Weather, Climate, and Other Science Topics
7am Sunday As you’ve probably heard by now, the Pacific Northwest will experience a significant, prolonged heat wave this week. Excessive Heat Watches are currently in effect for the Willamette Valley, Northeast Oregon, and nearly all of Central/Eastern Washington, and the hot weather is expected to persist throughout the week before a very gradual cooling […]
Two Sundays ago, I proudly proclaimed that Juneuary would end on the 17th. But taking a look at the webcam from Timberline Lodge this morning, that appears to have been a premature call! Just another example of why you can’t give much weight to any forecasts more than 2 weeks in advance. And don’t even […]
I ran through some quick climate stats for Portland Int’l Airport, and since Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend (5/23), only 2 of 10 weekends (this includes Memorial Day) have had temperatures at or above-average, while 15 of 20 weekdays have seen at or above-average temperatures. And unfortunately for weekend adventurers, this week will bring more […]
I was treated to an incredible sunset on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound tonight! I took the below photo while kayaking in Cultus Bay facing WNW. One subtle feature (but one that really jumps out to a meteorologist!) are the “cloud bands” to the northwest, in the right half of the picture. These are due […]
When one thinks of springtime weather in the Pacific Northwest, fires are one of the last things that typically come to mind. However, a fire flared up on Easter Sunday at the Swanson Bark and Wood Products company in Longview, Washington and quickly hopped from pile to pile of wood products under dry, brisk northerly […]
When most people think of the conditions needed for wildfires to grow, marine pushes aren’t the first thing to come to mind. Our famous summertime “natural air conditioning” brings a thick layer of morning clouds and keeps nighttime temperatures in 50s even in the heart of summer. But it also brings very windy conditions to […]
Good morning everybody! In some ways, this summer and last summer are polar opposites. Last summer, we saw heat wave after heat wave throughout June and July, and this, coupled with a historically poor snowpack from the previous winter, led to water shortages throughout the region and extremely high fire danger throughout much of the […]
There’s a reason why very few people in the Pacific Northwest have air conditioning. For much of the summer, cool, marine air flows into Western Washington at night, keeping low temperatures in the 50s and preventing our residences from getting too hot. Of course, we have those periods in the summer when highs skyrocket into […]
Monday, July 14, 2014 11:13 a.m. We are in the midst of a period of extremely warm weather. Highs have been in the upper 80s for an extremely long time, and although I can’t comment on meteorological figures since I have had very limited access to the interwebs (and outside world altogether) at the summer […]
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 6:38 P.M. Hi everybody! I slacked off on writing my weather blog this summer, but now I am back and I will resume a regular schedule. Thank you Nicholas Efthimiadis for the friendly reminder to stop being so lazy! In all honesty though, there wasn’t much to write home about this […]
