Clik here to view.
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST
“What is the average amount of rain in the Rogue Valley?”
Abby, 6th Grader at St. Mary’s School
When we talk about climate data for the Rogue Valley, we have to use the data for Medford. That’s because there are no other official reporting stations in the area. For example, we have mesonet sites in Grants Pass and Ashland, but they are not maintained by the National Weather Service, so we rely on the weather station at the airport in Medford for official climate records.
So, for Medford, we typically see just over 18 inches of rain each calendar year. For 2014, we have already received 17.98 inches! That means that for the rest of the month of December, we need about half an inch of rain to break even with our annual average rainfall. At this point in the year, we are actually 2.78 inches above where we are, on average, in terms of rainfall during the first week of December.
Another statistic: at this point in 2014, we have seen about nine more inches of rainfall than this same time in 2013. Keep in mind that although we are on track to break even, if not surpass, our average annual rainfall, we will still be in a long term drought to start 2015. It takes many months of above average rainfall to build back water levels.
Chief Meteorologist Kate McKenna
