Cold Snap Forecast for Oregon: The Next Arctic Blast
In Portland the coldest week is usually Dec 21 to 27, with a normal low of 36°F, and the coldest night of the last 10 winters was 11°F on Jan 13, 2017.
Reading the National Weather Service forecast for Portland.
Normals and records at Portland International Airport
The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Oregon reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
PortlandPortland International Airport, USW00024229
Dec 21 to 27
36°F
11°FJan 13, 2017
Nov 22
−3°FFeb 2, 1950records since 1938
EugeneEugene Mahlon Sweet Airport, USW00024221
Dec 18 to 24
34°F
13°FJan 6, 2017
Oct 19
−12°FDec 8, 1972records since 1938
MedfordMedford Rogue Valley Airport, USW00024225
Dec 23 to 29
32°F
6°FJan 6, 2017
Oct 27
−6°F3 times, last on Dec 10, 1972records since 1928
RedmondRedmond Roberts Field, USW00024230
Dec 15 to 21
23°F
−14°FJan 5, 2017
Sep 14
−28°FDec 8, 1972records since 1948
BurnsBurns Municipal Airport, USW00094185
Dec 22 to 28
14°F
−27°FFeb 12, 2025
Sep 9
−30°FDec 8, 2013records since 1973
Normals from NOAA NCEI; nightly lows from GHCN-Daily, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026.
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Portland against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 5 Oregon reference stations.
At Portland it is usually Dec 21 to 27, with a normal low of 36°F. At the other reference stations: Eugene Dec 18 to 24 (34°F), Medford Dec 23 to 29 (32°F), Redmond Dec 15 to 21 (23°F) and Burns Dec 22 to 28 (14°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Portland stays above 32°F all winter; it bottoms out at 36°F. Single nights still freeze: the first came around Nov 22 in the median of the last 10 winters.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Portland was 11°F on Jan 13, 2017, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was 23°F. Elsewhere: Eugene 13°F on Jan 6, 2017, Medford 6°F on Jan 6, 2017 and Redmond −14°F on Jan 5, 2017. The record at the Portland station is −3°F, on Feb 2, 1950, in daily records since 1938.
At Portland a typical recent winter brings 26 nights at 32°F or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Portland International Airport (USW00024229), Eugene Mahlon Sweet Airport (USW00024221), Medford Rogue Valley Airport (USW00024225), Redmond Roberts Field (USW00024230) and Burns Municipal Airport (USW00094185). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
