Weather, Climate, and Other Science Topics
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 […]
We had the best Halloween weather in 95 years and stunning weather today, and Monday will be another beautiful day with only a few high clouds increasing late in the day. But by Tuesday morning, the first of several systems this week will bring rain to the area, and on Friday, we’ll see a shift […]
Dry Halloweens are not a slam dunk for the Pacific Northwest. During my trick-or-treating career from 1996-2007 (yes, I trick-or-treated my freshman year of high school… social graces have never been a strong suit of mine but getting free candy has!), 42% of the days saw measurable precipitation I feel bad for the Gen Z […]
The next two weeks look unseasonably calm. We’ll see a moderate system swing through on Friday, but other than that, our weather looks warmer and drier-than-average for the next 10 days as a strong, broad ridge of high pressure builds across the Western US. Given the boring weather ahead, I thought I’d do a quick […]
The Pacific Northwest isn’t known for its rapidly changing seasons. We don’t exactly plunge into winter like the Northern Plains, and our slow trudge towards summer out of the depths of January is even slower. June is the hottest month of the year for the Desert SW, but many years, while Death Valley is sweltering […]
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 […]
More satellite eye-candy today! Take a look below (note – if you are receiving this post via email, you may have to go to the actual post to see the loop). One thing that immediately stands out is the powerful jet stream centered over NW Oregon/SW Washington. Note how much faster the high-elevation clouds in […]
Today’s weather pattern is a real treat to look at on satellite. We have marginally unstable air moving inland, and this air is just unstable enough to give crustal clear, bluebird skies over the ocean but heavy thundershowers over land. Why is this? The Pacific Ocean is only in the mid-50s, and the air over […]
