Top Weather and Climate Events of 2014
With over a month of the New Year already behind us, we would like to review 2014 from a weather and climate perspective. Globally, 2014 ranked as the warmest year on record, but how did it stack up for Washington State?
Read moreHeavy Rain on January 4-5
Very heavy rain fell in western WA State on 4-5 January 2015. The 24-hour precipitation totals for the Pacific Northwest from 4 am (12 UTC) Sunday 4 Jan through 4 am Monday 5 Jan from NOAA are shown in Figure 1.
Read moreClouds in Washington State in Winter
Judy Garland was quoted to have said, “Behind every cloud is another cloud”. The residents of Washington state can appreciate that statement during winter. A map of the mean number of cloudy days in January for the US is shown in Figure 1, and indeed the Pacific Northwest is the cloudiest part of the country, with only a few regions around the Great Lakes reaching the values observed across Washington, Oregon and much of Idaho.
Read morePrecipitation along the West Coast: California versus Washington
California is desperate for water. Precipitation totals in the Golden State have generally been sub-par since the late 1990s, with last winter being especially extreme (the third driest in the record extending back to 1896).
Read moreCold Season Thunderstorms in WA State
A previous newsletter (Aug 2010) included a piece on why thunderstorms are rare in WA State when compared to other parts of the country. Thunderstorms are revisited here, with a focus on their occurrence during the cold season.
Read moreWinter Preview: What Can We Expect?
As many of our readers are likely well aware, there is a high likelihood (between 60 and 65% chance) of a weak El Niño developing during the fall and winter. Sea-surface temperature anomalies are above normal throughout the equatorial Pacific Ocean at the time of this writing (more information in the Climate Outlook below), but the predicted El Niño has been slow to start.
Read moreGrowing Hops in Washington State
Due to the passage of I-502 by Washington state voters in November 2012, legal agricultural production has commenced for a notorious member of the family Cannabacaeae. This highlight is about another member of this family that WA state is known for and that is hops (Humulus lupulus).
Read more21 August Thunderstorms in Okanogan County
Heavy rain occurred in Okanogan County on the evening of 21 August in the region of the Carlton Complex wildfire of earlier in the summer of 2014, leading to flash flooding and mudslides.
Read moreSkill in ENSO Model Prediction
We have previously discussed the skill of seasonal weather predictions for winter in this newsletter (March 2014 edition). One of the most important sources of information for these seasonal forecasts is the future state of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
Read moreThe Precipitation Winners and Losers in Major League Baseball
Seattle’s rainy reputation is difficult to combat, especially among those that have never lived in the Pacific Northwest. The dry Washington summers are often overlooked. In that context, OWSC was pleased to have recently heard a “rumor” that during the regular baseball season, Seattle is one of the driest cities of those that have a Major League Baseball team.
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