PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Happy first day of meteorological fall!
Sept. 1 rings in the new season, and comprises of the month of September, October, and November. This is not to be confused with the actual, traditional, start to fall on Sept. 22. That is marked by the Fall Equinox – when the earth is positioned so the sun is directly over the equator.
September Rain
The rainy season in Portland normally starts in October as Pacific storms begin to brew and the storm track turns more active.
However, September can still bring about several storms that’ll provide for rainy days here and there. September is still the third driest month of the year, but we go from about a half inch of rain on average in August to 1.52″ of rain normally in September.
There have been exceptionally dry and wet Septembers over the last decade as well. Last September went down as the 11th driest since the 1940s in Portland. On the flip side, September 2013 was the soggiest September on record with the Septembers of 2019 and 2021 close behind as 6th and 7th wettest, respectively.
Extended Outlook
There is not much rain in the extended outlook as we head into a new month.
The first 10 days of September look relatively dry, aside from light scattered showers that may return Sunday night through early Labor Day morning.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center shows some indication of wetter-than-normal rainfall for the month. In terms of daytime highs, the CPC shows no indication of whether daytime temps will run hotter or cooler than normal.
