Wednesday, December 27, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Top weather events of 2017
Staff from the National
Weather Service in Pendleton,
Oregon, have voted on the top
local weather events of 2017.
1. Severe Winter: It
was a top-five cold January
for many locations, such as
Hermiston (1), Pasco (1),
Dayville (1), Sisters (2), Long
Creek (2), Pelton Dam (2),
La Grande (2), Meacham
(4), and Walla Walla (5). The
Winter Severity Index, tracks
snow and temperatures, and
compared to previous winters
at selected locations showed
the winter of 2016-17 to be
extreme at all points in the
Inland Northwest.
2. Smoke: Wildfires in and
around the Inland Northwest
produced long durations of
poor visibility and unhealthy
air quality. Beginning in
early August, smoke poured
into the region from fires
in British Columbia. At the
end of August and early
September, smoke from fires
in the Cascades and Columbia
Gorge enveloped the region.
Stagnant air conditions and
a light easterly flow even
allowed smoke from Idaho
and western Montana to drift
into the region.
3. Solar Eclipse: What
made the eclipse “weather-
worthy” was that the sky con-
ditions were nearly perfect for
viewing. On the previous day,
there was a weak disturbance
that produced clouds and
then, the day after the eclipse,
the smoke from regional fires
returned to many areas.
4. June 26 Flash Flood
and Severe Thunderstorms:
The largest severe weather
outbreak in nearly four years
produced eight severe thun-
derstorms which pounded
central and northeast Oregon
and southeast Washington.
Large hail up to golf-ball sized
was observed near Warm
Springs and Clarno. The
Pendleton airport received its
largest one-hour rainfall on
record with 0.97 inch. Flash
flooding was reported near the
airport and also in Kennewick
and Richland, Washington.
Winds gusted 60 to 65 mph at
Pendleton and also Richland
and Kahlotus, Washington.
5. Wet Water Year:
Pendleton, Yakima and the
Tri Cities, Washington each
earned top-10 ranking for wet
water years ending September
30. Nearly all of this moisture
came in the October-through-
June period.
6. Bye-Bye Drought: In
early March, the drought mon-
itor showed all of Washington
and Oregon drought-free for
the first time since October
2011, a period just short of
5-1/2 years. At the end of
March, mountain snowpack
was 100 to 140 percent of nor-
mal in the Cascades, Blues,
Ochocos, and Wallowas.
7. Central Oregon Hail
Storm: On May 4, a late-
evening severe thunderstorm
traveled through northern
Deschutes and Jefferson coun-
ties and produced large hail
between one and two inches
in diameter northwest of
Bend and Terrebonne, before
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8. Hot Dry Summer:
Many locations recorded the
average temperatures in the
top 5 for warmest on record
for June through August. The
Long Creek, Oregon average
summer temperature of 66.5
degrees barely beat the pre-
vious record hottest by 0.1
degree set in 2015. Most loca-
tions only received 25 to 75
percent of normal precipita-
tion, with the Pendleton area
being the exception at 131
percent of normal. It was dry
for 54 consecutive days in
Easton, Washington and for
61 days in Redmond, Oregon.
Hermiston and Yakima had the
driest July on record. It was
the hottest August on record at
Ellensburg, Hermiston, Bend,
Easton, Yakima, Pelton Dam,
Long Creek, and Condon.
9. Union County
Blizzards: On January 7 and
January 18, the La Grande,
Oregon, airport reported vis-
ibility less than “mile due to
blowing snow creating bliz-
zard conditions. On January
7, all roads in Union County,
including I-84, were closed as
winds gusted to over 60 mph.
10. Damaging Winds: On
April 7, a strong low-pres-
sure system created a tight
gradient and produced wind
gusts in the 60-to-70-mph
range at Walla Walla and
Ellensburg, Washington and
also at Shaniko, Heppner,
La Grande, and Pendleton,
Oregon. Snapped trees and
power outages were reported
in the Bend area.
5
Sheriff’s office seeks
ATM theft suspect
The Deschutes County
Sheriff’s Office is seeking
anyone with information, or
that can assist in identifying
the suspect in an attempted
theft from an ATM in early
December.
The incident occurred dur-
ing the early morning hours
of December 6, at the U.S.
Bank in Sisters.
Vi d e o s u r v e i l l a n c e
received by DCSO on
December 21 shows an
apparent adult mail at the
ATM from 1:41 until 2:20
a.m. on December 6. The
suspect is seen with a large
screwdriver during this time
attempting to gain access into
the interior of the ATM. The
ATM was damaged during
the attempted theft, but no
money was taken.
The suspect is described
as an adult white male, wear-
ing all black clothing, black
sunglasses, and a black bala-
clava over his head. DCSO
has released still images of
the suspect in the hopes a
member of the community
PHOTO PROVIDED
DCSO is seeking information about
this man who attempted to break
into the U.S. Bank ATM in Sisters.
can assist us with this
investigation.
Anyone with informa-
tion is asked to contact the
Deschutes County Sheriff’s
Office through non-emer-
gency dispatch at 541-
693-6911; reference case
17-375379.
Veterans’ Services
Serving those who’ve served.
541-585-VETS (8387) | www.deschutes.org/vets