Weather

Growers, university report flooding due to heavy rain

By Bill Goloski — Posted April 24, 2019

Periods of heavy rainfall caused flooding in Oregon’s northern, middle and southern Willamette Valley during the early days of April. Affected areas experienced extensive damage, but community members have rallied behind some growers to help with the recovery efforts. Rivers Edge Nursery, a landscape shrub grower in Junction City, was hit hard by raging Willamette […]

Next-level rain gardens

By Elizabeth Petersen — Posted June 2, 2017

Growers highlight native plants and underutilized selections for stormwater management systems.

Preventing the water wars before they begin

By Jeff Stone — Posted June 1, 2015

OAN Executive Director Jeff Stone warns about the impending water crisis

Season forecast calls for milder temps, more rain

By Curt Kipp — Posted December 3, 2014

Phil Volcker of ERF Weather Inc. is expecting that Western Oregon will see a milder winter this year, with above-average rainfall. He shared his thoughts with members of the OAN’s Willamette Chapter during their late November meeting in Salem. “I’m confident we’re going to see a very good water year this year,” he said. Volcker […]

Small business loans for nurseries affected by drought

By Curt Kipp — Posted May 27, 2014

Small, nonfarm businesses — including nurseries — in 13 Oregon counties and neighboring counties in California are now eligible to apply for low-interest federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). These loans are intended to offset economic losses caused by drought conditions in the following Oregon counties: Grant, Josephine, Baker, Crook, Curry, […]

Winter weather forecast the focus of joint meeting

By Curt Kipp — Posted October 15, 2013

George Taylor George Taylor, president of Applied Climate Services in Corvallis, Ore., shared his winter weather predictions at a joint meeting of three OAN chapters — Clackamas, Sunset and Willamette — on Oct. 8. The former state climatologist first explained the tropical Pacific weather cycles popularly known as El Niño and La Niña, which are […]

No doubt it’s been a drought

By Curt Kipp — Posted October 2, 2012

When people think of Oregon weather, they often think of record rainfall. Just not in this sense. The just-concluded period from July 1–Sept. 30 set a record, all right, but it was for a lack of moisture, not an abundance of it. Just .25 inches of rain fell during that period, according to the official […]

New USDA zone map released

By Curt Kipp — Posted January 31, 2012

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its first new climate zone map in more than new decades. The new 2012 map, downloadable here (various other versions here), replaces the previous map published in 1990. According to USA Today, the new map is much more localized — in fact, it’s accurate down to one-half mile. […]

BCS (Blustery Chances of Snow?)

By Curt Kipp — Posted January 10, 2011

Today the Ducks take on the Tigers, and on Wednesday, the snow will take on the rain — or one could say the North will take on the West. Rufus LaLone explains what he means by that — and what it means to you, depending on your location — in his latest WeatherCafe™ post. The […]

No Polar Express, but snow possible next week

By Curt Kipp — Posted January 7, 2011

Weather forecaster Rufus LaLone of WeatherCafe™ fame said earlier this week that we might be looking at a real “Polar Express” scenario in Western Oregon, starting on Monday. Fortunately, the forecast has now been revised to something less severe. The huge storm that looked possible last Monday will avoid most parts of the Northwest. However, […]