Portland Snow History; Includes This Past Winter's Data
Sorry about the horrible fonts that you can hardly read…but here is the updated “snow chart” for the Portland Area that I was working on this evening. I see last winter’s amazing 23″+ snowfall has brought our average up to 4.6″ a year.
I’m busy working on graphics for a presentation to the Broadcaster’s Conference of the American Meteorological Society. It is here in Portland next week; the first time ever. Too bad the weather will be cool and showery to welcome all those tv weather people. Although maybe the ones from down south and back east will welcome the break from the heat? We’ll see.
Mark Nelsen
FOX 12 Weather Blog 
I actually found a discussion on those storms. There were two low-topped supercells supposedly:
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/divisions/warning/swat/Cases/981003/case.html
Sorry it took me a little bit to get back to this. The swirling of the cloud didn’t come a long ways down from the rest of the cloud but the whole cloud itself was drooping. There didn’t appear to be a wall cloud but being right there my vantage point wasn’t really that good to see as I was looking more up at it than from a distance.
I’m really wishing I would have stopped and taken a picture of this.
I think there was also a tornado warning issued on October 1998, when a rotating thunderstorm produced a tornado somewhere south of Portland. I believe that was the 3rd of October.
I remember that. I saw that, it was just to my west. I can’t remember for sure if it actually touched down, but it looked like it did from where I was.
I used to live in Milwaukie and that was my most memorable storm memory at that place. I am sure the tornado producing cell went directly over me. The lightning wasn’t too frequent, but the rain/hail/wind was at full force. I was without power the whole night. Immediately after I arrived home, wind knocked a tree down and cut the power line just down my street.
If only I could access reports before 1999.
Timmy,
I’ll shoot them an email and see what they say. I think they keep track of those stats.
Orchards currently getting hammered by hard rain
Does anybody know how many tornado warnings were issued by Portland? The January 10 2008 + June 4 2009 warnings were the only ones I actually remember.
4:30 SPC Thermodynamics
PDX/VUO metro areas
SB CAPE: 250J/kg
ML CAPE: 0
MU CAPE: 500J/kg
Lifted Index: +1 to 0
Slowly stabilizing, but heavy showers and perhaps an isolated lightning strike would not surprise me over the next 1-3 hours.
I live on the far east side of Hillsboro, so folks, I missed out again…
Interesting 0402. I heard a different report of cloud rotation in the Hillsboro area (no wall cloud) about that same time.
0402, that sounded very interesting. How far from the ground do you think it got? half way from the base of the clouds?
Sean, severe storm with persistent wall cloud/funnels moving into western Indiana towards Fountain and Montgomery Counties. I do see a fairly decent hook on it. Radar trends show this to mainly be tracking due east. If it holds together it is making a b-line for your area.
Yeah, I see that. Clouds are looking pretty weird over the last hour or so.. That storm is near a boundary that was in the area this morning.
I hadn’t heard the term cold core funnel cloud before but, my boys and I saw one driving home in the area of Cornelius Sheflin Rd and Roy Rd south of North Plains around 1:45 or so. It was a very dark cloud with a piece hanging low. As we got closer you could see the piece hanging low was spinning. The way the cloud was spinning didn’t make it obvious until we were nearly under it. It was pretty cool though!
Heavy rain here right now despite not much showing up on radar. My wife reported a heavy shower out in SE Hillsboro about 10 minutes ago.
I bottomed out at 59.0F and now back up to 60.1F despite light rain falling. I see a few cells trying to pop over Washington County behind this line/convergence area. The southern flank of the line is intensifying from Milwaukie to Happy Valley.
3:30 SPC Thermodynamics
PDX/VUO metro areas
SB CAPE: 250J/kg
ML CAPE: 250J/kg
MU CAPE: 500J/kg
Lifted Index: -0 to -1
up here in longview its blue sky and 70 degrees…dunno if thats a good thing….or not.
Just a matter of time here, before things get really interesting..
I’m really impressed with this line that has moved into PDX/VUO metro. Just when you think it is making progress it back builds or another line forms. It’s been raining non-stop since 2:35 PM.
Anyone on the west side seeing any clearing?
Yep…had a few sunbreaks… Clouds broke up for a short while (from around 1:30 ’til maybe 2:45). Now it’s back to mostly cloudy and very gusty winds to boot!
Do I sense a T-storm on the way??? (pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease?!?!)
Looking elsewhere across the country..
Severe line moving into Jacksonville, Illinois
Streaming cam
http://webcam2.ic.edu/view/view.shtml
2:30 SPC Thermodynamics
PDX/VUO metro areas
SB CAPE: 250J/kg
ML CAPE: 250J/kg
MU CAPE: 500J/kg
Lifted Index: -1 to -2
We need the sun to break out by 3:30-4 PM for another chance of storms.
Oh niceee absolutely pouring sheets of rain…. I wonder how far down this will knock the temps… Maybe 57F?
just had a downpour
Very interesting movement with the scud/lower clouds moving in various directions.
You guys enjoy that nice line of storms while I sit here hoping for something this afternoon….
Impressive line of clouds moving ESE towards me and it became dark FAST… Watching for any funnels….