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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 3, 2006 Silas Dehart and Pandora Davis, 8, of Medford sled over the nearly 2 feet of fresh snow dumped on Mount Ashland New Year�s Day. The two were sledding with others at one of the snow play sites along the Mount Ashland access road. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell A wet month December started wet and got worse, with big temperature swings added for good measure By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune December started wet and ended even wetter, giving newcomers a taste of high water, Southern Oregon style. The 12th month of 2005 went into the weather annals as the eighth-wettest December since 1912, when the National Weather Service began collecting data in Southern Oregon. More than 7 inches of rain fell during the month, but 60 percent of it (4.25 inches) came during the last five days, pushing rivers and streams to levels that recalled the flood of Jan. 1, 1997. Many wetter areas of Jackson County and Southern Oregon received at least twice as much moisture. One rain gauge in far western Jackson County near the city of Rogue River, for example, collected nearly 14 inches of water during the month. While the constant heavy rain at the end of the month reminded many longtime residents of the flood nine years ago, December 2005 (with 7.07 inches of rain) actually was more like December 2002 (7.19 inches) than December 1996 (9.94 inches). Advertisement Medford’s precipitation for the calendar year, at 23.38 inches, was 5.01 inches above the average of 18.37 inches, but relatively unremarkable compared to notably wet years such as 1964 (29.09 inches); 1983 (30.15 inches) and 1996 (31.41 inches), when nearly 9.94 inches of rain fell in December alone and high water caused problems from Ashland to Grants Pass. Measurable rain fell on 17 days during December 2005, but warmer-than-average temperatures meant that snow levels were often quite high. The Mount Ashland ski area had enough snow to open on Dec. 9, but a mix of snow and rain through most of the month kept the snow depth relatively constant until New Year’s Day, when the mountain was nearly buried in 22 inches of new snow. Many of the storms that struck Southern Oregon blew in from the southwest, bearing warm air and plenty of water. Daily high temperatures for the month averaged 2.6 degrees above normal, and daily low temperatures averaged 2.5 degrees above normal. The water content of the snow dwindled on low-elevation sites as rain melted much of the snow that had fallen early in the season. The measuring station at Fish Lake (elevation 4,665 feet), for example, had just 75 percent of the average snow water content as of Monday, while higher-elevation sites such as Fourmile Lake (6,000 feet) had 129 percent of the average water content. For the Rogue and Umpqua basins as a whole, the snow water equivalent stood at 103 percent of average on Monday. Only one weather record fell during the month, a new daily high temperature for Dec. 20 (61 degrees). The lowest temperature for the month occurred three days earlier, on the 17th, when the evening low fell to 19 degrees during a spell of cold nights and pleasantly warm days. Reach reporter Bill Kettlerat 776-4492, or e-mail A wet month ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Cheap Website Hosting Sports Equipment Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations High End Computers Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Online Casino Fundraisers Advertisement s