Weather, Climate, and Other Science Topics
One of our family friends is a brilliant oceanography professor and extremely accomplished skier, and he has a t-shirt that says “Viva La Nina.” It’s a perfect shirt for an oceanographer (since La Nina is a coupled oceanic/atmospheric phenomenon) and a Pacific Northwest skier, as La Ninas tend to bring above-average mountain snowfall to our […]
When most Portlanders think of December, they think of Christmas trees, advent calendars, and cars with those big bows on them. Certainly not sunny skies, and much less 50+ degree temperatures to accompany them! But that’s exactly what we’ve seen to begin December. There was no measurable precipitation for the first 5 days of December […]
In my AP European History class back in high school, I remember being astounded by some of the suffixes that the kings and queens had. With a name like Louis XVI, is it any surprise that the French rose up and demanded a change in government? In the spirit of European monarchies, we have our […]
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 […]
When I was younger, my parents would get me the “Old Farmers Almanac” every year for Christmas. In a time before I knew about dynamical climate models and ensemble-based, bias-corrected seasonal forecasting, the Old Farmer’s Almanac seasonal forecasts were a godsend. Part of the allure of the Almanac for an upstart weather zealot like myself […]
Welcome to autumn everybody! The equinox occurred at 12:50 this morning, and our days will continue to get shorter and shorter until the winter solstice. Interestingly, the equinox has slightly more day than night for two reasons: first, the sun is a disc and not a point, and two: Earth’s atmosphere refracts light, making the […]
Within a few weeks, La “Nina” will be replaced by her cousin, La “Nada,” which is the moniker we’ve lovingly given to ENSO-Neutral Conditions in the Tropical Pacific, where we are neither in a La Nina or an El Nino state. “ENSO” simply refers to “El Nino Southern Oscillation” and is the broad term that […]
With the days rapidly getting shorter and the first major system of autumn only hours away, I’ve been getting more and more excited for the beginning of storm season. There’s nothing I love more than a good Pacific Northwest lowland snowstorm, and windstorms, mountain snow, and heavy rain aren’t far behind. So when I caught […]
Rumors of ol’ El returning for summer 2017 have been percolating through meteorological echo chambers for the past few months, but in the past few days, mainstream media outlets like the New York Times have spilled the beans to the bourgeoisie and proletariat alike, alerting Americans of all walks of life that another El Nino […]
Well, it was nice while it lasted. But all good things must come to an end, and this year’s weak La Niña is no exception. Brie Hawkins of Little Bear Creek Weather mentioned to me this morning that NOAA announced that La Niña was officially over, so I thought I’d write a blog reviewing its […]
