Temperature and the Water Balance for Oregon Weather Stations
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1C15- [k E55- a 'L Temperature and the Water Balance for Oregon Weather Stations Special Report 150 May 1963 Agricultural Experiment Station Oregon State University Corvallis Contents Page I. Summary 1 II. Introduction 1 III. Types of Data and Sources 2 Temperature Data 3 Moisture Data 4 Soil Moisture Storage 5 IV. The Need for Evaporation and Transpiration Data 6 V. Reasons for Selecting the Thornthwaite-Mather Procedure 7 VI. Assumptions of the Thornthwaite-Mather Procedure and Value and Limitations of the data 8 VII. Potential vs. Actual Evapotranspiration 8 VIII. Cautions in the Interpretation and Use of Water Balance Data 9 IX. Some Applications and Implications of the Data 9 X. Appendices: Lk. Index to Data Tables by Counties 12 1B. Index to Data Tables, arranged alphabetically by stations 13 2. Map Showing the Location of Oregon Weather Stations, Identified by Data Table Number 16 3. Tables for Individual Weather Stations 17 XI, Bibliography 126 Temperature and the Water Balance for Oregon Weather Stations G. A. Johnsgard I. Summary This report presents a compilation of basic climatic data, based on long-time averages for 209 Oregon weather stations. The data include monthly and annual average maximum, average minimum and average temperatures and pre- cipitation data from U. S. Weather Bureau and other weather stations. The average dates of first and last seasonal occurrence of 32°F. and 28°F. tempera- ture minima are included for 94 stations. The data also include estimated potential evapotranspiration values, derived by the Thornthwaite-Mather procedure (20) and monthly, annual and cumulative estimates of water surpluses and deficits. Estimated potential evapotranspiration values for periods between the first and last seasonal occurrence of 32°F. and 28 0F. temperature minima are recorded for stations with frost free season data. Some limitations and advantages of the Thornthwaite-Mather procedure are reviewed and some possible applications and uses of the data are suggested. II. Introduction This compilation of climatic data was undertaken to characterize and contrast temperature and moisture variables for the major kinds of soils and their areas of occurrence in Oregon. The primary objective of this study is to assemble a uniform set of basic climatic data for a large number of Oregon weather stations located throughout the state. Many important relationships exist between certain aspects of climate and soils. The areas of occurrence of different kinds of soils and certain physical, chemical and biological soil characteristics are related to climate. The use suitability, productivity, management, and conservation requirements of soils may be greatly influenced by climate. The many important relations between soils and climate suggest that a basic set of selected climatic data may be of consider- able value as a part of soil characterization data. AUTHOR: Former Professor of Soils, Oregon State University. G. H. Simonson, Assistant Professor of Soils, Oregon State University, was responsible for final preparation of the manuscript and for including certain revisions and additions. -2- III. Types of Data and Sources Two broad classes of data are included in this study -- temperature data and moisture data. The following data have been compiled from long-time averages as a part of a basic set for a selected group of Oregon weather stations. The general sources of data are indicated below. Specific sources are indicated on the table for each weather station. Data tables are presented in an appendix to this report. Temperature data; (in Fahrenheit degrees): Average maximum temperature, monthly and annual Average minimum temperature, monthly and annual Average temperatures, monthly and annual Average dates of the first and last seasonal occurrence of 32°F and 28°F minimum temperatures, and the number of frost free days between these dates. Moisture data; (in inches): Average precipitation, monthly and annual Calculated average potential evapotranspiration, monthly Calculated average potential evapotranspiration, frost free season (32°F minimum) Calculated average potential evapotranspiration, frost free season (28°F minimum) Calculated average moisture surplus, monthly Calculated average moisture deficit, monthly Calculated average cumulative monthly moisture surplus, monthly and annual Calculated average cumulative monthly moisture deficit, monthly and annual Published summaries of U.S. Weather Bureau climatic data for record periods of various lengths were the data sources in most cases. The most common periods for which summaries were available were 1931-1955, 1931-1952 or 1921-1950. In some cases data summaries were available for segments of these periods and in other cases the only available summaries were for periods, differing in length for different stations, for a period prior to 1931. Summaries for "first order" weather stations were for periods greater than 50 years in some cases. Data -3- for the years 1953 to 1959 were summarized for some recently established weather stations to extend the length of the record period. Annual reports from Agri- cultural Branch Experiment Stations were the source of some data. Frost free season data were drawn in part from a published summary by the U. S. Weather Bureau and in part from the median or 50% probability tables compiled by Eichhorn (15). The following standards were used in selecting data: 1. The records used were for the most recent and longest continuous period for which summaries were available. 2. Stations with record periods shorter than "8 years were excluded in most cases. In a few cases summaries for periods as short as 5 years were used. 3. Records for periods prior to 1930 were used if more recent records for an adequate period were not available. Separate sets of data are included for both a recent period and a period prior to 1930 in a few cases, particularly if the recent record period was quite short. Sources of data and length of record periods are indicated on the data table for each station. In some cases the record periods are not identical for all types of data but all data cover as nearly equivalent periods as possible. The long-time average values presented in this study are inadequate for describing and characterizing various aspects of climate for many purposes. For certain purposes, detailed short-time data are essential and should be consulted. For other purposes, the range of variability or selected statistical indices of variability may be of importance. Extreme values or the frequency and duration of values above or below certain "critical" limits assume a special significance for other purposes. Following is a more detailed account of some considerations in the selection and development of the various kinds of data: Temperature Data Average maximum and minimum temperatures were included, in addition to average temperatures. The principal reason for including average maximum and minimum temperatures is to provide an index of the diurnal range in temperatures, a fact of considerable importance in many biological considerations and for certain other purposes. This may be illustrated by comparing various tempera- ture values for Brookings and Chemult, Oregon. The average, average maximum, and average minimum temperatures for July for Brookings are 59.1°F., 67.8°F., and 50.8°F., respectively; the average maximum and minimum temperatures range 8 to 9 degrees from the average. The same values for Chemult are 59.4°F., 82.9°F., and 35.6°F., respectively; the average maximum and minimum temperatures range 23 to 24 degrees from the average. Obviously, the two stations differ markedly in the day to night range in temperatures during the month of July, -4- a fact not revealed by the similarity in average July temperatures. The differences in day to night temperature for the two stations might be expected to be of considerable importance, particularly in relation to certain biological phenomena. Average temperature, in weather station summaries, is the arithmetic mean of average maximum and average minimum temperature. Inclusion of average maximum and average minimum temperature, from which the average temperatures can be derived, suggests that the latter value could be excluded from the basic set of data for all stations. There are, however, two reasons for including average temperatures. Firstly, average monthly temperatures are required for deriving the heat index, one of the steps in t'he calculation of potential evapo- transpiration, in the Thornthwaite-Mather procedure. The average temperature values presented in the tables for the individual stations were those used in calculating potential evapotranspiration. Secondly, data summaries were not always available for identical periods for all temperature values so the record period for average maximum and average minimum temperatures may differ slightly from the record period for average temperatures. In most cases the record periods for the various temperature values are essentially the same. Frost free season data are included for 94 of the stations as footnotes to the tables. These data include the average dates of the first and last seasonal occurrence of 320 and 28°F. temperature minima and the number of days between these dates. The frost free season data at these two temperature levels provide an in- dication of the seasonal incidence and average length of growing season for frost sensitive crops at the localities where the dates are available. This informa- tion supplements the average