Portland Wet Weather Could Break Records
From KATU News..
PORTLAND, Ore. – For about a month now it seems the only variety of weather we’ve seen is “showers to pouring rain.” Now the rain could set records for the Oregon and Southwest Washington area.
KATU Meteorologist Dave Salesky predicts Wednesday’s soggy weather will turn into a “monster of a storm” hitting the Pacific Northwest.
“We have a good chance of a 24-hour rainfall record for June,” Salesky said. The current record is 1.82 inches, set June 5 and June 6 in 1958. See the forecast for more rain and snow predictions.
Due to the rain, Portland’s Waterfront Village closed around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday. KATU Reporter Margie Lynch was at the scene, saying it’s a “muddy gooey wet mess” around the mechanical rides. No injuries or larger problems have been reported.
The decision to temporarily close the Rose Festival’s Waterfront Village was announced just before noon. As of early Wednesday morning thick, ominous clouds already hung over Portland. (See photo above.)
Despite the rain storm rolling in, KATU Reporter Valerie Hurst still found people out jogging and bicycling Wednesday morning. She also found a tourist who told us she gave up hot weather in Denver to be here.
“I’m finding your city very beautiful,” said tourist Jan Hicks. “I enjoy the rain … Denver’s been having some hot weather, so this is a switch.”
The commute has been a tough one on this rainy Wednesday. Rain blurred windshields and causing big backups as people in the West Hills merged onto Highway 26.
The Portland Office of Transportation’s Cheryl Emma Kuck said crew’s preparations for the storm appear to have worked really well. Crews worked to clear drainage areas in the hills. The areas help guard against water running down hillsides.
Crews began clearing debris out of clogged basins as a preventative measure over the weekend. Homeowners who can’t clear their street-side debris to allow the water to flow can call 503-823-1700 to get help from the city.
“The ground is saturated,” reported Kuck in a prepared statement Wednesday. “Homeowners, especially in the hills, should watch for earth movement. Pay attention to property. Any sign of a trees leaning or earth movement and really soggy spots are signs of water underground and possible earth movement.”
In Lincoln County on Oregon’s coast we also have reports of scattered trees blown down as a result of Wednesday’s winds.
Winds are expected to pick up later in the day. Sustained winds of 25 to 45 miles per hour should top out around 50 miles per hour.
Meanwhile, May was already close to a record-setting month for Portland rain. The city received 4.75 inches of rainfall in May, reports the Steve Pierce with the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society.
“This is exactly 200 percent of normal – of average – for the month of May,” Pierce said.
He said May’s total rainfall is the third highest on record for the month of May, trailing only 1996’s 4.88 inches and 1998’s 5.55 inches of rainfall.
“May also saw 22 days with measurable precipitation of at least 0.01 inch or more,” Pierce said. “This is also the first two back-to-back wetter-than-normal months at both Portland and Vancouver since fall of 2007 – nearly three years ago.”