How hot was it in Oregon in 2024? What data shows as state extends string of warm years

Last year was Oregon’s sixth-warmest year in records that date back to 1894, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The average temperature statewide in 2024 was 49.1 degrees, continuing a string of historically warm years that mirror worldwide trends toward hotter temperatures.

It was also a fairly wet season, with an average of 35.46 inches of rain statewide — 110% above normal and the 26th-wettest year on record.

“We really finished up the year on a wet and pretty warm note, which is a lot of what we saw this year just at the same time,” state climatologist Larry O’Neill said.

Of the 20 warmest years ever recorded in Oregon, 11 have been recorded since 2000 and each of the last five years have been in the top 20 including 2020 (ninth warmest), 2021 (fifth), 2022 (15th) and 2023 (16th).

Hot everywhere in Oregon, but especially the Willamette Valley

The sixth-hottest year on record was fueled by two main things, said O’Neill: a boiling hot summer overall and July in particular, and an across-the-board trend toward warmer nights.

Eugene and Salem tied a record for most consecutive days above 100 degrees with five, but the entire month was extremely hot across the state.

Children cool off in the fountain at the Oregon State Capitol as temperatures surpass 100 degrees on July 9, 2024.

“What people will remember was that long-lasting heat wave in July, where we were near 100 degrees for seven-10 days,” O’Neill said. “We didn’t have that one crazy extreme day — like the record-setting heat dome of 2021. But we did have a lot of hot days.

“What people probably didn’t notice was that our nighttime low temperatures were just extremely warm for much of the year. Most people who wake up at 5 a.m. don’t notice the difference between 55 degrees and 59 degrees, but it was on the warm side a lot. So that was the other big things fueling it.”

More locally, it was Portland’s second-hottest year ever recorded (56.8 degrees), Salem’s third hottest (55.8) and Eugene’s sixth hottest (54.8).

How wet was it in Oregon in 2024?

Flooding is seen at Wallace Marine Park along the Willamette River on Dec. 27, 2024.

The 2020 season brought lots of rain — with atmospheric rivers depositing lots of precipitation, capped off by a very rainy December.

O’Neill said the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon Coast was in a period of Pacific Decadal Oscillation that frequently brings heavier rain than normal, in addition to the formation of a weak La Nina, which also favors wetter-than-normal conditions.

The rain reached a few places that saw wet years that have frequently been dry lately, including Medford, which got nearly 23 inches of rain and was 124% of normal for precipitation, and Pendleton, which got 14.81 inches and was 119.6% of normal for rainfall.

Salem also ended the year wet — 44.60 inches of rain, which was 114% of normal.

“We got fortunate with some pretty good storms,” O’Neill said.

Most acres burned on record in Oregon shows disconnect between winter rain and summer heat

Aircraft dropped water and retardant on the Bingham Fire in October 2024 to slow the blaze burning near Marion Forks in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness area.

Oregon saw the most acres burned in its history in 2024, at just under 2 million acres blackened, mostly in the eastern Oregon rangeland.

One striking thing that’s been happening in recent years is there’s almost a detachment from Oregon’s winters and summers, O’Neill said.

Mainly, that it gets so hot and dry during early season heat waves that it evaporates much of the moisture built up even during wet and snowy winters. That allows wildfires to spark and spread rapidly because Oregon’s not holding on to its moisture the way it used to.

“Climate change makes springs and summers so much warmer, and raises the evaporation to such an extent that separates spring and summer from winter,” he said. “Our precipitation just doesn’t go as far as it used to. That’s had a really big impact on our wildfire danger.”

Full breakdown of stats across Oregon in 2024

This table was put together by O’Neill. It uses weather stations.

A table shows weather data and ranks against normal years and historic data, gathered by state climatologist Larry O’Neill and produced with data from NOAA.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon records sixth hottest year on record in 2024

Image Credits and Reference: https://www.yahoo.com/news/hot-oregon-2024-data-shows-120442925.html