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A two-day storm moving across Portland could dump 2 to 3 inches of rain on the city by Saturday morning, as meteorologists warn to look out for floods and landslides.
“We’re expecting some issues of high water,” says National Weather Service meteorologist Shawn Weagle. “There could be a couple rivers that get up to flood stage. Most of those will be in the coastal areas, but we could see it in the Clackamas and Tualatin rivers.”
A Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall has been issued for tomorrow (Thursday) across parts of Washington and Oregon. Heavy rain and very high snow levels could result in areas of rapid run-off, as well as debris flows near recent burn scars. #WAwx #ORwx pic.twitter.com/Ta6sIYt8Rf
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) November 11, 2021
But that gullywasher won’t fully compensate for a parched summer.
The National Weather Service’s Portland office tells WW that, as of Nov. 7, the city had received 23.45 inches of rain since Jan. 1. That’s more than 3 inches below the average annual rainfall during that time.
That contradicts WW’s previous report that autumn rain was likely to make up the city’s precipitation deficit. In fact, a NWS meteorologist had been referring to the “water year,” which begins Oct. 1, not Jan. 1. (WW regrets the error.)
Indeed, Portland has gotten 5.11 inches of rain since Oct. 1, 0.59 inches above the normal rate of 4.52 inches in the same time period.
But annually, Portland still has some catching up to do. The city went 46 days without measurable rainfall this summer.
“The reason why we’re still in a deficit,” said meteorologist David Bishop, “is because we are still in a drought.”