We are now about to experience very different weather from the wet, blustery conditions of most of November. The last precipitation for quite a while just passed through tonight..the remnants of a weakening frontal system. High amplitude ridging, associated with building high pressure over the eastern Pacific, will leave us high and dry for the remainder...
An Amazing Lightning Story
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The lightning stuck the antenna on the upper side of the carOnce in a while, I hear some amazing weather stories. Imagine being hit by lightning while driving. Instant destruction of the car's electronics, with the a window blowing out due the blast? Here is a true story shared by Judy Lew--she described it so well, I thought I would leave her own...
Sun, Fog, and Rain Takes a Holiday
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Yes, it is true. The weather stretching into the middle of next week is going to be very different from the rain and wind of November. We are talking DRY now. But with dry this time of year comes the potential for fog.Take today. Yesterday's front and moderate rain has pushed through western Washington and sunny skies have spread over the lowlands...
The Thanksgiving Day Forecast
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Thanksgiving is coming and with lots of people on the road starting tomorrow, so the forecast is important. Bottom line: a benign weather situation...but not entirely dry.A front is now offshore and it will move slowly towards us during the day tomorrow, with rain reaching the western lowlands around dinner time (see graphics above). No big deal...
The Wettest, Stormiest Two Weeks of the Year!
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During Thanksgiving 1983 this was the only way to cook a turkey in western Washington. This particular turkey looks a tad overdone.Yes, its right now. On average the last two weeks of November are the wettest, windiest, stormiest time of the year here in the Northwest...by any measure. Take a look at the average daily rainfall (see graphic). There...
The low is here
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10:50 AM update...here is the latest Doppler velocity image. I normally don't show you this. Blue is incoming westerly winds of 36 kts. A convergence zone has formed with heavy rain in the central Sound.The low pressure system moved in a little south of the last model forecast, but strong winds are now hitting the central and southern WA coast...
Update
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The forecasting is changing a bit...and getting more serious. Moderate rain has overspread our area and winds in NW Washington have picked up substantially...take a look at Smith Island...getting near 50 kts. That is serious wind.But the big issue is the small, but significant, low center out there right now. A critical forecast question is its...
NW Washington Gets Hit Again...and an Unusual Low
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This is a November that just keeps giving meteorologically. And a low with an unusual track is on the horizon.Today is somewhat of a break. Some sun, some clouds, a few light showers. Good enough to rake some leaves, as I will do soon.Tonight it will get much more interesting...and Jim Forman from KING TV should be gassing up his van for a trip back...
Why is Northwest Washington getting hit so hard? +Defending Randy Dorn
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Its back..... No, not some ghostly apparition...the winds. Here in Seattle the trees are moving again and once in a while I can hear the roar of an approaching gust. (aside...gusts are associated with the downward movement of high speed air from aloft associated with turbulence in the lower atmosphere).But what is happening here in Seattle is NOTHING...
Windy Night
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Lots of wind tonight....not a major windstorm...but...take a look at the latest observations (see graphic). Sustained winds of 40-50 mph on the coast, with gusts to 60-70 mph at some locations. Also strong winds over NW Washington, with gusts to 40-55 mph. NW WA has really gotten it the last week--as described in my book, a major causes is the...
Watch Out Olympics!
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Today was a fairly quiet day...the front passed through this morning and with the low going north of us, winds relaxed substantially this morning.Classic post-frontal showers and sunbreaks (see latest infrared picture)....and using the radar one is able to time outdoors activities, such as biking, to stay dry. Weather radar can change your life!An...
Winds Surging on the Coast
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Very strong winds have hit the coast as the first trough moves its way northward immediately offshore (see weather map for 7 PM). Extremely strong pressure gradient over the offshore waters.Winds at Hoquiam gusted to 61 knots (70 mph). And the second low is still out there...and starkly beautiful in the latest infrared satellite picture (see below)....
Monday Update
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Lots happening. As the satellite image shows a band of moisture, associated with strong southerly and southwesterly winds and warm temperatures is streaming right into us. Complicating the picture have been a progression of low pressure centers that are riding northeastward on the cold side. One low pressure area moved by this morning, producing strong...
