Thursday, November 24, 2011
1:16 P.M.
November 23, 2011 – taken from KOMO News
I finally found some stats from the storm that hit us earlier this week. Below are some rainfall totals for areas in Washington from 7 A.M. Monday to 7 A.M. Wednesday. These statistics were taken off Scott Sistek’s KOMO blog, “Partly to Mostly Bloggin’.” It is a very good article about this storm, check it out here.
- Anacortes: 1.05″
- Auburn: 2.50″
- Bainbridge Isl: 5.11
- Bellevue: 2.32
- Bellingham: 1.79″
- Bothell: 3.00″
- Bremerton: 4.92″
- Burlington: 1.57″
- Carnation: 2.13″
- Concrete: 3.62″
- Edmonds: 3.65″
- Everett: 3.25″
- Federal Way: 2.66″
- Ferndale: 1.88″
- Forks: 3.02″
- Friday Harbor: 2.10″
- Gig Harbor: 3.94″
- Issaquah: 2.37″
- Kent: 2.54″
- Kingston: 4.56″
- Kirkland: 2.85″
- Lake Stevens: 2.88″
- Lynnwood: 2.63″
- Maple Valley: 2.10″
- Marysville: 3.35″
- Mercer Island: 2.89″
- Montesano: 4.03″
- Mount Vernon: 1.79″
- North Bend: 2.88″
- Ocean Shores: 4.04″
- Olympia: 5.07″
- Pakrland: 2.89″
- Port Angeles: 3.89″
- Port Orchard: 3.04″
- Port Townsend: 1.32″
- Poulsbo: 4.95″
- Puyallup: 2.58″
- Redmond: 2.42″
- Renton: 2.09″
- Sammamish: 2.33″
- Seattle: 2.98″
- Sequim: 3.75″
- Shelton: 5.32″
- Stanwood: 2.34″
- Tacoma: 3.08″
- Woodinville: 2.54″
I did some additional research, and found some additional rainfall statistics from the NWS office in Portland. These amounts were taken from 6 A.M. Monday to 8 P.M. Wednesday. It looks like the heaviest rain was concentrated in the Mt. St. Helens area, with June Lake getting 10.50 inches!!!
JUNE LAKE,WA...............10.50 ...THROUGH 8 PM... SHEEP CANYON, WA...........9.70 ...THROUGH 8 PM... CEDAR, OR..................9.00 ...THROUGH 8 PM... FRANCES, WA................8.70 ...THROUGH 8 PM... FOSS, OR...................8.36 ...THROUGH 8 PM... SPENCER MEADOWS, WA........8.00 ...THROUGH 8 PM... LONE PINE, WA..............7.90 ...THROUGH 8 PM... SOUTH FORK RAWS, OR........7.79 ...THROUGH 8 PM... LEES CAMP, OR..............7.60 ...THROUGH 8 PM... COUGAR, WA.................7.52 ...THROUGH 8 PM... SPIRIT LAKE, WA............7.00 ...THROUGH 8 PM... SURPRISE LAKE, WA..........6.40 ...THROUGH 8 PM...
This storm also packed a lot of wind, especially down in Oregon. I also got these statistics from the NWS office in Portland.
PEAK WIND GUSTS FOR TWO TIME PERIODS...
FIRST ROUND TUESDAY THROUGH 815 PM
SECOND ROUND BETWEEN 815 PM TUESDAY AND 615 AM WEDNESDAY
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCATION FIRST ROUND SECOND ROUND
PEAK GUST TIME PST PEAK GUST TIME PST
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUTH WASHINGTON COAST...
CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT.......66 MPH 415 PM 11/22 75 130 AM 11/23
TOKE POINT NEAR RAYMOND...43 612 PM 11/22 63 1218 AM 11/23
OCEAN PARK................58 500 AM 11/22 48 915 PM 11/22
LONG BEACH................40 426 PM 11/22 51 116 AM 11/23
NORTH OREGON COAST...
ASTORIA...................81 MPH 248 AM 11/22 56 200 AM 11/23
PACIFIC CITY..............79 739 PM 11/22 74 233 AM 11/23
CAPE MEARES...............74 623 PM 11/22 92 338 AM 11/23
GARIBALDI.................69 1236 AM 11/22 81 300 AM 11/23
CLATSOP SPIT..............64 700 PM 11/22 69 1015 PM 11/22
ASTORIA AIRPORT...........61 413 PM 11/22 64 1155 PM 11/22
TILLAMOOK (CITY)..........60 738 AM 11/22 53 244 AM 11/23
SEASIDE...................60 803 PM 11/22
CANNON BEACH..............62 507 PM 11/22
TILLAMOOK AIRPORT.........54 155 AM 11/22 55 355 AM 11/23
OCEANSIDE................. 55 1044 PM 11/22
TIERRA DEL MAR............ 58 1129 PM 11/22
CENTRAL OREGON COAST...
SEA LION CAVES............81 MPH 258 AM 11/22
FLORENCE SIUSLAW JETTY....76 140 AM 11/22
LINCOLN CITY..............75 630 PM 11/22 76 951 PM 11/22
CAPE FOULWEATHER..........74 450 PM 11/22
NEWPORT (YAQUINA BRIDGE)..68 625 AM 11/22 71 439 AM 11/23
YACHATS...................67 1220 PM 11/22 47 436 AM 11/23
CAPE FOULWEATHER..........66 732 AM 11/22 66 1037 PM 11/22
NEWPORT JETTY (C-MAN).....64 800 PM 11/22 51 200 AM 11/23
NEWPORT AIRPORT...........59 715 AM 11/22 53 155 AM 11/23
DUNES.....................53 804 AM 11/22
GLENEDEN BEACH............66 853 AM 11/22
COAST RANGE...
MT. HEBO OREGON...........97 MPH 427 AM 11/22 85 1234 AM 11/23
ROCKHOUSE RAWS............74 912 AM 11/22 57 612 AM 11/23
JEWELL OREGON.............67 414 AM 11/22
ROCKHOUSE RAWS............64 712 AM 11/22
CEDAR CREEK RAWS..........55 710 AM 11/22 50 1110 PM 11/22
INTERIOR LOWLANDS...
MCMINNVILLE AIRPORT.......45 MPH 718 PM 11/22
SALEM AIRPORT.............40 900 AM 11/22
MCMINNVILLE AIRPORT.......40 619 PM 11/22
FOREST GROVE..............40 730 PM 11/22
AURORA AIRPORT............39 900 AM 11/22
EUGENE AIRPORT............36 327 PM 11/22
PORTLAND AIRPORT..........35 845 AM 11/22
VANCOUVER AIRPORT.........32 557 PM 11/22
KELSO AIRPORT.............30 635 PM 11/22
*WIND SPEEDS REPORTED IN MPH
Washington was very windy as well, but I couldn’t find any statistics posted on the NWS Seattle page. Nevertheless, Bellingham had a gust to 70 miles per hour Tuesday morning, which is pretty incredible. Sea-Tac’s all time highest gust was 69 miles per hour back in the Hanukkah Eve Storm of December 14-15, 2006.
Now, let’s talk about the current weather situation.
The National Weather Service for Seattle has issued a ton of warnings for our incoming storm! Winter storm warnings for the Cascades, high wind warnings for the coast and north interior, and storm warnings for the offshore waterways into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, around the San Juan Islands, and heading up into the Strait of Georgia. Take a look at the satellite image below, and you’ll see the storm that is currently causing all of this weather mayhem.
01:30 pm PST Thu 24 Nov 2011 – West Coast 8km resolution water vapor satellite
The storm, a mature 972 millibar low heading up into Northern Vancouver island, is much faster than the previous storm, so the rain should pass through in the next couple hours, and the winds will calm down rapidly everywhere by 10 P.M., with many locations improving sooner than that. For current Thanksgiving travelers, the biggest problem will be snow over the Cascades, which will not let up until Friday morning. The latest model from the UW indicates anywhere from 10-18 inches above 2,500 feet or so.
Valid 04:00 am PST Fri, 25 Nov 2011 – 24hr Fcst – UW 12z 4/3km 24-hour snowfall
Snow has started falling in the Cascades, even at Snoqualmie Pass.
Snoqualmie Pass always seems to get hammered on Thanksgiving… I can remember writing blog posts in the past about this. If you must drive over the pass, drive slow, bring chains, and be prepared for delays.
Have a nice Thanksgiving!
Charlie Phillips
