Oregon posted 15th warmest year on record in 2023

Last year was Oregon's 15th warmest year in records that date back to 1894, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The average temperature statewide in 2023 was 48.1 degrees, a touch cooler than the last three years but continuing a string of historically warm years that mirror worldwide trends toward hotter temperatures.

Last year tied with three other years for 15th warmest — 1986, 1995 and 1926.

Oregon sees drier than normal year in 2023

It also was a drier than normal year in Oregon — the 32nd driest on record — with the state recording 89% as much precipitation as normal.

Eugene recorded its eighth warmest and fifth driest year on record. Rainfall was closer to normal in Salem and Portland. And Portland recorded its second-warmest year on record.

Colder than normal start to 2023 transitions to hot summer

Oregon climatologist Larry O’Neill said the most striking thing about 2023 was that it started out colder than normal, with abundant mountain snowpack and a chilly spring, before transitioning into a hot summer, fall and early winter.

"We started off so cool that I was starting to think this might be the first year we had a cooler-than-normal year for the first time in a long time,” O’Neill said. “Last year started in a La Niña pattern that normally does bring cooler temperatures, and that’s what happened. But this summer came in and was deceptively hot.

“We didn’t have a heat dome or anything that seemed extreme, we just had a consistently warmer summer and much warmer nighttime temperatures.”

Heat leads to spike in grass fires in urban areas

In terms of impact, a hot and dry summer in the Willamette Valley led to a spike in grass fires in urban areas. O’Neill said the hot and dry conditions around Corvallis and Eugene in particular impacted agriculture.

“A lot of fields were fallowed and the stuff that was growing was heavily irrigated,” he said. “There was a lot of straws sucking up groundwater and that contributed to dropping well levels.”

Even with a cool January, there's a good chance Oregon's 2024 will be warmer than 2023. The El Niño weather pattern has replaced La Niña and temperatures are expected to make a run at 2015's record-breaking heat.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. 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.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: 2023 was Oregon's 15th warmest year since 1894: What we know