HAPPY VALLEY, OREGON WEATHER: JANUARY 2023
TEMPERATURES
January 2023 had a warm start and cold finish; well, “warm” is relative when referring to January. Through the first half of the month, Maximum Temperatures ranged from 40.8° on the 2nd to a monthly Max. of 56.0° on the 12th. On the Minimum Temperature side, no freezing temperatures occurred from the 1st-15th, ranging from a low of 34.4° on the 1st to the monthly High Min. of 47.9° on the 13th. For the second half of the month, there was no sudden reduction in temperatures, just a gradual decline to more of what is expected for January.
For the 16th-31st, the highest Max. Temp. happened on the first day of this period with 49.9° on the 16th and Maxs remained in the upper 30s to upper 40s through the 28th. Minimum Temperatures finally hit freezing on the 20th & 21st before rebounding to the mid 30s to low 40s through the 27th. The coldest air of the month arrived just before February as Max. Temps. remained in the mid 30s on the 29th & 30th, bouncing back to low 40s on the last day of January. Minimum Temperatures began sliding mid-afternoon on the 28th, falling to near freezing by midnight then to 27.1° by the next morning. This was to be outdone by the coldest reading of the month with the 24.4° on the 30th and a nearly-as-cold 24.9° on the 31st.
Comparing the two halves of the month, the Max/Min/Mean Temperatures were thus: 1st-15th: 49.5°/41.1°/45.3°; 16th-31st: 43.8°/34.5°/39.1°, the departures for the second half vs. the first half being -5.7°/-6.7°/-6.2°. The greatest diurnal range was 17.1° on the 31st (42.0°/24.9°); the least was only 2.3° on the 25th (43.6°/41.3°).
HAPPY VALLEY JANUARY 2023 STATS:
PRECIPITATION
Though no major storms visited the area this month, January was persistently wet through the afternoon of the 18th, including 17 consecutive days of measurable precipitation from the 2nd-18th. The Maximum Calendar-Day amount was the 0.55″ on the 8th (Midnight Observation) and 0.50″ on the 9th (07:00 AM Observation), with the Greatest 24-hour total being the 0.63″ from late on the 7th to later on the 8th. A break from the dampness finally arrived in the afternoon of the 18th and, except for 3 subsequent days having measurable rain (totaling 0.36″), the remainder of the month was dry. Of the month’s total of 4.06″, the 1st-18th received 91% of it (totaling 3.70″) and the month ended with a deficit of 3.01″ below the January Normal of 7.07″, just 57% of that amount. Snowfall was nearly nil, with only Traces recorded on the 2nd, 21st, & 28th.
Maximum Precipitation Rate: 0.70″/Hour (8th at 1344 Hrs, Automated Gauge).
Maximum Calendar-Day Amount: Trace (2nd, 21st, & 28th).
≥0.25″: 7
≥0.50″: 1
≥1.00″: 0
≥0.25″: 6
≥0.50″: 1
≥1.00″: 0
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
Persistent High Pressure over the northern Pacific Ocean caused the Barometric Pressure to remain ≥30.50″ from the 23rd @17:15 to the 26th @22:56 (nearly 78 consecutive hours), peaking at 30.72″ on the 25th.
Sky Cover Days: 2 Clear, 9 Partly Cloudy, and 20 Cloudy.
Barometric Pressure: Average Maximum/Minimum readings were 30.17″/29.93″, with the Highest Daily Value of a lofty 30.72” (25th), the Lowest Daily Reading of 29.23” (14th).
Relative Humidity: Maximum/Minimum Averages were 94%/76%, having a Daily Maximum of 98% (1st, 20th, & 21st); Daily Minimum of 34% (30th).
Dew Point: Averages were a Maximum/Minimum of 42°/34°, with a Daily Maximum of 52° (12th & 13th), Daily Minimum of 8° (30th).
Wind: The Daily Average Speed was 1.5 mph from the NNE, and the highest Daily Average was 5.3 mph from the N (29th); the Daily Average Gust was 13.6 mph and the Highest Gust reached 23 mph from the S (9th).
HAPPY VALLEY MONTHLY WEATHER FORM: JANUARY 2023 (click the month to access a pdf of the form).
For the three official Portland National Weather Service weather stations, here is Temperature and Precipitation data for each location for JANUARY 2023:
The 3 official Portland stations were slightly-above Normal temperature-wise, precipitation being well-below Normal:
January 2023 Max/Min/Mean Temperatures (and Departures from Normal for 30-Year Period 1991-2020):
– PDX Airport: 48.3°/38.3°/43.3° (+0.8°/+2.1°/+1.4°)
– Downtown: 47.4°/38.6°/43.0° (+0.5°/+1.3°/+0.9°)
– WFO: 46.1°/37.1°/41.6° (0.0°/+0.6°/+0.3°)
January 2023 Precipitation (and Departures from Normal for 30-Year Period 1991-2020):
– PDX Airport: 3.34″ (-1.69″)
– Downtown: 3.71″ (-2.65″)
– WFO: 3.43″ (-2.61″)
Data Periods of Record for these stations:
Portland – Downtown (currently at KGW-TV) – Period of Record: since 1/1871.
Portland International Airport (PDX) – Period of Record: since 11/1940.
Portland – National Weather Service Forecast Office (WFO) – Period of Record: since 2/1996.
Cover photo: Cascades Ridgeline with Snow Cover (looking southeastwards)_2023-01-29