PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Roasting hot is what you want for a warm meal, not your weather.
There have been 88 days of temperatures at 80 degrees or above in Portland so far this year (as of Sept. 21), which ties the record from 2015. With the start of fall, our chance for 80-degree days becomes more difficult to achieve, but it’s not out of the question. Will we wrap up this month with 89° or 90°? It’s possible considering the forecast this week – another ridge of high pressure.
You can see a breakdown of the number of 80-degree days by month below. We started early in April and we are still going strong in September. The total number of days so far this month is 11, which is below the September record of 18, set back in 1991. Do you remember that? If you’ve been in Portland for some time, you may.
Despite the record-shattering heat wave in late June, the real cooker this summer was August. Portland hit 80° or above 27 out of 31 days of the month. Our average high tends to be in the 80s for August, so it isn’t out of the ordinary to see a series of 80’s and above for the month of August. If we were to factor in just days that are from 80 to 89 degrees, we are are usually in the upper teens for that count for the month of August. That means we had a stretch of days in the 90s and triple-digits this year.
By the way, this 80-degree accomplishment (if you want to call it that), was also happening across most locations in the valley this year. According to the National Weather Service in Portland, the Salem airport climbed above 80 degrees 96 times this year! That is a record, which breaks the previous amount of days of 95, set back in 1967.