Frigid 22 degree temps set record low

Roseburg shattered a 29-year-old record for lowest temperature on Jan. 22 this morning, as the thermometer dipped down to 22 degrees.

That was 4 degrees colder than the previous mark of 26 degrees, set in 1979.

Residents who went outside or checked an outdoor thermometer before they went to bed Monday night may have been surprised by how cold it became overnight. The temperature at 10 p.m. was 33 degrees, 1 degree above freezing.

Over the next hour, the temperature dropped 5 degrees. However, between 11 p.m. and midnight, it warmed up another 2 degrees, according to hourly figures from the National Weather Service.

By 2 a.m., the temperature in Roseburg was 25 degrees. It didn’t reach 22 degrees until between 5 and 6 a.m. It remained there for the next two hours. By 9 a.m., the temperature had risen to a relatively balmy 25 degrees.

Today’s forecast calls for sunny skies, with a high temperature near 42 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The clear conditions will allow the ground heat built up during the day to escape into the atmosphere for a second straight night, bringing an overnight low around 23 degrees.

Wednesday will be sunny, with a high temperature near 44 degrees. Wednesday night, increasing clouds are expected to build up in the region, bringing warmer overnight temperatures. The low that night is predicted to be about 30 degrees.

By Thursday morning, rain is likely in the Umpqua Valley.



• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.