A Review of Winter 2018-2019
Seasonal weather forecasts from the Climate Prediction Center made in fall 2018 for the winter of 2018-19 were generally indicating warm and dry conditions, in line with the expected El Niño development.
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What a Blast: The Arctic-Air Outbreak of February 1989
This edition of the OWSC newsletter more or less coincides with the 30th anniversary of the severe cold snap of early February 1989. Last month we reviewed the record warm anomalies that occurred in January 1953; perhaps it makes some sense to take a look at the other side of the coin.
Read moreJanuary 1953: Largest Positive Monthly Temperature Anomaly in WA State History
Considering statewide averages, what would constitute a large monthly anomaly in temperature? And would we expect to see the largest monthly anomaly in winter or summer? At OWSC, these are the sorts of questions that we ask ourselves as we begin a new calendar year.
Read moreThe Return of Warm Water to the NE Pacific
The intense marine heat wave (MHW) of 2014-16 in the NE Pacific, aka the “Blob”, received a great deal of attention and deservedly so. When relatively warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs) emerged in the Gulf of Alaska in late summer/early fall 2018, both those monitoring the North Pacific atmosphere ocean climate system, and the media, began speculating whether a new MHW might be developing.
Read moreEl Niño Flooding: Flashback to November 2006
The “El Niño watch” issued by the Climate Prediction Center is still in effect, with the expectation that a weak or moderate El Niño will develop this winter. Appropriately, media reports have focused on the increased odds of a warmer and drier winter due to El Niño, with the warmer than usual temperatures being more likely to occur.
Read moreSteep Decline in Streamflows in Washington State
The total statewide averaged precipitation for the 2018 water year to date (1 Oct through 30 June) has been about 3.6” above normal. There was a healthy snowpack on 1 April — the traditional end of winter from the snowpack perspective — with snow water equivalent (SWE) values ranging from about 136% of normal in the Upper Columbia region to 98% in the southern Puget Sound region.
Read moreWhy has the weather been so cool?
For many of us in the Northwest, the record cool start to June seemed like the last straw after what felt like an exceptionally dismal spring. Let’s check some facts though and then see if we can understand what happened
The graph below shows daily temperatures for each day in the last 365 days, compared with the long-term average for each day (=climatology, the smooth curve); blue periods were cooler than “normal” and red periods warmer than normal.
A Review of Winter 2017-2018
Seasonal weather forecasts from the Climate Prediction Center made in fall 2017 for the winter of 2017-18 were generally indicating cool and wet conditions, in line with the expected development of La Niña.
Read moreWettest Month in State History – December 1933
In three previous newsletters we’ve reviewed the warmest (July 1985), coldest (January 1950), and driest (July 1960) months over the last 100 years for WA State. Here we complete the series with a look back at the wettest month in WA State history dating back to when modern records began in the 1890s: December 1933.
Read moreOn the “Great American Solar Eclipse”
While not a meteorological phenomenon, the historic “Great American Solar Eclipse” passed over the US on August 21, offering a view of at least a partial solar eclipse for the entire country, and deserves mention in this newsletter.
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