A two-day rainstorm in mid-August may have saved Lincoln County cities and water districts from tightening restrictions on water use, judging from rain measurements from weather-watchers in the Yachats area.
Rainfall amounts in the Yachats area for August ranged from just under an inch to more than 2 inches – most falling during a storm Aug. 15-16 – and giving a bit of a reprieve to the driest time of the year on the coast.
Jim Adler, who has been measuring rainfall for 16 years at his home three miles up the Yachats River valley, recorded 2.13 inches of rain in August – four times his usual average and the most he’s ever had in August. His rainfall total for the year, however, is 46.21 inches.
But five miles farther east, Bob Williams measured .90 inches of rain in August and has 56.11 inches for the first eight months of 2025.
In Yachats, Adam Altson recorded 1.02 inches of rain in August, his highest total in nine years of measurements. “Despite that, it is my lowest total rainfall through eight months – 30.08 inches,” he said.
Staff at the Yachats wastewater treatment plant recorded its highest rain amount – 1.19 inches – since 2013, when it had 2.22 inches. The 2025 total there is 28.93 inches.
Julie Bailey, who lives at the 220-foot elevation level in Yachats, recorded 1.39 inches of rain in August – 1.06 inches on Aug. 15-16 — and has 40.07 inches for the year.
And, Don Tucker, who lives two miles north of Yachats, had 1.35 inches of rain in for August, his highest August total in 10 years. Tucker’s total for the year is 37.75 inches – almost four inches below his 19-year average for the first eight months of the year.
— Quinton Smith/Lincoln Chronicle
