While Sunday was a special day for mothers across Clark County, it was also a record-breaking day when it came to temperatures.
A high of 91 degrees in Vancouver made Sunday the second-hottest Mother’s Day on record, behind 94 degrees on May 14, 1939. The 92-degree high at Portland International Airport tied with the record there, set in 1973, according to meteorologist Jon Bonk with the National Weather Service in Portland.
Before the evening heat, the area also saw records for the warmest daily low temperature for Sunday. Vancouver’s 58-degree low tied the warmest low on May 14 recorded in 2005, according to the weather service. The Portland airport’s 62-degree low was the warmest low temperature on that day and tied for the warmest overnight low for the month of May.
“In this case, we just have not had our normal marine air come in and cool us off at night, as we often do,” Bonk said. “And then combining that with just the continually sinking air from the high pressure over the top of us, it’s just been keeping our nights warm.”
Cities along the Oregon Coast — a popular Mother’s Day destinations — set records Sunday for their warmest day recorded in the month of May. Temperatures reached 93 in Astoria and Seaside and 91 in Tillamook and Florence, the weather service said.
The heat continued into Monday, when temperatures in the Portland area again reached into the low 90s. (Bonk said Monday the weather service has been having problems with its instruments at Pearson Field, so readings were unavailable until it could be fixed. The next closest readings were from Portland International Airport.)
Bonk said Vancouver should continue to see temperatures hover near 90 degrees for the next few days before cooling off a bit into the lower 80s toward the end of the week. Still, temperatures will remain above normal, he said.
About halfway through the month, May has been warmer and drier than average. Bonk said the average daily temperatures for the area throughout the month have been about 4 degrees warmer than usual. The month’s 0.88 inch of rain by Monday afternoon was also about a quarter of an inch drier than normal.
