The Weather in the Portland Metro Area
The Weather in the Portland Metro Area ~ Many relocation buyers ask:
What’s the Weather in Portland?
The Weather in Portland Oregon: Anyone moving to Portland will want to know about our weather. The beautiful Pacific NW is lush, and green and that’s because God leaves the sprinklers on!
The weather in Portland one can experience a temperate climate, with mild, damp winters and relatively dry, warm summers.
Like much of the Pacific Northwest, the Portland Metro area falls within the cool, dry-summer also referred to as cool-summer Mediterranean, because of its relatively dry summers. If you’re moving to Portland, we have all four seasons!
Summer In Portland
- Summers ~ Summer weather in Portland is warm, sunny and rather dry, with August, the warmest month, averaging 79.7 °F. There is much larger day-night variations in temperature than in winter. Because of its inland location — and when there is an absence of a sea breeze — heatwaves occur (in particular during the months of July and August) with temps sometimes rising over 100 °F but 90 °F is more commonplace. Our heatwaves are short-lived, occurring @14 days per year during the summer. Many people moving to Portland are amazed that A/C units aren’t found in every home. The summer heat is dry, not humid, which is nice. Although located near water sources (both the Willamette and Columbia rivers and less than 60 miles from the Pacific Ocean) the climate is not humid. August can get a little humid, but it’s not swampy feeling at all.
Winter in Portland
- Winters ~ Winter weather in Portland is normally mild, and very moist with January averaging 39.9 °F. Cold snaps are short-lived, and snowfall occurs no more than a few times per year — if that — along the valley floor. Although the city has been known to see major snow and ice storms because of the cold air outflow from the Columbia River Gorge, and Artic blasts from Alaska, it’s rare. Most cars in the Portland Metro area do not have snow tires during the winter months. January and February typically are the coldest, and it’s a chilly, fresh cold.
Spring in Portland
- Springs ~ Spring weather in Portland can bring rather unpredictable weather, resulting from warm spells, to thunderstorms rolling off the Cascade Range. The rainfall averages an equivalent 37.5 inch per year in downtown Portland spread over 155 days a year. The weather is usually very pleasant with a few days of rain, complimented by a few days of partially cloudy or sunny days. The mornings are cool, the day warms up, the sun comes out, then the clouds roll in. There are some very chilly days in Spring where there is no cloud cover. Don’t let Spring fool you. We can have very lovely March weather, everyone starts to plant and then we have freezes in April. Wait until May to plant your garden.
Fall in Portland
- Fall ~ Fall weather in Portland is Spring in reverse. October being a month of Indian Summers, then heading into November, the weather cools. So with rain tapering off in to the Spring Months . . . rain will begin to increase in to the Fall months. We do not have the really chilly weather until January however, so the Fall months typically don’t have the icy chills found in Spring. The earliest I’ve had a snow fall was Thanksgiving . . . and it’s rare.
The Current Weather in Portland Oregon
And this is just a guide . . . sometimes it will say “cloudy” and it’s really not because there will be cloud breaks that will last all afternoon.
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