WashingtonCaliforniaYou may not believe it, but we are now starting a mini-drought here in Seattle. After a wetter than normal year, there is now no precipitation in sight until the middle of next week. And even better than that, there will also be considerable sunshine each day, which really helps lessen the midwinter blues. This is all caused by...
Convergence Zone Snow
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As shown below, the convergence zone snow is continuing and strengthening in southern Snohomish County....some of the roads have gotten problematic.You can watch this event unfold (and know what is going to happen to you during the next hour) by viewing the radar animation:http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=ATXhttp://www.atmos.washington.edu/weather/radar.shtmlLatest...
Its Snowing! (But not everywhere)
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I5 in North LynnwoodDuring the past few hours it has been snowing in Everett and at Sea Tac but RAINING at Boeing Field and Renton. In fact, the snow was relatively hard around Everett to Lynnwood and is accumulating on the roads (see above). Why? There is an intense band of precipitation...very narrow... extending over Everett and environs...take...
Wednesday Lowland Snow??
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Snow at the top of Seattle Hills and rain near sea level often occursduring marginal snow situationsThere has been talk for nearly a week for the potential for lowland snow on Wednesday. I will analyze the situation below, but let me make it very clear at the outset--this is a VERY, VERY different situation than November 22nd. You will not see a...
Nor'Easter!
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Narragansett, RI at 1:15 PM December 26th, Courtesy of Neil StuartNothing really exceptional during the next few days around here weatherwise (except for some strong winds today!), so I thought I might comment on the active weather on the U.S. East Coast...a Nor'easter or Northeaster as the locals like to call them.The greater winter storms of the...
Darkest Day and Possible Snow
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This will be a blog about contradictions. Yesterday was very dark over much of the NW, in fact in Seattle it was the darkest day since January 10th of this year based on the solar radiation measurements at the UW (this fact was communicated by Mark Albright, past state climatologist). First, we start with the darkest period of the year based on the...
Perspective on the Winter So Far
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Real Northwest winter starts roughly the first week of November and roughly ends the last week of February, so we are now approximately midway. Congratulations! By real winter, I mean the period we typically get serious weather...the big windstorms, rainstorms, flooding, snow events, etc. Yes, I know...it can be cloudy and grungy into June, but...
The Easterly Windstorm Forecast and a Clarification
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First, some of you noted that you had strong winds and feel the NWS didn't give you warning. I should note that next generation model resolution--which is not available generally--might have helped. Here is output from the new 1.3 km resolution WRF model at the UW and you can compare to the 4-km, which has been around awhile. The 1.3 km is far better,...
Major Easterly Wind Event
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Wind damage near EnumclawPicture Courtesy of the Seattle TimesStrong winds over western Washington and Oregon are almost always out of the south, the product of low pressure centers moving up the coast and/or making landfall to our north. On rare occasions (like on Nov 22 with the cold outbreak), we can get fairly strong northerly winds as cold air...
