Rain washes away drought worries
By Cathy Ingalls, Albany Democrat-Herald, June 2, 2010 [here]
The word “drought” won’t appear in any mid-valley weather stories this summer.
That’s because the rains that arrived three months ago and haven’t stopped have filled mountain reservoirs and river and streambeds, and more spring snow than expected accumulated in some areas of the Cascades, while cooler temperatures slowed the melt in others, said George Taylor of Applied Climate Services in Corvallis.
Rain continues to pound northwest Oregon and showers are falling in the mountains. Precipitation of varying amounts is forecast to continue at least until next Tuesday. About three-quarters of an inch fell in the 24 hours ending at 8 this morning at Hyslop Weather Station on Highway 20 between Albany and Corvallis.
Tonight, the National Weather Service is predicting 2 to 5 inches of rain at the coast, the Coast Range and in the Cascades, and 1 to 1.5 inches in the mid-valley.
In the Coast and Cascade ranges, the rains could boost the potential for debris pooling in streams and rivers, and there is the possibility of mudslides.
Rainfall for May in the mid-valley was about an inch higher than normal, Taylor said. He said 3.30 inches drenched the mid-valley last month, while normal is 2.30 inches.
“For the water year that started Oct. 1, we’ve had 41.43 inches, which is 103 percent of normal,” he said.
Of more significance, Taylor said are the low May temperatures.
The average high was 63 degrees, which is 3.5 degrees below normal; the average low was 42.8 degrees, more than a degree below normal.
The highest May temperature was 76 degrees, which was recorded on May 14. The lowest daytime high was 53 degrees on May 21. … [more]