One word is on every Portlander’s mind this week: snow. How much will we get this winter? Will schools shut down? And where will we get our kale? The thought of camping out in a blanket fort + binging Netflix until spring sounds pretty appealing.
So, we started reminiscing on past snowstorms that brought Portland to an icy, frozen standstill. Snowpocalypse 2016, anyone? Some winters here are mild while others are brutal — at least by West Coast standards. Here are some Portland snow stats spanning the past 100+ years.
First snow
Data from the National Weather Service shows that Portland typically sees its first snowfall in late December of any given year. The average first “snow event” (when at least 0.1 inches of snow falls) is Dec. 26 — though the very earliest the city saw snow was Nov. 11, 1955.
White Christmas
Based on meteorological data, the chance of snow falling (and sticking) in Portland on Dec. 25 is only about 1%. Portland saw its one + only true white Christmas in 2008 when the city was visited by the “Arctic Blast” storm that dumped up to 20 inches of snow in some metro areas.
Record single day snowfall
The most snow Portland has ever recorded in a 24-hour period was on Jan. 21, 1943, when the city was buried beneath 15.5 inches.
Snowiest winter
If you think a few inches of snow is crippling to daily Portland life, can you imagine what nearly 32 inches would do? That’s how much snow fell between January + February of 1893. That much snow today would bury the city’s iconic Benson bubblers, many of the rose bushes at the International Rose Test Garden, and any electric scooters parked along sidewalks.
