WX Ranger NW WA-LN-02

Finally, BIG SNOW!

2012-01-18T16:22:00.000-08:00

We got our first real measurable snowfall for this winter today. We've received about 4" of snow so far and it's still snowing - lightly. Temperature has been steady at around 12F and we've had a constant wind too. Wind chill has been in the single digit area.

Below are a series of photos of my "non-official" snow measuring station showing the accumulation of snow. First snow started around 7:30am today.

01-18-12 @ 0830

01-18-12 @ 1030

01-18-12 @ 1340

01-18-12 @ 1530

Potential winter storm event

2012-01-16T13:11:00.000-08:00

Looks like we'll be getting our first measurable winter event by mid-week. Cold air is in place and the moist, warmer air is off-coast heading our way. Likely it will move into our area from the Southwest.

We'll see if there is any accuracy to the numbers shown on the below graph. We are in the region of the 4-8" prediction to the WNW of Spokane.

Graph by NWS Spokane

December raps up 2011

2012-01-12T21:59:00.000-08:00

December left only 1.3” of new snow here at the home weather station; a real disappointment. December 2010 we had 7.8” of snow (2009: 2.6” and 2008: 21.1”). Temperatures were mild for nearly half of the month. Our lowest temperature was on December 8 at 16.4F. The month couldn’t even muster up a single digit reading for us. We had some wind events the last four days of the month. We ended up with 0.51" of precipitation.

Though La Nina is in place not much happened. Generally, during a La Nina year, we see wetter and cooler weather here in the Pacific Northwest.

Much of the drier and "stagnate" weather was due to the ridge of high pressure that is characteristically out in the Western Pacific being much closer to the Alaskan Peninsula and Western Canada interfering with what one can consider normal winter weather patterns. We had several days of "air stagnation” alerts; most all of it was caused by that ridge.

A November tease of snow

2011-12-14T16:36:00.000-08:00

We got a little snow tease in November. Our snow amount wasn’t much, just 0.4” here at the CoCoRaHS station. That’s the least amount in three years. We only received 0.58” of total precipitation and that too is on the low side for the past three years. The low temperature for November was 20.2F with a high of 57.6F.

November is a transition month as we move into a full-fledged winter. Mean precipitation for November is 1.25" and mean snowfall is 1.4". Mean temperature for the month is 37.5F and we had a 36.9F. We also had a quick warn snap on the 22nd and 23rd. That little system brought some rain as well. So far this winter we are at the 1.0" mark for snowfall.

We are about halfway into December as I write this. Our first snow for December fell late yesterday. We had some hoarfrost for a hand-full of days just prior to the snowfall. It was nothing like we experienced in January 2009 (the month I started this blog). Temperature wise, we've been on the cool side for high temperatures - 6 of the first 14 days of December have been in the 20's. Our low so far for December is 16.4F.

Looking forward to more snow!

4.6 mag Earthquake this morning

2011-11-18T07:39:00.000-08:00

My wife woke me as she responded to a "mild" earthquake this morning at 5:09. She said the bed moved an our elder cockatiel, he's 23 years old, fell off his night-time perch. No damage that I've seen.

You can check out the specifics of the quake here. Follow the instructions at this site to read about the details.

First snowfall for 2011-12!

2011-11-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

Well, here we go -- first snow for winter 2011-12! We are a week ahead of last November when we got our first snow on the 22nd (0.9"). The previous two Novembers we had no snow (2009-10: Dec. 1 and 2008-09: Dec. 15)

The driveway...

October: cooler than "normal"

2011-11-11T16:56:00.000-08:00

The mean monthly average temperature for October is 51.1F We were down one degree at 50.1F for October 2011. The recorded lowest mean temperature was 46.7F just a handful years ago in 2002 (we came close in 2009 at 47.5F).

As you can see on the chart below, only 11 days, or a third of the month, at or above the daily mean high temperatures. The seven day period from the 23rd to the 30th was rather cool. Looking at the higher readings, we had just one day at or above the 70F mark and that was on the first of the month at 75.3F.

Total precipitation was a light 0.54" somewhat on par for the monthly mean of 0.71". No snowfall, though October has seen snow in this region (1.3" back in 1971). We recorded only two days with wind gusts at or above 25 mph. - the 11th and 12th.

November has started out on the cool side. So far just two days at or above the 50F mark. Nine days with a low at or below the freezing mark the coolest 24.1F.

We are in a moderate La Nina. In our neck of the woods that generally means cooler and wetter winters. I'm set, except for a few items, for the first snow to fall!

A little project I'm working on are monthly snowfall stats for our one and only "official" weather station. The station came on line in 1934. There are some gaps though I'll compile the information and get it posted here soon.

First Hard Frost

2011-10-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

A nice layer of frost on the car and ground this morning. Low temperature (currently: 27.9F). It dropped a degree from about an hour ago. Feels like Fall!

September's wild temperature ride

2011-10-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Here at the home weather station we had a high temperature that matched that of August with a 96.6°F. We had a total of eight days above the 90°F mark; real close to August which had a total of nine days. The all-time recorded high for the month was 104°F back in 1938. I had a low reading for September of 40.6°F; a record low was set in 1970 with a freezing 30°F. Did you notice the drop in temperatures around mid-month - a real cool down. Mean precipitation for September is rather light at just 0.50”. We didn’t come close this year; a measly 0.06” of rainfall which didn’t make much of a difference.

August, finally some summer warmth...

2011-10-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

First, I must say that I've gotten behind on posting monthly updates here at WX Ranger NW. Family things and some required travel took precedent. Anyway, let's get on the the August summary shall we?

Summer finally showed us its presence in August. Here at the home weather station we had ten days at or above the 90°F mark. Our high mark of 96.6°F was on the 28th. All those 90 degree days came to nearly three times what we had for June and July combined. Back in August 2009 we had a high of 104.1°F and last year the high was only 95.6°F. Precipitation the last two years for August was very light (2009-0.16” and 2010-0.26”). Precipitation for August 2011 was flat at 0.00”. We had two days with wind gusts at or above the 25 mph mark - a 27 and a 25 mph.

This mornings clouds...

2011-08-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

Some interesting cloud development to our east this morning.

On the G-11 Satellite image above I've mark our location in red and the cloud bank in bright green. You will likely have to open the image to see those markers.

July 2011 cooler than normal and new NEXRAD

2011-08-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

July was “cool” compared with the past two years. This July we had only three days at or above the 90°F mark and precipitation was a dry 0.19”. Back in 2009 we 19 days that went over the 90°F mark with rain at 0.58”. 2010 we had 13 days over the 90°F mark and a dry 0.20” of precipitation. July is generally our warmest month with an average maximum of 87.6°F and a mean precipitation of 0.48”.

So far our August has been our “summer month” recording our hottest day so far this year at 94.3°F (yesterday, Aug. 21) yet, we’ve only had three days over the 90°F mark. I think we’ll get a few more 90 °F days before the end of the month and, at least I’m hopeful, some rain too; 0.00” so far.

The big news here in Washington State is the new NEXRAD being installed out on the coast at Langley Hill (KLGX). The new radar will fill a coverage gap on the west side of the Olympic Mountains looking out over the Pacific Ocean. This will really help with storm and severity predictions. Here’s link to the NWS Seattle.

This new radar will be upgraded to Dual-Polarization some time next month. Soon thereafter, the NWS Spokane radar will be upgraded to the function in the same manner. Dual-Polarization allows the operator to see the type of precipitation that is falling and make stronger predictions and provide better warnings.

International Space Station (ISS) sittings

2011-08-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

For those who live in the general area of Grand Coulee, WA the ISS is very visible in the evening sky for the next few days. Look generally to the west and you should see a very bright object moving from West to East.

Thursday, 08/18: 9:09pm (west) and 10:46pm (west NW)
Friday, 08/19: 8:13pm (west SW) and 9:47pm (west)
Saturday, 08/20: 8:49pm (west) and 10:26pm (west NW)

If you have an Ipod or Ipad check out the app "flyby" or go to this link.

Enjoy...

June: Cool & Wet and what's with this cloud?

2011-07-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

First up is a photo I took yesterday of the underside of a developing thunderhead. The low, flat cloud seemed to be getting guzzled up into the developing head. We saw the small thunderhead as we drove further to the east. It was odd and I have never seen this before. Only in the Northwest…?

From State HWY 174 NW of Wibur, WA

This June was the coolest in the past three years. Let’s take 80°F as a threshold bench mark. We only had four days that were at or above 80°F. In 2010 there were seven days and in 2009 we had 18 days at or above this mark. Spring 2010 was also cool and wet period as this year was. Of course this does not set precedence and there is no trend; not with three years of observation.

Precipitation was at 0.53” for the month while in 2010 we were wet with 2.06” and in 2009 we were at 0.95” comparable to this year; less than an inch. Wind events were negligible at only three gusts 25 mph or higher.

I did not turn on the lawn irrigation system until June which is a few weeks later than normal. Our seasonal wild grasses have been prolific and some are starting to cure out. This is always a concern as they are great fire fuel.

As summer continues...

2011-07-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

...hydrate, and use caution while in the direct sun...

First half of June dry, cool

2011-06-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

Compared to last June mid month we are just a shade warmer and a lot dryer. The mean for the first-half of this June is 60.2F. Last year it was 59.5F. We've had 0.28" of precipitation by mid-month while last mid-June we had 1.47". 2009 was much warmer with a mid month mean temperature of 68.0F and precipitation was 0.89".

Historically, June has reached 105F (1938) and can be wet with an all time rainfall record of 4.29" (1937). Averages are 0.99" of precipitation and average maximum temperature of 78.7F with a mean of 65.6F.

Diurnal Convection

2011-06-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

We get to see some really nice cloud and thunderhead development here as the diurnal cycle occurs especially this time of year. Most of what develops and we see is to our North - Northwest to Northeast.

This photo was taken today at about 1800 hrs from our second floor deck. You are looking Northeast across my neighbors property. At the base of the ridge you see that is partially in shadows, flows the Columbia River a.k.a. Lake Roosevelt.

NWS confirms our "Cold and Wet Spring"

2011-06-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

The National Weather Service has posted some interesting information about this years cold and wet spring and the records for some states. Washington State had its 3rd coldest March - May and it's wettest ever March - May in over 117 years of records.

Below are the charts:

A cool and wet May in the books

2011-06-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

May ended with a rainbow producing thunderstrom

May’s ending was cool and wet. The mean temperature was 54.5°F, some 4°F cooler that the historic mean. Though our local “official” weather station did not break a precipitation record for the month of May, we did here at the home station with a 3.34” vs. a record of 3.32” set back in 1980. One of our precipitation events measured a 1.19” in a 24 hour period – unusual for our region.

We only had 11 days with temps in the 70’s with a high of 77.2°F. Last year we had a high of 81.2°F with seven days above 70 degrees and two of those in the 80’s. Back in 2009 we had 14 days above 70 degrees with six of those in the 80’s and two in the 90’s. Our lows were on par with our last two years. We had nine days with lows in the 30’s vs. ten in 2010 and eight in 2009.

June has started out nicely. I suspect we will see the real start to our summer now.

First-half of May in the books

2011-05-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

No close or broken records thus far yet, this first-half is wetter (0.70") than last year's (0.05") and on par with 2009 (0.88" [month total]). We are wet this day, the 16th, as we approach 0.70" of precipitation. As the chart shows we've had nine days with some precipitation.

We've had five days in the 70's and no below freezing lows. While two years ago, 2009, we never broke into the 70's during the first-half of the month. Last year we had had one day in the 80's and four in the 70's. No below freezing temperatures the past two years.

We broke the 70 degree mark - it took 215 days

2011-05-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

Well, isn't that special. Not to mimic the Church Lady of SNL fame - heck, it is special (72.0F)! It's been 215 days since we last saw a 70 degree reading here taking us back to October 6, 2010 when we had 75.1F.

We may be seeing the final breakup of this persistent cool and damp weather with the return of warmer air and probable thunderstorms activity later this week.

A cool April and a sputtering spring

2011-05-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

I hope your spring has arrived generally on schedule because ours seems very reluctant mirroring last year. We had some records set here in Washington State for April.

First, let me share some photos from from my ten day absence during April as I traveled down to Flagstaff, AZ. I flew down to pick up my son who completed a four month specialized program at Northern Arizona University. We spent a few days visiting the National Parks in the region before our road trip back home. I also had my new portable weather station with me, a Kestrel 3000.

Some photos from the trip:

Wind sheared cloud near Wupatki National Monument, AZ

Wukoki Pueblo, Wupatki National Monument, AZ

Petrified Forest National Park, AZ (40+ MPH gusts!)

Certainly you remember the animated film "Cars"? Inspiration in Holbrook, AZ

OK, back to the month of April. On the west side of the state Seattle set a new record for the coldest average high temperature 52.23 degrees. The record was 52.6 degrees in 1970. We came close to a new record here with our 3rd coolest average temperature for April at 44.5 degrees. The record was 43.7 degrees in 1955. The departure from norm is -5.3 degrees. Throughout the region there were six new "coldest average temperatures" set. The long term prediction is for a continued cool and wet spring.

As you can see by the chart below we were well below our mean high and low for April. We had just one day that broke above mean high temperature. We had nine days with 32 degrees or below and only four days above the 60 degree mark. Precipitation was somewhat on par with 2009 (0.42") at 0.84". Last April we had 1.17". We had no snowfall during April.

As I write this it's 55 degrees outside and we've had a light rain shower...what will May bring?

A cool April so far...

2011-04-16T10:25:00.000-07:00

It's not as wet as April 2010 though we are cooler. The first half of April last year our mean temperature was at 44.6 and this year, 2011, we are at 42.9F. That's a 1.7 difference, at least thus far. Precipitation is a bit different: April 2010 we were at 1.06" for the first 15 days while this year we are at 0.47". We've had some snow activity at higher elevations to our north and a few flakes around our location that did not stick.

I have an update to my last post regarding Statewide road conditions. State Route 20 is being cleared and it is the latest start to this work in 20 years. Here's a link to photos of the work WADOT workers (public servants working for you and me) are facing in dangerous avalanche conditions. Also, the date for removal of studded snow tires has been bumped back again to April 25.

Cool and wet March begets April

2011-04-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

We had eleven days, one third of the month, with wind gusts in excess of 25 mph or higher. We were wet too. There were 16 days, half the month, with precipitation and we ended the month with 2.09” (0.92” 2010) while our mean is 0.82”. Temperatures were a mixed bag: mean for March was 41.5°F (43.1°F 2010) while the one day high was 66.3°F (64.6°F 2010). The one day low was 23.8°F (24.8°F 2010).

April is coming on to the scene a bit dryer than last year. We’ve had three of the first ten days were with below freezing lows (4 days in 2010). High temperatures are slightly up with 8 of the first ten days above 50°F (6 days in 2010). On the precipitation side we are well below 2010: two days of rain for 0.04” (0.87” over five days in 2010).

Across the state delays to “end of winter” events are being adjusted. A delay in the mandatory removal of studded snow tires from April 1st has been kicked back two weeks to April 14th. On road clearings, WA State Route 20, which meanders its way through the North Cascades in Northwest Washington and is closed during the winter, is generally being cleared by now. With 60 plus feet of snow still covering the roadbed and active avalanche activity clearing will start Monday, April 11th. We have good snowpacks this year. See chart below.

Lightning on the horizon!

2011-03-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

On the drive back from Spokane this evening, around 7:45 pm, we spotted lightning on the horizon. This was occurring in an area south of the small town of Wilbur on U.S. Highway 2. I called the NWS in Spokane and reported it and we had a little discussion about ground to cloud and in cloud lightning. This very well may have been in cloud lightning. There instruments are a bit limited.

California hit hard

2011-03-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

I only experienced a few park-wide closures due to weather.

Fierce spring storm - California dries off

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Californians will have a chance to dry off today, following a fierce weekend storm that lingered into the workweek with flows of mud and debris.

Bonnie Bartling of the National Weather Service says "the storm is pretty much over with."

The weekend weather caused problems for many at Yosemite National Park. More than 30 hikers were stranded as well as drivers along a major freeway. Roads leading into the park were closed.

Another group of some 100 young people was stuck at a snowed-in mountain campground in the park until crews could clear the roads. The storm dropped some 3.5 feet of snow at Yosemite.

And farther south, four people were rescued from the roof of an SUV in Thousand Oaks when they tried to go through a rain-swollen flood-control channel.

Forecasters say another storm is expected for Wednesday, but it'll be a far weaker system.

Cool, windy and wet

2011-03-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

We are at mid-March and it has been and interesting ride. It will go down as the wettest and windiest of the past two, at lest thus far. It's also been on the cool side. Precipitation is more than double this Mid-March compared to last year (1.13" vs. 0.40") and well above two years ago (1.13" vs. 0.33").

The wind events we've been experiencing surpass the past two years as well. So far we have eight days with wind gusts in excess of 25 mph (1 day in 2011 and 4 days in 2010).

Looking forward to the last half of March to see where we end up; will these trends continue or abate into a nice spring.

Happy Birthday Dr. Lapham!

2011-03-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

Dr. Increase A. Lapham, a Milwaukee scientist with many interests including meteorology, was the catalyst for the formation of the federal agency that would eventually become known to us as the National Weather Service.

Press release is here.

Falling off the end of February

2011-03-03T22:47:00.000-08:00

The last week of February saw temperatures, high and low, fall off the mean track in a spectacular manner. Specifically the three day period of the 24th / 26th we were some 20 degrees below the mean high and more than 20 degrees below the mean low. We received 5.5” (0.39” melted value) of snow (on the 24th) setting a new record for second highest amount of snow for a February day (6.4” 1937). We had a temperature spread of of 53 degrees (53.5 month high and 0.5 month low).

A house shaking 45 mph wind gust occurred the 27th in the late evening with a 44 mph gust in the early morning of the 28th. A windy night!

These first few days of March have been wet with light rain leaving only a few small patches of snow on the ground. Temperatures are running a little cool so far. I have to concede that I’m starting to feel the need to work on the yard. Yet, it’s not unheard of to see some snow in March here. Records show that over 7” feel in 1951. I think when we witness Vernal Equinox on the 20th of March I’ll have done some yard work!

Attempts to control the weather

2011-02-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

Came across this article in the Boston Globe and wanted to share it here. It's a book review of James R. Fleming's new book, Fixing the Sky: The Checkered History of Weather and Climate Control.

Here are few comments:

"James Rodger Fleming's book is a kind of tour de folie, an authoritative recounting over two centuries of weather changers and climate controllers, rainmakers and rain fakers, and cloud seeders and fog dissolvers. All in all, an engrossing work about vain hopes and technological hubris well as a cautionary tale to anyone concerned with attempts to engineer the planet." -- Dan Kevles, Yale University

" Fixing the Sky will appeal to a broad audience and is a significant contribution to both the ongoing policy debate over geoengineering and the history of meteorology and climatology, on which James Rodger Fleming is a recognized authority." -- Mott Greene, University of Puget Sound

"Clobbering" continued...

2011-02-24T09:13:00.000-08:00

This weather event is significant. We had 5.5" (melted value: 0.39") of new snow the past 24 hours. Most of it feel late last evening. This equals an the amount of snowfall back on January 5, 2009 (melted value: 0.21"). Historic data tells me that this was the second snowiest day for February (6.4" in 1937).

The Arctic cold air mass is now over us and we may see additional snow showers as more disturbances mix with the cold air. Wind will be the issue today. We are getting some nice NE blows. We are running 8-10 mph with gusts. I had to replace the battery in the Davis Weather Station this morning. It died overnight though as the solar cell caught daylight data started streaming again. I lost some early morning data. All my fault - the system was telling the battery was low!

Some photos:

Front of House, 02-24-2011

My wife took the 4x4 to work and left me with "Trusty"

A late February clobbering?

2011-02-22T16:27:00.000-08:00

Update: (02-23) Radar is showing some activity to our W and SW. NWS Spokane FCST states a slower approach of the Arctic air mass possible.
11:20 - Two hours - 0.4"
1:20 - Four hours - 0.6" (snow has stopped)
11:00 pm - 4.0" (snowing last few hours)

Maybe, just maybe, we’ll get a nice kick of winter weather this mid-week starting this evening or early morning. The system is already leaving snow to our east (The Mountains of Eastern WA and the ID Panhandle primarily) and west (the metro areas around Seattle). Moisture is in place and the deep cold is on its way (current temperature: 37.7° F). I suspect we’ll see around 1.25 to 2.0” of snowfall at this location. Then again I could be surprised!

According to the NWS Spokane: ...A LONG DURATION SNOW EVENT IS EXPECTED FOR THE INLAND NORTHWEST THROUGH THURSDAY. A SLOW MOVING STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SEVERAL ROUNDS OF SNOW TO THE INLAND NORTHWEST THROUGH THURSDAY. WINDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY RESULTING IN BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. BY THURSDAY TEMPERATURES WILL BE ABOUT 20 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE.

Standby for photos (if it is a significant event!).

January data, new WX Radar planned

2011-02-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

The words ordinary or dull drums comes to mind when thinking about the past two months and January specifically. With a La Nina event in the Pacific, it appeared that we had a good chance of experiencing an above average winter. In fact, my hopes were high. Instead, we’ve had what I would refer to as a mediocre winter; nothing beyond the normal bounds; temperatures, snowfall or storms.

So far this winter we stand at 14.9” of snowfall (2009-10: 4.1”, 2008-09: 36.3”). For January we got 3.0” (6.2” mean) of snowfall. So, our current 14.9” is about 2.0” above our mean annual snowfall of 12.3” (we got another 0.9” on Feb. 6th).

Even precipitation numbers are lackluster. For January we had 0.77” of precipitation while the mean for the month is 1.08”.

I’m suspecting we are on an exit path, sporadic as it may be, from winter. February still has to play out to make this winter complete. Who knows we may be surprised – the joy of future weather waits.

Switching to another topic, and an exciting one indeed, news that will greatly affect weather knowledge for those who live on the west side of the state. A new weather radar site will be built on the west coast of Washington. The site overlooks the Pacific Ocean and covers an area that has been blank to this point. The NEXRAD radar should be installed by September 2011 and will be the first in the U.S. to have Dual Polarization. Here’s a link to a NWS PDF with more details.

Seattle WeatherFest and State CoCoRaHS meeting

2011-01-25T17:21:00.000-08:00

The AMS sponsored WeatherFest in Seattle was great. Lots of families and everyone seemed to be have enjoyed themselves. It appeared that all the atmospheric Federal agencies were there and several state agencies too. CoCoRaHS had an interactive booth and it was packed with kids.

Reed Timmer, of Storm Chasers, was present and if I had had a chance to talk with him I would have asked to him mellow out a bit! That guy is going to blow a gasket someday.

The CoCoRaHS state meeting followed at the Seattle Public Library. Nolan from Colorado was there along with several others from the CoCoRaHS office. The meeting was nice and casual though some good basic information was passed. The best part was meeting all the volunteers who were there. Most of them are from the "west side" (we here on the east side of the Cascades refer to Seattle and environs as the west side). As a county coordinator, I picked up some ideas to stimulate interest in volunteering for CoCoRaHS the least of which is the monthly newspaper column I'm writing. I've got to reach out to the Wheat Farmers...

Left to right: Dr. Nolan Doesken, CO State Climatologist and CoCoRaHS Coordinator; Dr. Nick Bond, WA State Climatologist; Dr. Nancy Selover, AZ State Climatologist, and Ms. Karin Bumbaco, WA State CoCoRaHS Coordinator.

Road trip photos...

2011-01-19T21:51:00.000-08:00

My son and I took a full week to drive down to Flagstaff, AZ and then down to Phoenix for my flight home.

A couple of things struck me on this trip the least of which was the heavy cloud cover and fog as we drove through the Blue Mountains of NE Oregon (I-84). The road was slushy and a few unloaded lumber trucks did not like to slow for weather conditions - white knuckle time.

First item, high altitude jet con-trails and how they linger and grow into full fledged clouds in the winter sky. I've been reading about jet con-trails a bit and may write a post with links.

Second item, the stark temperature differences, based on altitude and latitude, from the mid Colorado Plateau down onto the desert floor around Phoenix. We had mid to high teens up on the plateau while in Phoenix there were mid 70 temperatures. Frankly, it was great experiencing those differences; an affirmation of sorts.
Well, the idea of this post was to share a few photos (camera: Canon G-11):

Bryce Canyon NP blanketed in snow (Jan. 12, 2011)

Ravens waiting for the snow to melt...

First week of 2011

2011-01-09T15:55:00.000-08:00

2011 has started off much cooler than last year with an average high of 26.9°F and an average low of 18.0°F. Just a year ago our average high was 34.8°F and average low was 27.5°F.

In 2010 snow: 0.8”, and Precip: 0.50”. For 2011, snow: 1.1”, Precip: 0.08”. More rain last year which was a non-La Nina year. La Nina, we’re currently experiencing it now and it’s expected to continue into spring, tends to bring cooler temperatures and more precipitation to the Northwest.

Jan. 9, 2011 - Nice, cool day.

2010 Summary and December

2011-01-02T21:21:00.000-08:00

Two charts this posting. First, is December, (note the dramatic temperature drop-off the last few days) showing total precipitation of 1.45” a mix of rain and snow.

Second, a summary of 2010 with several measurements - monthly precipitation (rain and snow), average mean for each month with actual mean, and high & low temperatures.

2010 was a wet year - 14.37” (mean 10.49”) of precipitation and 11.9” of snow. We were well above the annual mean precipitation as noted and slightly below mean snow at 15.7”. We broke some records in this region of Washington for rainfall during this past spring. We approached some record numbers here locally with a one day rain of 1.04” on May 27th. The record one day for May is 1.35” (If I use the CoCoRaHS measuring time frame (7am – 7am) we came within 0.02” of a one day record).

Temperatures too were near record for the region with a general coolness through most of the spring making veggie patches suffer. The mean temperatures for the three months of spring were: Mar. 38.7°F (41.1°F), Apr. 49.9°F (50.1°F) and May 54.3°F (58.5°F). All three spring months were below normal mean. The Fahrenheit century mark was never reached as the high temperature for the year was 97.6°F on July 26th.

Below, I’ve link each month back to its summary chart and my comments.

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. and Dec. is above.

Lastly, in the previous post I mentioned the collapsing wheel on my Wovel. OSNW3 had asked for a photo and here it is – see below.

Broken Wovel wheel

Tragic Wovel episode

2010-12-29T21:09:00.000-08:00

While using the wovel this morning on the driveway following a snow event that left 2.1" of new, fresh wet snow, the wovel died. I had scooped a blade full of snow and flicked it and instantly the wheel collapsed. What happened is one of the struts from the wheel hub to the wheel rim broke cleanly.

Well, a call was made to the wonderful folks at wovel and a new half wheel assembly is on its way! Thanks Wovel...I'm looking forward to some more woveling soon.

Merry Christmas everyone...

2010-12-23T10:03:00.000-08:00

Wishing you the best family Christmas celebration!

Snow is back...

2010-12-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

The first significant snowfall of nearly a month is underway (last good snowfall was Nov. 22-23). In two hours we're up to 0.9" of new snow. I suspect, based on the NWS Spokane reports, that we will not see multiple inches of snow accumulation. Yet, it refreshing to see the white stuff again.

Taken two hours into the snowfall. 12-18-2010

Mid-December WX Stats

2010-12-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

I missed one full week (4th - 11th) of on-site observations this month with a trip to the south land of California. Looking at the data from the WX station and speaking with our neighbor, not much happened as temperatures went up and some rain fell.

What snow we had on the ground has melted with those warm temperatures and rainfall. This AM we had a little frost on the ground. Yesterday was sunny and rather nice and we are looking to see the same today with a bit more cloud cover.

November temperature "roller coaster"

2010-11-30T20:33:00.000-08:00

It was an interesting month this November; one can only speculate was it affected by La Nina? Snow and precipitation dominated and the temperatures fell away with two days with negative lows as an Arctic Blast dropped down from Canada.

The past two Novembers snowfall was - ’08: zero and ’09: 0.6”. As for 2010 we received 5.7” (We had snow most of today, Nov. 30, ending late afternoon and I got a snowboard measurement of 2.5” I’ll count it for November). Rain precipitation for the first half of the month kept things damp as well. We also had one morning with Hoar Frost which we saw in abundance January 2009.

(I'm still working out the bar elements of this new chart to show both precip and snowfall)

There are two noteworthy past Novembers specifically 1955 and 1985. Each experienced specific extremes. 1985 noted for temperature and 1955 for snowfall. 1955 concluded the month with a total snowfall of 17.5” following a run of six days of all time high snow-depth measurements. 1985 holds some records for low temperatures with lowest mean at 23.6°F brought on by a string of single digit and minus temperatures for the last third of the month.

For temperature spread the data shows that November 2010 likely holds the record. Our high temperature, on the 2nd was 62.1°F and we hit -2.4°F on the morning of the 24th. That’s a spread of 64.5°F. Based on available records I can’t find anything greater. Our mean temperature for this month was 35.3.

Weather radar site with great coverage

2010-11-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

Cliff Mass, who's blog I link to, is a professor of Atmospheric Sciences at University of Washington. He recently introduced a new weather radar website that is hosted by U of W and should play well for those of us living here in the Northwest. It's an inclusive site with weather radar feeds from the US and Canada shown on one really big radar map.

Check it out here.

Blustery!

2010-11-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

As predicted by the NWS, the wind and cold air arrived last night and temperatures dropped. We've been trending downward for a few days and this event has capped it off. Our high gust was 27mph with sustained wind in the high teens to mid 20's. Not much snow. We've had two snow events thus far for a total of 1.4".

To use OSNW3's term: Front of house (yes, the sun is out)

Looking over the records for our region, it appears that November 1985 was the record setter. About the last half of the month had sustained cold temperatures with many in the minus readings.

Checking the NWS Spokane forecast, I spotted something that should peak the interest of those of you living around large lakes. NWS radar is showing, "...the apparent formation of a lake effect snow band off Lake Roosevelt." I noticed the lake had billowing vapor rising from it's surface this morning as I drove into town. The lake water temperature is currently in the 40-50F range.

First snow...

2010-11-19T07:45:00.000-08:00

As of this morning's CoCoRaHS observation, we have a real light snowfall with s non-measurable dusting. Hard to predict if there will be a build up. If so, it'll be a small amount I believe.

According to the NWS Spokane this AM:

SYNOPSIS...LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE REGION TODAY...WITH THE MAIN FOCUS MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. MUCH BIGGER CHANGES ARE EXPECTED TO BEGIN THIS WEEKEND AS A DEEP UPPER LEVEL TROUGH DESCENDS INTO THE INLAND NORTHWEST. THE SEASONS FIRST CHANCE OF WIDESPREAD LIGHT VALLEY SNOW WILL COME WITH THIS WEATHER SYSTEM...FOLLOWED BY AN ARCTIC AIR MASS INVASION LATE THIS WEEKEND THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.

Mid-November stats

2010-11-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

Here is the mid-November chart. We are at 0.67" of precipitation. Below is information about the past few November's snow and precipitation amounts and record Novembers too.

November 2008 was snowless with a total precipitation of 0.99" while 2009 saw 0.6" of snow and 0.85" of precipitation.

We have to go back more than a half century to see the record November - it was 1955. The area had 17.5" of snow and the three high snowfall days were: 5.0", 3.3" and 5.3". As we approach next month I should point out December 1964 saw 27.8" of snow. Will this December see more snow? La Nina is in effect. We won't have to wait to much longer.

Following up on the previous post (below) addressing diurnal temperature variations, I 'd like to encourage you to visit two regions of the country and see what some fellow weather bloggers have posted regarding their temperature variations: WxWatcher in MO and OSNW3 in WI.

Monthly and seasonal temperature variations

2010-11-13T23:57:00.000-08:00

I pulled some data together that show monthly normal high and normal low temperatures and the variations in seasonal fluctuations. July and August (28.2F & 28.7F respectively), the peak of summer, showing just under a 30 degree variance. Then we have December and January (10.2F & 11.1F respectively), the peak of winter, showing just over a 10 degree variance between normal highs and lows.

Temperatures really tighten up during the winter. There are a multitude of reasons. The mixture of rather cold, dense air, temperature inversions, and sustained cloud cover that effectively holds ground level temperatures down filtering the sun's radiating heat out. And of course, there is solar declination and the effect on the northern hemisphere during winter when the sun is low on the horizon (we are at 47 degrees north). Furthermore, the albedo of snow, especially fresh snow which can cover our landscape for a couple of months, is a very effective reflector of solar radiation.

Friday's "Words of Meteorology"

2010-11-11T23:14:00.000-08:00

hoarfrost:

A deposit of interlocking ice crystals (hoar crystals) formed by direct deposition on objects, usually those of small diameter freely exposed to the air, such as tree branches, plant stems and leaf edges, wires, poles, etc.

The deposition of hoarfrost is similar to the process by which dew is formed, except that the temperature of the befrosted object must be below freezing. It forms when air with a dewpoint below freezing is brought to saturation by cooling. In addition to its formation on freely exposed objects (air hoar), hoarfrost also forms inside unheated buildings and vehicles, in caves, in crevasses (crevasse hoar), on snow surfaces (surface hoar), and in air spaces within snow, especially below a snow crust (depth hoar). Hoarfrost is more fluffy and feathery than rime, which in turn is lighter than glaze. Observationally, hoarfrost is designated light or heavy (frost) depending upon the amount and uniformity of deposition.

Source: AMS Glossary

First week of November

2010-11-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

I've been developing a chart that is somewhat all inclusive of weather statistics. Historic mean temperatures, temperatures (high, low and mean), and precipitation. Having upgraded my office software I thought it was time to do this.

So, here's November for the first week. Let me know how it works for you - colors, placement, more or less, etc. The hope is to use this type of chart and have more weather narrative in the posts. Once again, a tip of the hat to OSNW3 for inspiration.

October 2010 - and the leaves did fall

2010-11-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

The month ended warmer though a bit dryer than last October.

Our mean temperature for October was 51.9°F (average mean is 51.1°F). This is up 4.4° degrees over last year (47.5°F). We had 17 days above 60°F while last year only 11 days. In fact, the first two days of October were in the 80's. The low for the month was 32.2°F on the 17th and nothing else came close. Last year we had 6 days below 32 with three days of lows in the 20's.

Precipitation was slightly down. We received a 1.23” compared with 1.36” last year – a slight shortfall. Though, we are above the mean for October which is 0.71”. The record precipitation for October was in 1947 with 2.95”.

Overall, a nice month and if what we are seeing for the start of November continues, it too will be a nice month weather wise.

The morning of Nov. 3 as the sun was rising.

Looking N-NE, Lake Roosevelt in the lower left corner (Canon G-11)

Friday's "Words of Meteorology"

2010-10-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

Santa Ana winds:

In the United States, a dry, foehn-like desert wind in southern California, generally blowing from the northeast or east, especially in the pass and river valley of Santa Ana, California, and other nearby passes, where it is further modified as a mountain-gap wind.

It is driven by strong pressure gradients from an anticyclone over the Great Basin of the western United States. It blows, often hot and sometimes with great force, from the deserts to the east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and may carry a large amount of dust. The combination of heat, dryness, and strong winds make it an especially hazardous fire weather condition. It most frequently occurs in late fall and winter (October–March); when it comes in spring, however, it can do great damage to fruit trees.

Note: Haven't heard to much about the Santa Ana's this fall. The ocean temperature off Southern California, down about 2 degrees, is making for a stronger La Nina effect - drought conditions are prevailing. The always worrisome fire season is on minds.

Inspiration and video

2010-10-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

I've been inspired to develop a You Tube Channel and recently posted my first video. A tip of the hat goes to OSNW3 as I watched his You Tube Channel grow.

I'll do my best capturing on video weather related events from this location and others as the seasons pass.

So, go to the sidebar on the right and go down to the Video Bar powered by You Tube and enjoy.

Friday's "Words of Meteorology"

2010-10-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

cake ice:

Flat pieces of sea ice larger than brash. Cake ice is often tightly packed, giving it a mosaic appearance, but its surface is generally smooth in contrast to rough, hummocked pressure ice.

Note: We don't get "sea ice" around here though the regional lakes to freeze over.

Fall colors and mountains in Washington

2010-10-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

I'd like to share two images from my weekend business trip to Portland, Oregon. Coming home I headed north on I-5 out of Portland. Once in WA, I took U.S. 12 east. These images are from the U.S. 12 segment.

Looking east on U.S. 12 near the summit of White Pass

Mt. Rainier east slope (lots of haze in the air)

Fall Colors - from Space

2010-10-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

A rare opportunity to see fall foliage of the upper Midwest from space via the NASA MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) progam which rides on both the Terra and Aqua satellites. Go to the above link and play around. Thanks NASA!

First frost

2010-10-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

This morning yielded our first frost of the fall. Checking the temperature and dew point revealed why. Overnight temperature was 38F and the dew point was a cool 32F.

The weather system that came out of the Gulf of Alaska on Saturday added another 0.05" of rain for a total of 0.31" of precipitation at this station.

The northern end of the Cascade Mountains did get a good amount of rain though the rivers did not rise above flood stage. One did come close. The Stehekin River, which dumps into the Lake Chelan, reached 22 Feet. This is 2 feet below flood stage.

Update: Moisture coming our way...

2010-10-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

Update (Oct. 10): We've received another 0.24" plus the 0.02" from yesterday for a total of: 0.26". Not bad for our generally dry location.

The current, as of this posting, National Satellite image (water vapor). The system coming into the NW is moving in from the Gulf of Alaska. We've had only a bit of rain so far (0.02"). NWS states more rain late Saturday into Sunday.

Friday's "Words of Meteorology"

2010-10-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

krummholz effect:

Refers to the sculpting of vegetation by wind, frost, or salt spray- sheering of foliage. [German: krumm, "crooked, bent, twisted" and Holz, "wood")

I learned this term in a plant ecology class at my university. The California coastline, indeed, many coastlines, have many examples of this effect. I've seen it in some mountain ranges too.

September: rather wet with a crab apple feast

2010-10-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

The last six days of September brought warm, dry weather. The second hottest day of the month was on the 28th with an 83.2°F. Yet, compared with 2009, we were cooler overall. During September 2009 we had six days in the 90°F range and zero 90°F days in 2010. The month’s average was 61.6 °F last year was 66°F. Furthermore, we didn’t break any records this month.

Precipitation was way above last year (0.17”) at 1.05”. Again, we didn’t have any new records here that happened in 1985 at 2.08”. The mean for the month is 0.50”.

The new Water Year started with October and our data really shows just how dry the last water year was. We exceeded the precipitation monthly mean only once in 2009. While in 2010 we exceeded the monthly mean precip 8 times. We are currently just above our annual mean precip with 10.58”.

(Canon G-11 set to Auto)

Our Crab apple tree is really shedding its leaves and fruit. We always have a big deer counts under the tree this time of year. Bow hunting season is underway and the hunters like to drive by slowly scouting the deer out here in our neck of the hinterlands. I’ve got a No Hunting sign up facing the road.

Friday's "Words of Meteorology"

2010-10-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

jet-effect wind:

A local wind created by acceleration of the airflow through a gap, constriction, or channel in a mountain range or between ranges.

The acceleration can result from a large-scale pressure gradient, or by Venturi acceleration through a constricting passage. Pressure gradients from large-scale processes can occur when a large- scale anticyclone lies on one side of the barrier, as in the case of canyon or Wasatch winds, or when a cold front impinges on a mountain barrier with a gap in it and the cold air mass forces its way through the gap. Other jet-effect winds include the düsenwind, the kossava, and gap winds.

On a personal note, we lived at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, for over eight years. I was the Chief Naturalist. We had jet-effect winds there, especially in the spring. It wasn't uncommon to have sustained winds of 30-40 mph 24/7 for a number of weeks. Gusts exceeding hurricane force occurred regularly sometimes exceeding 100 mph. Because of the altitude, 6,000 plus feet, the air was less dense hence, less damage. We would leave the park on weekends just to get away from the wind.

Warm weather brings driveway drama

2010-09-29T16:44:00.000-07:00

The weather has been unseasonably warm. The past few days we've had highs in the 80's and today a 78. One has to take advantage of these days so, I've been cleaning - house windows and the car interior.

While cleaning the car we had a little drama on the driveway. A praying mantis caught a rouge grasshopper and had an early dinner or it may have been a late lunch.

(Canon G-11 set to Auto)

Friday's "Words of Meteorology"

2010-09-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

bubble high:

A small high, complete with anticyclonic circulation, of the order of 80 to 480 km (50 to 300 miles) across, often induced by precipitation and vertical motions associated with thunderstorms. These transitory small highs are relatively cold and are sometimes located behind convective outflow boundaries.

Weather and clouds

2010-09-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

Low hanging clouds, especially over the lake, have been pervasive the past few days. With the rain we've been getting this is typical. At sunset yesterday, I captured this cloud highlighted by the sun from our second floor deck (looking northeast).

Friday's "Words of Meteorology"

2010-09-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

roll cloud:

This is the popular term for arcus clouds. A low-level, horizontal, tube-shaped arcus cloud associated with a gust front of a convective storm or occasionally a cold front.

Roll clouds are relatively rare; they are completely detached from the convective storm's cloud base, thus differentiating them from the more familiar shelf clouds. Roll clouds appear to be rolling about a horizontal axis because of the shearing effects and horizontal vorticity provided by the differing air masses. Also known as rotor cloud.

Click here for further details and images.

Mid-September - cooler than last year

2010-09-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

We’re at mid month and reviewing last year's temperature data an appreciable cool down is noticeable. We’ve broken into the 80’s only three times with a mean so far of 61.6°F. Last year by mid month we recorded four days in 90’s and three days in 80’s with a month mean of 66°F. We’ve had six days with lows in 40’s - last year only two days. September mean for this region is 63.7°F.

Precipitation is comparable: we have 0.19” spread across three days while last year by mid month we had 0.16” occurring in one day.

La Nina, I suspect, is at work. Our weather is greatly affected by the El Nino-La Nina oscillation in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean. In his book, The Weather of the Pacific Northwest, Cliff Mass writes about the El Nino Southern Oscillation a.k.a. ENSO. He states that major advances in our understanding of the effects of the ENSO on Pacific Northwest weather began in the 1980’s. Generally, El Nino years tend to be warmer with precipitation near or below normal. Conversely, La Nina year’s temperatures tend cooler and precipitation is generally above normal. The winter of 2008-09 was a La Nina year.

I’ll service the Wovel soon; it has to be ready for the snow of 2010-2011!

The "Words of Meteorology"

2010-09-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

It's Friday, so lets play Words of Meteorology! I'll try to post something new here every Friday if possible. It will be a learning tool for me and hopefully for you as will.

zenithal rains:
In the Tropics or subtropics, rainy seasons that recur annually or semiannually at about the time that the sun is most nearly overhead (at zenith).

Within a few degrees of the equator, two such periods of heavy rains may occur annually, the equinoctial rains. Farther from the equator, these blend into a single annual summer rainy season.

August: a rapid cool down

2010-09-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

Has this summer come to an abrupt end? The last few days of August felt very much like fall. We had daytime highs in the 60’s and overnight lows in the 40’s. All this change coupled with a bit of rain the last day of the month. Well, the NWS Spokane is stating that we should return to normal conditions through the remainder of this week.

As a side note, yesterday, a new record for “coldest high temperature” was set in Grant County, one county to our west, in Ephrata at 64°F. The previous was 70°F set in 1999.

The high temperature for the month, 95.6°F and was 8.5°F cooler that last year (104.1°F). We had seven days at 90°F or above (13 days in 2009). Our low temperature of 47.1°F was 1.8°F cooler that last year (48.9°F).

We were up on precipitation over last year with 0.26” (0.16” 2009). Record precip for our region in August is 1.75” which occurred in 1941. Wind events are on par with last year though a bit stronger gusts.

Wind and dust

2010-08-26T15:53:00.000-07:00

I just called in a spotter report to NWS Spokane for my region (NW Lincoln County, WA). We’ve got a lot of dust in the air; visibility about 1.5 miles with gusts near 30 mph averaging about 15 mph. Wind is out of the West. Temperature is 81F and Dew Point is 39F (outside humidity is 23%).

This is the worst dust storm I've seen at this location and its understandable as the Wheat Harvest is nearing completion and the fields are bare. We have wheat fields in all directions except to the north. The NWS states that it will settle down later tonight with a predicted cooling down into early next week.

Two years of temperatures (updated: 08-18-10)

2010-08-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

I was comparing the high and low temperatures for this and last year and decided to chart them. I know that two years, actually 18 months, is not much of a comparison yet, these two did have a great difference for the first five months.

The variations certainly reflect how these two years differed. 2009 started colder with more snow than 2010 which saw a milder start to the year with little snow though a good amount of rain. As of July they are almost equal. It will be interesting to see what variations we get through the remainder of the year.

(update) I've added a chart with the past two years of precipitation - number of days per month with precipitation and monthly accumulative days of precipitation.

Mid August: trending dry

2010-08-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

We are dry with only 0.09" of precipitation measured. Yet, we seem to be comparable to last year (0.16"). The mean precipitation for the month at this location is much greater (0.48"). The region did record as much as 1.75" in August which was nearly 70 years ago in 1941.

Temperatures seem to be trending as expected though the next few days are predicted to be hot into mid week. Essentially, mid July to mid August is our warmest period. After Mid August we generally see a gradual cool down. In 1961 the region recorded an August high of 110F while in 1951 a recorded low of 38F was realized.

July weather summary

2010-08-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

July was hot, as expected. We missed last years July high (98.8°F) by 1.2°F with a 97.6°F logged. We were similar on the low end with a 50.4°F logged as a low for July (50.1°F 2009). All time recorded high for this location was in 1939 at 113°F and an all time low of 40°F in 2000.

Precipitation was lacking through the month. We ended with a total of 0.20” (2009 0.58"). Two days of rain; the 2nd and the 31st. That’s off by more than a half of the July mean (0.48”) and is the first time this year that we have not been above the mean – see the Water Year chart.

Wind events were considerable towards the end of the month. Local storms brought two notable gusts: 37 mph on the 28th around 9 pm and a healthy 43 mph on the 31st that was early morning.

I was away on a wildland fire assignment recently for five days to Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, Stehekin, WA. This photo was taken late afternoon as the sun was filtered by smoke from the Rainbow Bridge Fire.

"Fire Ban in Effect"

2010-07-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

I'd like to share this photo of the Fire Ban sign that is on our road - a "sign" of mid summer times around here. The brushy weeds are somewhat green however, all the grasses, spring and summer, have cured out and are dry.

Also, the new computer arrived and I've got to get it up and running before the end of the month. I'm hoping I can get into the old machine and capture the data for July too, don't what July to be a "lost month."

We've been very warm here with the exception of of yesterday thanks to some high clouds the effectively lowered our temps by 8-10 degrees. It felt nice. Same thing is happening this afternoon as well.

The Dog Days are barking

2010-07-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

We've been in the dog days for a while now. The only ingredient missing is humidity; that's OK with me. The mid 80's to mid 90's have been regular around here with mid day humidity in the low teens. Our precipitation is holding at 0.02" for the month while last year we just over 0.50". The mean for July is 0.48". We are drying out and undoubtedly we'll see some wildfire activity in the weeks ahead.

I would have posted a mid month set of charts unfortunately, I've got a problem with my dedicated computer (it's 8 years old) that captures data from my Davis Vantage Pro 2 weather station. A new one is on the way (the wallet took a hit) from HP. They wouldn't donate one to the cause yes, I did ask!

Red Flag Warning

2010-07-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

This is what the folks with the NWS Spokane office are saying today:

“A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL BRING WINDY CONDITIONS TO MUCH OF EASTERN WASHINGTON THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT WIND WILL CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING DUST OVER THE COLUMBIA BASIN...WEST PLAINS...AND OVER PORTIONS OF THE PALOUSE. STRONG WINDS WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE POTENTIAL FOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER BEHAVIOR…”

We've already had some gusting wind here - up to 25 MPH.

A first for this year...(updated)

2010-07-09T07:53:00.000-07:00

We finally went over the 90°F mark yesterday, Thursday, with a 92.8°. Last year we did in May, twice no less!

Update: We've had 97.1° (Friday), 94.1° (Saturday), and 93.2F ° (Sunday). So, it looks like summer is now entrenched.

June: Now there's an odd one...

2010-07-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

Like May, June was a bit peculiar - lots of rain and cooler temperatures.

We had nine days of rain for a total of 2.06” (2009: three days of rain total 0.95”). Our heaviest one day of rain was the on 2nd with 0.57”. The average rain fall for June for our area is 0.99”. The most and least rain fall for here is: 4.29” (1937) and 0.04” (2003) respectively. This year we are right in the middle of the extremes as regards rain fall.

For the Water Year (The time period from October 1 through September 30) we are above the mean as well as the last year’s readings for the six months from January through June. This calendar year we currently have just over 9.0”. Our average rainfall is 10.5” and we still have six months to go. I don’t think we’ll break the all time high annual rainfall of 18.00” that occurred in 1980. Nonetheless, we have a running start at it don’t we.

Temperatures for June were all over the place. Last year we had 18 days above 80°F while this year we only had 7 days. In 2009 we had just 4 days with highs in the 60°F range. This year we had 11 and one in the 50°F range. Average mean temperature for June is 65.6°F. This year 62.4°F and last year was 67.9°F, a 5.5°F spread in two years.

Mid June more like early spring

2010-06-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

The first half of June has been a bit of a riddle. We’ve experienced only a few days of what one can call “June” weather. For the first 16 days of this month: mean temperature 59.0°F (that’s 0.2°F lower than the all time low mean recorded for June), average high temperature 69.3°F [2009 was 81.5°F], average low temperature 48.6°F [2009 55.1°F].

We are wet too. Through the 16th of June we’ve measured 1.56” of precipitation. In 2009 at this point we recorded 0.89”. Almost double the rainfall. The average for the month is 0.99”.

The last six months we’re above the precipitation of 2009. This moisture comes with mixed blessing. We will have greener fields for a longer period yet all that green will cure out and become fuel for wildfires.

What happened to our warm spring?

2010-06-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

The NWS office in Spokane recently looked at four different locations addressing temperature deviations and rain fall. The time frame was May 17 through June 10. The conclusion is cool temperatures and above average rain records have changed for our region, some dating back 130 years. Here is the link.

Note: June 15, I've contacted NWS Spokane about the broken link and it is still broken...sorry.

Now that's a summer day...

2010-06-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

Visited Steamboat Rock State Park on Banks Lake today with my young Grandson. Thought I would share this photo. Wonderful summer day, temperatures in the high 60's.

May closes wet and soggy

2010-06-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

The last week of May has been exceedingly indeed, excitingly wet (keep in mind that we are a dry climate region with only 10.5” annual precipitation). Near new records were made in our region and we, CoCoRaHS WA-LN-2, came close to a new record. In Spokane a new rainfall record occurred on the 27th with 0.98”. We had 1.33” of rain in the gauge on the 28th. We just missed the 1941 one day maximum mark (1.35") by 0.02". Total rainfall: 2.41" 223% above May's mean precipitation. Update (June 5): for the year we are at 7.75" of precipitation. That is nearly three quarters of our mean annual precipitation.

June is starting out wet. We're already past 1/3rd the mean rainfall of 0.99”. Rain is predicted through most of this week as these waves of low pressure systems continue to pump moist air off the Pacific through Northern California and Oregon.

Yet, all this rain does not compensate for our low snow pack that would normally slowly melt keeping our streams and rivers in a nice flow. The Office of the Washington State Climatologist said, “By April 22, the Snow Water Equivalent (SWE), i.e., the amount of water contained in the snowpack, rose to roughly 80% of normal for the Cascades as a whole, and actually above normal in the Olympic Mountains. On the other hand, the SWE remained considerably below normal in the Spokane and Lower Snake regions in the eastern portion of the state.” (The region north of us is roughly 90% while east of us it is 45%.)

We had some nice warm spring days from around the 10th through the 17th of the month bumping into the 80’s twice. Our low temperature was 33.1F° in the first week. Wind was negligible with only six days exceeding the 25 mph threshold. One gust reached 37 mph on the 3rd.

WOW! Nearly a record...

2010-05-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

For the first time in the short history of WA-LN-2 CoCoRaHS rain gauge, the gauge overflowed the one inch tube. I measured 1.33” for this past 24 hour period. That is just short of breaking the one day maximum rainfall for the nearby Coulee Dam 1SW station that occurred in 1941 at 1.35”. There are some new regional records and I'll report them here later.

Cold front spawns lightning and thunder

2010-05-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

Update: Our total precipitation for this event was 0.34". Rain fell for three hours: 7 - 10 pm.

Here at the house, this little event started about 7:00pm and left us with just over 0.2" of rain, some lightning and thunder and a wind gust of 26 mph. I had hoped for more rain...all well.

Here is what the NWS said about this little weather event -

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL BRING WIDESPREAD RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA TONIGHT FOLLOWED BY A VERY COOL AND SHOWERY PATTERN FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WORK WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND.

Mid-May: prelude to dry, warm weather?

2010-05-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Temperatures have gone up and precipitation has gone down, way down. We are pretty green – our annual grasses and sage brush have all greened up. Spring wild flowers are showing their colors too. I’ve cut the lawn three times already.

Last year at this point we broke the 70°F mark once in the first half of the month. This year had four days in the 70’s and two in the 80’s (historic means: 71.2 high, 45.9 low). Rain has been scarce, only 0.07 inches of precipitation thus far. Last year by mid month we had accumulated the month's total rain fall at 0.88 inches (historic mean: 1.08") .

The NWS Spokane is calling for lowering temperatures and possible rain from mid week on. I hope so; a little more rain will help ward off the expected long, dry summer and fire season.

April: closing out winter with gusting wind

2010-05-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

First up I wanted to share some figures about our snowfall or, lack thereof, for the winter of 2009-10. We got a total of 4.1 inches of snow. Compared to the previous winter, 2008-09, we had a total snowfall of 37.6 inches. That puts us at only 10.9% of last years total.

Interestingly, precipitation was higher. Total precipitation (water): 2008-09: 4.15 inches vs. 2009-10: 6.20 inches. The historical mean precipitation is 6.30 inches. We aren’t far off this year. As for snow totals, last year we more than doubled the historical mean of 15.6 inches. This year we only reached 26% of the mean.

Temperature comparisons show little differences. We did have a nice warn period from the 15th through the 20th. 2009, there were two warm periods lasting only two days each. April 2010 (2009) monthly high: 75 (81.2), low: 26 (28.8) and mean: 49.9 (48.2).

Wind for April 2010 appears a bit stronger. April 2010 (2009) mean: 4.1 mph (3.2 mph), strongest gust: 35 mph (32 mph), number of gusts greater than 25 mph: 7 (7). All this wind is an indication of weather systems moving through the region.

Note - As I write this report we are under a high wind advisory from the National Weather Service. It’s been windy here for about 5 days now. Today’s gusts are stronger. Here is the NWS Spokane link.

Volcanic ash and aircraft don't mix

2010-04-15T08:53:00.000-07:00

Winds aloft, carrying volcanic ash from Iceland, are playing havoc on air travel all over northern Europe. Eyjafjallajokull, the Icelandic volcano responsible for the ash, has sent the stuff up as high 55,000 feet were it’s impacting Great Britain and Scandinavia.

Here is a great interactive site showing the flow and reach of the ash.

Locally, spring is upon us. Cut the lawn for the first time yesterday (April 14th) and we had our first “grilling session” on the 12th. We are at 1.06” of precipitation while the mean for April is 0.82” and the all time record was in 1993 at 2.19”.

Our freshly cut lawn

NWS Doppler Radar RIDGE 2

2010-04-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

The National Weather Service is seeking public input regarding a new on-line national mosaic radar site they are developing. The new system is called Doppler RIDGE 2. I like to whole concept and what interaction I had with the site seems fine.

So, check it out here and leave your input, I did – they will appreciate your comments.

March: a bit warmer and wetter

2010-03-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

This March was on the warm side and a bit wetter too. It’s understandable with the El Nino effect. Our high for the month was 64.6°F (March all time high was in 1939 at 74°F). The month’s low was 24.8°F (March lowest low was in 1955 a 0°F). Some temperature comparisons -- 2010 we had 26 days >50°F while last year just 10 days. Yet, we had 15 days with lows <32°F and in 2009 we had 14 days, near equal.

Precipitation data shows that we are wetter that last year by about ¼” of rain – no snow this March though last year we did have a trace of the white stuff. So we ended up with less than one inch of rain at .93”.

Wind gusts are back. We recorded 6 days (10 last year) with gust in excess of my 25 mph threshold or Beaufort Force 6. Sadly, a distant neighbor out here in our rural area lost their home just a few days ago to a late night fire. The wind was gusting in excess of 25 mph.

We have been seeing (see the photos below) a number of days with nice cumulous clouds. Today, we had some thunderheads well to our north.

Nice sky to the south along Columbia River Road, Colville Indian Reservation - afternoon of March 31, 2010.

On the other hand, strom activiy to the north from the same location same time, March 31, 2010.

Spokane, WA: Least snowiest winter?

2010-03-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

Source: NWS Spokane, WA

After the very snowy winters of 2007/08 and 2008/09, the current winter of 2009/10 has turned out to be just the opposite. The pronounced lack of snow has some people wondering if this winter will set a record for the "Least Snowiest Winter".

Snowfall records in Spokane go back to 1892. However, the observations from 1892 - 1931 were taken in downtown Spokane. From 1932-1947, the observations were taken at Felts Field. Since 1947, the official observation location has been as Spokane International Airport. This is important, because downtown and Felts Field typically recieve less snow than Spokane Airport due to their lower elevation. So when comparing snowfall records, it's important to compare them at a similar location.

As for 25 Feb 2010, the total snowfall for the 2009/10 winter has been 13.7 inches.

The top 10 least snowy winters in Spokane are:

Rank Snowfall Amount   Winter
1               9.5"                 1933/34
2            11.1"                 1904/05
3            14.2"                 1980/81
4            14.5"                 1901/02
5            14.6"                 1923/24
6            15.3"                 1943/44
7           15.8"                  1913/14
8           15.9"                  1929/30
9           16.0"                  1972/73
10        16.3"                   1976/77
The top 2 least snowiest winters in Spokane occured when the measurement was taken downtown or at Felts Field. So it's really not fair to compare them to the current winter, since we don't know how much snow fell at the Spokane Airport location in those years.

The best way to put it is that 14.2" (set in 1980/81) is the record low snowfall for the Spokane Aiport observation site, and that's what we should compare this winter to. Since Spokane's snowfall for this winter is 13.7", this would be a record for least snowfall in a winter, if we don't get more than a half inch in the remaining months of winter/spring.

Water on the mind

2010-03-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

Our short-term water supply out here in the Inland Northwest has become a hot discussion item in coffee shops, cafes and with those who plan for the supply and flow of water throughout the state of Washington.

I compiled some data from my small observation point looking at the past and current Water Years with mean and extremes – chart is below. Right now we seem to be doing fine. I, like you, can’t predict what the next several months will be like – but I’ll venture a guess – it will be dry.

Also, here are a couple of links to some interesting information: First, NRCS – WA State Water Supply Outlook Report, 02/2010. Second, Great photos of a Hole-punch cloud (NW-Spokane, WA)

"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well." ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

February: No leap, no snow, just warm

2010-02-28T18:48:00.000-08:00

The lack of snow and "warm" days were the hallmarks of February.

February 2009 saw 5.2” of snow that equaled .85” of precipitation. We had three days that exceeded 40°F and only two days where our low was higher than 32°F in 2009.

Now for 2010, we had no snow during the month though we had a total of 1.21” of precipitation. A total of 26 days exceeded 40°F with a month high of 54.8°F (not a record). There were 18 days of lows above 32°F with the warmest low at 40.2°F.

February provided a real set of contrasting data as compared to last year.

2009: month high 48.8, low 16.7
2010: month high 54.8, low 24.8
February averages: high 39.7, low 25.7, Precip. 0.92”
February extremes: high 61, low -15

Exceedingly warm

2010-02-11T09:18:00.000-08:00

We are on the warn side this February. In 2009 we were in the low to mid 30’s for highs with low’s running in the teens and twenties. Below are averages for the first ten days of February for the respective years:

2010 - Average high: 42.8F
Average low: 33.5F

2009 – Average high: 34.6F
Average low: 22.8F

Regarding precipitation, we are not far off. 2009: 0.25” and 2010: 0.21”.

January: Warm & Wet

2010-01-31T22:22:00.000-08:00

El Nino, I believe, played a significant role in our warmer and wetter January. Snow was a missing fellow here at the house. We only experienced two snowfalls for the month for a total of .9” -- one tenth of last year’s 10 inches.

We didn’t break any records yet we were on the warm side most of the month (see chart). Our mean precipitation for January is 1.08” and we were over by a few tenths at 1.33”. That is a good thing as the year progresses. Washington State counts on snowpack for water and we are down roughly throughout the state except for the Olympic Mountains which are above.

A prediction: we will have an early spring here. This is from the Climate Prediction Center (7 Jan 2010): “For the contiguous United States, potential El Niño impacts include above-average precipitation for the southern tier of the country, with below-average precipitation in the Pacific Northwest and in the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Below-average snowfall and above-average temperatures are most likely across the northern tier of states (excluding New England), while below-average temperatures are favored for the south-central and southeastern states.”

January: Up and Down

2010-01-22T13:12:00.000-08:00

It has been an up and down month so far this January. ’09 January produced 10” of snow with 0.84” of water with some single digit low temperatures. So far this month we have had 1.24” precipitation (normal is 1.08”). Snowfall is only 0.9” (normal is 6.2”). We’ve had no single digit lows either.

For the past ten days we’ve had some nice “warm” high temperatures running in the mid to high 40’s. It’s been nice enough to go out and enjoy the outdoors. Our contractor came out to do some work we had planned for the spring.

So, with El Nino in effect, we are warmer as well as wetter. Yet, for the State of Washington there is concern due to the lack of snowpack – checkout the NRCS report for January 2010.

Lenticular cloud

2010-01-21T12:34:00.000-08:00

These clouds are not real common around here though we do see a number each year. That makes sense as we are east of the North Cascades where strong winds to blow depending on prevailing weather conditions. I was coming home form the Post Office and saw this one to our north.

Defined: Lenticular Clouds are technically known as altocumulus standing lenticularus. They are formed when strong winds blow over and around rough terrain.

December '09 - rather cold

2010-01-02T08:34:00.000-08:00

Last December was truly a snowy month; 11 days of new snowfall, a third of the month, for a total of 21.1”. Historically, December’s mean snow fall is 4.7” with an all time high of 27.8” in 1964. The highest recorded one day snowfall was 8.0” in 1996, we got a one day snowfall 4.8" last year.

December 2009 was nearly snow free; total snowfall of just 2.5”, less than one tenth of last year’s and just over one half the mean. We did experience a nice cold spell. Our daytime temperature was below freezing for 18 days with three days of single digit lows. The lowest low was 7.3°F. The coldest one day temperature recorded for December was a bone chiller of -16°F on the 30th in 1968.

Precipitation was below average at .81”. December mean is 1.41”. That puts us at approximately 80 percent of the mean with a total of 8.39”. Our annual mean is 10.49”.

I’ll be posting some annual charts and reflecting on the weather of 2009 in the next few days – big snow and a tornado outbreak.

Why Weather Derivatives?

2009-12-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

In doing some research in another area, I came across a definition of Weather Derivatives. I had not heard of this before and thought I share this link that goes into detail as to why these things exist.

This is what it's all about, "Even in our advanced, technology-based society, we still live largely at the mercy of the weather. It influences our daily lives and choices, and has an enormous impact on corporate revenues and earnings. Until recently, there were very few financial tools offering companies' protection against weather-related risks. However, the inception of the weather derivative - by making weather a tradeable commodity - has changed all this."

The full story is here

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T07:42:00.000-08:00

May you and yours have a joyful Christmas and the new year bring great adventures to your life.

This morning: 19°F, wind from the west at 4-6 mph, wind chill of 13.5°F. It’s overcast with a rising barometer.

Bob
WA-LN-2
WX Ranger NW

Wovel: The report

2009-12-17T09:09:00.000-08:00

Simply put, the thing is great! In past winters, using my ergonomically designed snow shovel, it took me more than an hour to clear the drive and walkways here at the house. The deeper the snow the longer it took. It was the old repeated pattern of push, scoop, and throw – over an over again.

The Wovel eliminated the scoop and throw aspect. You push and push and then flick with the Wovel. It’s that simple. There is no is real strain on the lower back and the thing is always in front of you so there are no side to side motions. This past snow fall of 2.5 to 4” of snow on the drive and walkways the Wovel helped me complete the task in under an hour.

So, check it out here http://www.wovel.com/

Snow and the Wovel

2009-12-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Finally, we got a decent snow fall. My measurements this morning show 2.5” of snow with .31” of water. I’ll get a chance to use the Wovel on the driveway this morning – a report will follow.

Our chill seems to be abating. We should see temperatures above the freezing mark this week. My son and I are heading into Spokane on Friday to take in a hockey game – Spokane Chiefs. It’s winter! (a notation from a proud father: my son graduated from Central Washington University this month and now owns a Bachelors degree! Will work follow?)

Chilled and dry

2009-12-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

It’s been cold. We haven’t been above freezing sense Dec. 5th. We haven’t broken any records for this region as of yet – it’s just cold. The lowest Dec. temperature was a -16°F on Dec. 30, 1968. We are 23.3°F above that record.

This cooling trend will abate by week's end with a slight warming trend and some moisture. Temperatures will remain below average for this time of year according to the NWS Spokane.