On the Weather Forecasts made by the Old Farmer’s Almanac
One way to annoy many meteorologists is to suggest that the weather forecasts from the Old Farmer’s Almanac (OFA) are more skillful than those from the National Weather Service. I certainly share this peeve, and so on a lark some years ago, I decided to determine for myself whether the OFA forecasts for the Pacific Northwest had merit.
Read moreLowland Snow and ENSO Relationship
The relationship between the phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and WA climate is well documented, as has been discussed frequently in our monthly newsletters (most specific: October 2010). In general, La Niña conditions tilt the odds towards a wetter than normal WA fall and a colder than normal WA winter.
Read moreLa Niña and the Weather of WA State
The weather of the Pacific Northwest during the coming months, or otherwise known as the cool season, is impacted by the atmosphere-ocean system of the tropical Pacific. This region is currently experiencing what is termed La Nina, and this condition is expected to persist into 2011.
Read more2009 State of the Climate Report Released in BAMS
The State of the Climate Report is a yearly supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) that summarizes the global and regional climate for each calendar year. The 2009 report was released in July (Arndt et al., 2010).
Read moreThunderstorms in WA State
Thunderstorms occur in the state of Washington relatively infrequently (Figure 1). There are about 20,000 lightning flashes per year on average (1996-2008), according to the National Lightning Detection Network. This sounds like a lot, but in terms of the frequency of flashes per unit area, Washington State actually ranks dead last compared to the rest of the continental United States.
Read moreThe Cool and Damp Weather of May-June 2010: Winners and Losers
Many sunlight-deprived residents of Washington State are complaining about the recent weather. Those that live on the west side of the Cascade Mountains are accustomed to cloudy and wet winters, and a slow warming as the days get longer during the spring.
Read moreA Review of Winter 2009-2010
The winter of 09-10 was anticipated to be warmer and drier than normal in the Pacific Northwest due to the expected development of a moderate El Niño. Did that actually happen?
Read moreThe Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) and the Weather of Washington State
The weather of the tropics on time scales of weeks to a couple of months is related to a phenomenon known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). The MJO modulates the distribution of deep cumulus convection, and the attendant atmospheric circulation on scales of thousands of kilometers in a band along the equator.
Read moreMonitoring Precipitation near the Howard Hanson Dam 2010
As you are probably aware, the heavy rainfall in January 2009 damaged the Howard Hanson Dam (located on the Green River in King County). For more background information, please see our 2010 Water Year monitoring page.
Read moreDry Conditions in North Central WA
This year’s summer was warm and dry throughout the state. According to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), the mean temperature for June-July-August averaged over the entire state was 65.9 degrees Fahrenheit, ranking as the 8th warmest in 115 years (Figure 1).
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