After coldest February in 30 years, Salem expected to see more possible snow, chilly weather

Anyone hoping for signs of spring in the Willamette Valley will need to wait a while.  

After the seventh-coldest February on record in Salem — and the coldest overall since 1989 — more chilly weather and possible snow in the valley is expected into mid-March.

Snow in Salem appears possible Tuesday night into Wednesday next week.

“All indications are that this cold system is going to hold for a while,” National Weather Service meteorologist Colby Neuman said. “Normally, we start seeing a few of those spring-like days with temperatures into the 60s, but this year, that might take a while.”

Coldest February in 30 years 

The average temperature in Salem this February was 38.4 degrees, which made it the seventh-coldest in records that stretch back to 1893. 

The last time it was that chilly was 1989, when the average temperature dipped to 34.7 degrees. That was the coldest on record.

What brought all that snow?

The weather wasn’t just cold — it brought snow to the valley floor multiple times.

Snow was recorded in Salem eight days in February, a far higher number than normal, Neuman said.

“That almost never happens,” he said.

The frequent snow was the result of cold air dropping down from the Gulf of Alaska, then picking up just enough moisture from the ocean before arriving in the Northwest.

“If we get cold air from the Rocky Mountains, it’s cold but there’s no moisture,” Neuman said. “And if the storm gets too much of the Pacific, it warms up and usually falls as rain except higher in the mountains.

“With this series of storms, it was the perfect combination of cold and just enough moisture.”

How long will the chill stick around?

Both the short- and long-term forecasts suggest more of the same.

Over the coming 10 days, high temperatures will struggle to rise above 45, and lows will drop into the 20s.

Over the 8- to 14-day forecast, cold and wet weather — meaning more possibilities for valley snow — remain likely, according to the federal weather prediction center.

Snowpack reaches 119 percent of normal

The good news has been for Oregon’s snowpack, which rose to 119 percent of normal as of Thursday.

That should continue to grow, Neuman said, as more lower elevation snow becomes likely in the coming weeks.

Mountain highways reopen

During the heaviest snowfall events last week, three primary mountain highways closed — Highway 20 over Santiam Pass, Highway 58 over Willamette Pass and Highway 138 to Diamond Pass.

All three of those routes have now opened. Highway 58 reopened late Friday night. 

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter, photographer and videographer in Oregon for 11 years.To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal for $0.99 per month.

Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.