Weather radar is a great tool for tracking areas of precipitation...but it can see much more. Sometimes it sees birds. In fact, birds are great radar targets, since the amount of radar signal scattered back increases by the sixth power of the diameter of the target...and birds are much bigger than raindrops!Let me show you an example (see below)....
An Ocean Full of Low Clouds
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Take a look at the visible satellite picture for northeast Pacific Ocean (see image). Notice anything? Something that is quite different than a few months ago? Something that happens virtually every spring?The answer:The ocean is covered for thousands of miles by low stratus/stratocumulus clouds.We are talking about millions of square miles of low...
A Cloudy Day West, But Sun East
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Some people saw some fleeting sunshine this morning..but for most of western Washington, marine cloudiness will rule. Take a look at the visible satellite image this morning. Mostly cloudy from the Pacific to the crest of the Cascades--but generally sunny in eastern Washington. The spring is a great time for a trip east of the Cascades...generally...
Shiptracks!
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During the past several days there have been some odd lines apparent in the visible satellite photos off our coast (see examples). These lines are often seen off the U.S. west coast in thin stratus and stratocumulus cloud decks. Sometimes they look like someone is playing tic-tac-toe over the Pacific. What causes they strange lines? And why was...
Temperature, Mountains Wave Clouds, and Math Education in Seattle
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What a difference a day makes. Today was splendid, nearly no clouds, and temperatures reaching the 70s in Puget Sound land and the 80s near Portland (see map above for 5 PM, Monday). In contrast, yesterday was far cooler from Seattle northward. The big reason...an area of clouds produced by mountain waves forced by the Olympics (see satellite picture)....
Watch those soil temperatures!
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http://weather.wsu.edu/awn.phpLast year I tried to start my vegetable garden from seeds in April...and most of the seeds never germinated.. Well, I did some research on seeds and soil temperatures and found out that the soil temperatures were too cold last year, due to unusually cold spring temperatures. As you remember, last spring was terrible...in...
A weak cold front, then warmth
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The forecast is right on track...and the track is going in the right direction. A weak cold front is now crossing western Washington (see satellite image and radar), with showers now spreading into the region. This evening and the early morning will be wet (see forecast for 4 AM)..with the steady frontal showers finished by midmorning. Then as we...
The Upcoming Heat Wave
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So many people are complaining about the cold, unseasonable weather. Even some snow yesterday in the convergence zone! Except for those 3 warm days last week, temps have remained far below normal (see graph). But there is a major change coming this weekend and into next week..and we should see several days reaching the upper 60s and 70s. Take ...
Is Sequim Really Sunnier?
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A frequent question is have gotten is about Sequim. Sure it is dry..but is it sunnier. The answer is probably yes..and today (Sunday) is a good example. First start with the weather radar below. World-class rain shadow northeast of the Olympics ! Now look at the high-resolution visible satellite image--and examine it closely. You can see a break...
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The visible satellite picture today show two things...the clouds on the western side of the Cascades and the approaching weather system offshore. Eastern Washington and Oregon are nearly clear and sunny. We have now switched to the period when eastern Washington no longer clouds in...so very frequently they are clear, when the west side is in clouds....
Rain on Sunday (and in Hawaii)
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After three days of above normal temps, we have now switched to a cooler pattern...but the big change will be on Sunday, when heavy rain will probably hit the region....take a look at some of the 24-h rainfall totals from the local high-resolution WRF model for the periods ending 5 PM on Sunday and Monday. The first image shows a nice rainshadow NE...
The Transition
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The Seattle Profiler shows the transition to marine air very nicely...(image). You can see the easterly and northerly flow on Tuesday)when it was warm and the change to strong southeries and cooler temps as the marine air came ...
The First Push of the Year
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One of the key warm season weather features of the Northwest is the onshore or marine "push"---one of my personal favorites. These events occur following a period of above-average temperatures associated with high pressure inland and offshore flow. The high pressure subsequently moves inland and a weather disturbance approaches from the west, causing...
