freezing temps on both the 2nd and 3rd immediately after a 2" snowfall on the 1st. So I don't believe Oregon City would have seen much in the way of sunshine w/snowcover, if any. It might have been a different story up in Portland though.

[wx_statman]

I think that applies more to 2004-05, 2007-08, and 2010-11. All of those felt like they should have been far better for our region.

 

January 2007 was pretty good here, locally. I had around 7" of snow and 10 or so days with a bit on the ground. A number of

 

There's something about January 2007 though, at least personally for me. It could have been so much more. Perfect timing in the middle of January, close call with significant accumulating snowfall at the front end, and then multiple days of cold, dry weather that would have been a perfect setup to maximize radiational cooling with any appreciable snowcover. And then a nice snowfall event on the transition out, which actually did happen. The north coast gave a hint of what that event could have been in the valley. Manzanita had 8" of snow on the 11th and Tillamook had a 33/15 day with sunshine and snowcover on the 13th. That airmass brought 3F to Lancaster CA (January record) and snow to Santa Monica. It was a nice event overall, but to walk away with 30/19 at PDX - essentially a modified event - was disappointing.

 

I never cared much for January 2005 or January 2008 because they were just model busts. It was never real. Same with January 2011. Besides 2010-11 more than made up for it with November and late February!

[Jesse]

Loving the pictures/discussion on this thread!

[BLI snowman]

There's something about January 2007 though, at least personally for me. It could have been so much more. Perfect timing in the middle of January, close call with significant accumulating snowfall at the front end, and then multiple days of cold, dry weather that would have been a perfect setup to maximize radiational cooling with any appreciable snowcover. And then a nice snowfall event on the transition out, which actually did happen. The north coast gave a hint of what that event could have been in the valley. Manzanita had 8" of snow on the 11th and Tillamook had a 33/15 day with sunshine and snowcover on the 13th. That airmass brought 3F to Lancaster CA (January record) and snow to Santa Monica. It was a nice event overall, but to walk away with 30/19 at PDX - essentially a modified event - was disappointing.

 

I never cared much for January 2005 or January 2008 because they were just model busts. It was never real. Same with January 2011. Besides 2010-11 more than made up for it with November and late February!

 

2007 to me was just an airmass that was more climatologically impressive elsewhere (the SW). Not disappointing at all because it never really displayed the propensity to be a higher tier of event for us, neither on the models nor with the upper level details falling through.

 

It was what it was, a solid midwinter modified arctic event. We've had way too few of those lately so it probably even stands out a little more in our memories than it should. By 20th century standards it was entirely run-of-the-mill for most in our region.

[wx_statman]

2007 to me was just an airmass that was more climatologically impressive elsewhere (the SW). Not disappointing at all because it never really displayed the propensity to be a higher tier of event for us, neither on the models nor with the upper level details falling through.

 

It was what it was, a solid midwinter modified arctic event. We've had way too few of those lately so it probably even stands out a little more in our memories than it should. By 20th century standards it was entirely run-of-the-mill for most in our region.

I don't disagree with any of that. And yeah I agree that our perspective on 21st century cold waves is probably a little warped by the relative lack of arctic air compared to older climate norms. I doubt I would have the same feelings about a Jan 2007 type event if this was the 1950's.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

January 2007 was pretty impressive at my location it looks like. A couple inches of snow heading into the cold air and then a 5" snowfall during the middle of the period. 

 

https://climate.usurf.usu.edu/reports/e15daily.php?stn=USC00357809&year=2007&month=1&unit=EN&network=direct:ghcn&sidebar=0

[SilverFallsAndrew]

At this elevation obviously 2008 as a month takes the cake. Slightly colder overall and incredibly snowy. January 2013 was slightly warmer than 2007. The best cold snap with snow cover was obviously January 2007 though.

 

2008:

https://climate.usurf.usu.edu/reports/e15daily.php?stn=USC00357809&year=2008&month=1&unit=EN&network=direct:ghcn&sidebar=0

 

2013:

https://climate.usurf.usu.edu/reports/e15daily.php?stn=USC00357809&year=2013&month=1&unit=EN&network=direct:ghcn&sidebar=0

[wx_statman]

2008:

https://climate.usurf.usu.edu/reports/e15daily.php?stn=USC00357809&year=2008&month=1&unit=EN&network=direct:ghcn&sidebar=0

 

47.5" in four days at that elevation. That's unbelievable. 

 

Marion Forks (2,400') had 95" in six days from Jan 28 - Feb 2.