{"id":655392,"date":"2026-03-14T15:58:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T15:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/655392\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T15:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T15:58:15","slug":"the-storm-that-boosted-oregons-snowpack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/655392\/","title":{"rendered":"The storm that boosted Oregon\u2019s snowpack"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) \u2014 The latest atmospheric river was a record breaker in many ways. But it also highlights why these systems are important for the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n

WEATHER | Latest Storm Tracker 2 Forecast<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lower-end atmospheric rivers bring rain and wind while helping build the mountain snowpack. When they stay weaker, they can boost snow levels without causing major problems like flooding or landslides.<\/p>\n

This most recent storm was moderate. Even so, we saw both the benefits and the impacts.<\/p>\n

Several cities recorded daily rainfall records<\/a>. In the Cascades, the snowpack received a much-needed boost. But atmospheric rivers can also create dangerous conditions.<\/p>\n

Several avalanches were reported on Mt. Hood<\/a>, and a few local rivers briefly flooded. Fortunately, the flooding was short-lived.<\/p>\n

Atmospheric rivers are responsible for about 25% to 50% of our annual precipitation. They play a major role in building snowpack and helping break drought conditions.<\/p>\n

Over a three-day stretch, Portland received about 75% of its average monthly rainfall.<\/p>\n

Higher elevations saw even bigger totals. Several feet of snow fell in parts of the Mt. Hood area. The Red Hill SNOTEL site on the north side of Mt. Hood recorded 9.7 inches of snow-water equivalent and an impressive 97 inches of snow.<\/p>\n

The snowpack is still well below average, but this week\u2019s snow will help.<\/p>\n

Even with the recent storms, nearly every Oregon basin remains below 50% of average snowpack. The Mt. Hood basin has climbed to about 42% of average.<\/p>\n

Why we say \u201catmospheric river\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen a lot of comments recently about the term atmospheric river. In some of my Morning Minute posts and a video I shared Wednesday, people asked why meteorologists don\u2019t simply call these storms a Pineapple Express.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the reason.<\/p>\n

All Pineapple Express events are atmospheric rivers \u2014 but not all atmospheric rivers are Pineapple Express events.<\/p>\n

A Pineapple Express specifically refers to moisture that originates near Hawaii. Many atmospheric rivers that affect the West Coast have that connection, but not all of them do. That\u2019s why meteorologists use the broader term.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The difference between an atmospheric river and a cold front – Storm Tracker 2 Weather graphic<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t it just rain?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also seen comments suggesting meteorologists are \u201cfear-mongers\u201d and that these storms are \u201cjust rain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, it rains a lot during winter in the Pacific Northwest. That\u2019s when we receive most of our precipitation.<\/p>\n

But atmospheric rivers can deliver a month\u2019s worth of rain in just a few days. A typical cold front might bring around an inch of rain and move through fairly quickly. Atmospheric rivers can last longer and deliver significantly more moisture.<\/p>\n

Meteorologists are not trying to create fear. Our goal is to help people understand what\u2019s happening and what to expect.<\/p>\n

DOWNLOAD | STORM TRACKER 2 APP <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

When conditions could have a major impact, it\u2019s our job to share that information. That\u2019s also why weather alerts exist \u2014 to give you time to prepare and stay safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) \u2014 The latest atmospheric river was a record breaker in many ways. But it also…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":655393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[746,159,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-655392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116228358571854397","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}