Laurel Mountain is the fourth highest peak in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

's Central Coast Range with an elevation of . The peak is located in

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

west of the city of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. In 1997 it was labeled the wettest place in Oregon, and in 1996 it set an all-time calendar year rainfall record for the contiguous United States with .Record Maximum Annual Precipitation By State
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Climate

Laurel Mountain has a hyperhumid maritime climate, on the border between

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

(''Csb''),

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

(''Cfb'') and

subpolar oceanic An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(''Cfc''/''Csc''). Rainfall is extremely heavy between October and April, and even in the dry months of July and August

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

is very frequent and prevents soils and vegetation from drying out appreciably. In November 2006 the mountain received over of rain – six days were lost due to gauge overflows – and in the record wet December 1996 throughout the Pacific Northwest . Despite winter temperatures being above freezing on an average 72 of 89 afternoons – and minima above on 31 mornings during a typical winter – precipitation is so heavy that snow cover in an average January reaches , whilst the record seasonal snowfall is between July 1998 and June 1999. Since 1978 extreme temperatures have ranged from on December 24, 1983 to on July 22 of 2006, though in the thirty-five years of record only fourteen minima below have been recorded.

References

Mountains of Oregon Mountains of the Oregon Coast Range Landforms of Polk County, Oregon {{PolkCountyOR-geo-stub