By Rod Hill on 2016-02-01
Rainfall at PDX is 7.10" for the month of January. Normal for the month is 4.88 inches. The wet month gives Portland 30.52" of rainfall since the Water Year began back on October 1st. The surplus of water is 11.56 inches!
The Rose City needs only 5.51" of moisture through September to reach the normal annual precip total of 36.03 inches. (The Water Year runs Oct. 1st - Sept. 30th.) Another way to describe our rain surplus is to say, if PDX did not see a drop of rain until mid-May, we would still be on track for the year! With a wet outlook through March, we may very well reach 36.03" of water for the season this February or March at the latest.
The snowpack continues to be in good shape. Roughly one year ago, Timberline had 175" for the year. Today, the resort reports a season total of 343 inches.
Rod Hill
January 2016 rainfall on track for 7.00"