Weather, Climate, and Other Science Topics
November 2022 started out with a bang. A very strong, westerly atmospheric river came through the area on Friday, November 4, resulting in extreme rainshadowing for the Seattle area but widespread flooding over the Washington Cascades. And entering the second week of November, some forecasts were calling for an early-season shot of lowland snow. The […]
October is a month of changes. Leaves turn from green to red, the weather turns from sunny to stormy, and the Mariners – at least for the last 21 years – hang up their cleats until the following spring. But not this year! We’ve just gone through one of the driest summers and early autumns […]
We are finally starting to see some summer-like weather over the Pacific Northwest. I went for a nice bike ride on Sunday down to West Point in Discovery Park, and the weather was absolutely perfect, with highs touching 70 degrees at Sea-Tac and a mix of clouds and sun. Tons of riders were out on the Burke-Gilman […]
Meteorological spring begins on March 1st, and you can feel it in the air. After 1.25” of rain on 2/27 and an incredible 2.97” on 2/28, the weather since Tuesday 3/1 has been tranquil, with partly cloudy skies interspersed with brilliant bursts of springtime sunshine. I was walking around the International District yesterday, and when […]
Atmospheric rivers, like the one over Western WA right now, are strong, narrow, and often slow-moving streams of mild, moist air stretching from the subtropics to the midlatitudes. When this air slams into terrain like the Cascades or Olympics, it is forced to rise, resulting in even more clouds and even heavier rain. The strongest […]
As of 8/2, Portland and Seattle have seen 48 and 49 consecutive days without measurable precipitation, respectively. Such dry spells aren’t unheard of for the summer – Portland’s record for consecutive dry days is 71 and was set in 1967, and Seattle’s is 55 and was set just back in 2017. But this anomalously long […]
What beautiful weather we’ve had this week! I’ve been outside in shorts & a t-shirt the past few days, and let me tell ya – 60 degrees has never felt so warm before! The snowstorms of mid-February seem like a distant memory, though the widespread tree damage around my neighborhood is a sober reminder of […]
Dry Halloweens are not a slam dunk for the Pacific Northwest. During my trick-or-treating career from 1996-2007 (yes, I trick-or-treated my freshman year of high school… social graces have never been a strong suit of mine but getting free candy has!), 42% of the days saw measurable precipitation I feel bad for the Gen Z […]
This past Sunday, I went trout fishing on the Yakima River with my dad and brother. The trout were there, but they were sluggish and not particularly enthusiastic about our flies. We didn’t had any hits on dry flies and had a few hits on nymphs, but we were unable to bring any to the […]
More satellite eye-candy today! Take a look below (note – if you are receiving this post via email, you may have to go to the actual post to see the loop). One thing that immediately stands out is the powerful jet stream centered over NW Oregon/SW Washington. Note how much faster the high-elevation clouds in […]
