Weather, Climate, and Other Science Topics
April 2021 was by far the driest April on record for Portland, with only 0.39″ of rain falling at Portland Int’l Airport. This record-dry April occurred on the heels of a much drier-than-average March. As I explained in my last blog post, the entire Western US is experiencing drought conditions, and although the drought is […]
According to a 2005 Gallup poll, Americans think November is the 8th best month of the year. November has a few things going for it; the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, increasingly competitive football games, not-shaving – but it seems most Americans believe these attributes are overshadowed by how dark, cold, and depressing the month is […]
A lot has happened in the weather department since I wrote my last blog two weeks ago. Washington, Oregon, and California all declared a State of Emergency due to widespread wildfires, and the entire Western US saw one of the hottest August heat waves on record. This heat wave gave California its worst energy crisis […]
Well, it happened. A truly epic late-season snowstorm walloped the Southern Willamette Valley Sunday night and Monday, knocking out power to tens of thousands of people and bringing over a foot of snow to Eugene and over twice that to Bend. Even Portland saw flurries for much of the day, with locations above 500 feet […]
After so many busted snow forecasts this month, I’ll admit that I’m a little gun-shy writing this post. But now that all global models show a snowstorm affecting at least some part of the Willamette Valley Sunday night into Monday, I can remain silent no longer. It now looks likely that heavy snow will fall […]
FINALLY! After 56 days of no measurable precipitation for Seattle and 57 for Portland, both streaks will end tonight as a relatively strong front moves through the area. The front is associated with an upper-level trough/associated ~995 hPa surface low currently centered near Haida Gwaii. The water vapor imagery below looks more reminiscent of a […]
Thursday, October 18, 2012 6:52 P.M. I just got done with a physics midterm, my first midterm of the autumn 2012 quarter! It went decently well, although there was one question involving a inclined plane, two weighted objects, tension, kinetic friction, and a whole bunch of gnarly stuff where I was supposed to find the […]
Saturday, October 6, 2012 4:02 P.M. It’s been a pretty boring run, but we are approaching the end I love running, but I absolutely hate treadmills. With a treadmill, you don’t get the relaxing breeze in your face, you don’t get to explore new places around the city, and you are in constant danger of […]
Saturday, November 11, 2011 1:59 P.M. Before I elaborate on what I think the weather will be like, I’d like to point out the strength of the front we saw yesterday. Yesterday’s front wasn’t big and didn’t produce a whole bunch of rain, but it was strong and consolidated, and it really packed quite a […]
October 20, 2010 4:34 P.M. The details on the storms this weekend are still very, very murky. The American models, the GFS and the NAM, have been forecasting a large low pressure system to bottom out in the Gulf of Alaska at around 950 millibars, sending a strong front right into our area. This is […]
