Weather, Climate, and Other Science Topics
The weather sounds like the most inconsequential thing to talk about during these times, but if it weren’t for – you know – the global pandemic and revolution stuff – it would absolutely make front-line news. A tornado came through Damascus, OR yesterday evening! Take a look at this video from Tim Lussier… it’s not […]
I’m committing one of the cardinal sins of weather blogging here: putting a high-impact, but uncertain, forecast in the title of a weather blog. I truly believe that this is an unethical practice, and that those who do it are trading a little part of their journalistic soul in exchange for a few more clicks. […]
One of our family friends described Pacific Northwest weather as being ‘stuck in a wet sock.’ Today has certainly felt that way. We’ve had a steady drip of rain here on Whidbey Island but hardly anything in the rain gauge to show for it. For some, it’s the perfect complement to a warm cup of […]
What a wet weekend it has been! Many places across the I-5 corridor have picked up 0.25-0.75 inches of rain over the past 48 hours, but the Olympics and Coast Range have seen much more, with 1-2 inches common. Vancouver Island has been the wettest of all, with two stations on the Southern Vancouver Island […]
I was perusing the Facebook weather-sphere the other day, and KPTV chief meteorologist Mark Nelsen pointed out that the Blob had resurfaced dramatically over the past month in the Northeast Pacific. Taking a look at weekly SSTs, I’d say he’s onto something! Below are SST anomalies in mid February and mid March – you can […]
When I was trying to think of non forecast-related topics to blog about the other day, all the topics that came to my mind were depressing. I didn’t want to write about our worsening drought situation or the the high likelihood of an above-average fire season, and UW professor/blogger Cliff Mass had already written a […]
Saturday’s rain was refreshing, wasn’t it? Some spots saw far more rain than forecast as a weak upper-level low slowly drifted southeastward from the Olympic Peninsula through the Willamette Valley and into Central Oregon, while other spots saw hardly any rain at all. This was particularly true for the Puget Sound region, where a local […]
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 […]
Though most of you know me as the local weather geek, I’ve also a bit of a economics buff and stock market junkie. I got my first taste of Wall Street at a young age, overhearing the market bits between news features on NPR in the back seat as my mom drove me to and […]
