A Portland Snow Event, 11-15 Feb 2021

Why yes, it was just last week when I was talking about how I enjoy Portland's temperate winters. OnRhodes correctly surmised that I was "jinxing" things by talking about it. And jinx I did: We've had a significant winter weather event over the weekend. While snow in Portland isn't uncommon during winter, most of it...

The benefits of “temperate” winters

Olympus Pen EES-2, Kodak Ultramax 400. Taken on December 13, 2020, which pretty much is "winter" here. I've said it here before: While Portland has a real winter (meaning: a distinct season) its "realness" is not on par with what I saw when I lived in Connecticut many a decade ago. Here, winter is more...

A dry spell

It's no secret: Winter in this part of the Northwest is about rain. No, it's not a non-stop downpour, but there are more days that feature some sort of precipitation than not. But there are dry days, even sunny days interspersed in there. During the middle of winter, it's rare to get more than two...

The thaw occurs.

It was bound to happen. Portland can't stay that cold that long (usually). The much promised thaw began to happen, despite the snow's best efforts to stick around until May. It started with whimper on Tuesday. It started to rain (some areas got freezing rain) but the temp was in the mid-to-upper 30's. There was...

Finishing up a “real winter” weekend

As I type this report on Sunday night, there is still lingering snow and ice from Wednesday's snow event around Portland. We may see a brief amount of snow overnight, then real rain starts and the daytime high adjusts to its seasonal norm of mid-40s. So we'll have snow on the ground in the lowlands...

Portland Snow Days Past: A look back

As I've said before, it doesn't snow much here, but it does snow. And I have written about it before! So get yourself a cup o' hot cocoa, curl up, and check out these reports from the depths of this blog. From December 2005 (!) an unexpected snow and its aftermath. Another surprise snow in...

Wet ride, dry ride, or my Wednesday ramble

On Wednesday January 13 I had a dentist appointment in Garden Home, a neighborhood in deep SW Portland. And it was raining. It's a thirteen mile ride, one way, from my house. I could have taken the bus, but it would be longer than the bike ride, so I gritted teeth, suited up in raingear,...

Snow? Snow!

And without warning, and just like that, Portland got its first snow of the season, the first of 2016. (At least in the lower elevations, the higher elevations got a little last week.) It's been cold for Portland the last week, highs just above freezing, but sunny. Our "cold snap", so to speak. And I...