Today will be a transitional day with low clouds slowly burning off and few residual showers (see satellite pic at 10:15 AM). Want sunny skies for sure? Head just east of the Cascade crest and down into eastern Washington. The air is still cold aloft so we could get some instability and cumulus development, but that will be increasingly suppressed...
Are the Eastern U.S. tornadoes and our cold weather connected?
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We are about to finish the coldest April in at least 60 years. And it appears that April will bring the all-time record number of tornadoes to the U.S., including yesterday's catastrophic event with over 250 deaths.Are they connected? I think one can make a very plausible case that they are.But before I discuss this connection, let me note that around...
Making Fun of Weathermen Reaches New Depths
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Weatherfolk are often the butt of jokes and I have experienced that many times myself. How many times have I heard snide remarks about weather forecasters predicting with dice, that "meteorologists can be wrong 50% of the time and still get paid" and similar comments. You get a thick skin eventually or leave the field.But I have to admit that many...
Thanks, Budget Cuts, and an Inside Look
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I would like to begin this blog with a heartfelt thanks to all of you that have contributed to the UW weather prediction research fund noted in the upper right of this blog and here. Over one-hundred of you have contributed both small and larger amounts and these funds (several thousand dollars so far) will help maintain our regional weather research...
PDO and Long-Term Trends
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Saturday's clear skies over nearly the entire state....you won't see this again soon!After Saturday's spectacular sun and warmth, we have returned to normal again. Saturday was warmest day for the region so far this year, with temperatures climbing into the mid to upper 60s for most western WA locations away from the water. As expected some of the...
A Great Historical Dust Storm and FINALLY a Warm Day
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Today is the 80th anniversary of the greatest dust storm in the history of our area. On 21 April 1931, very high pressure developed over southwest Canada and eastern Montana, while low pressure deepened over the intermountain west (see figure, with sea level pressures).Between these two features a HUGE pressure difference developed, which led to very...
Adult Theme Blog --Mammatus Clouds
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This blog contains material that may be inappropriate for preteen audiences, so if you are underage, please click here.For the rest of you, lets continue. A number of readers of this blog have sent me emails the past few days about some strange looking clouds. Here is an example provided by Pam Keeley of Columbia City:Scary.And our favorite high-definition...
Unstable Air and the Northwest Weather Workshop
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Although the cold air that has been moving in aloft these days may have its down sides for gardening and some outdoor activities, there IS a silver lining to the situation....very nice cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds for viewing (an example shown above from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency "Visibility Cam."Believe it or not, the sun is actually getting...
Are Northwest Springs Getting Worse?
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I have heard two questions over and over again this week:Are springs getting worse?Is this the worst spring on record?Looking at the data one might argue that the answer to both of these is yes.For me, it starts feeling spring-like when temperatures get over 55F. In the forties and lower fifties there is a chill in the air, but above 55F there is...
Revenge of a Dying La Nina
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Its days are numbered. There is no doubt about it anymore. The handwriting is on the wall. All the expert pundits are in agreement. But it won't easily release its grip for another month or so.The regime in Libya?No, we are talking about this year's La Nina and the cool, wet weather it has brought.Astronomical spring might have arrived on March...
UW Admissions and the Budget Cuts
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After the Seattle Times published a front page article: Why Straight-A Students Won't Get into the UW this Year there has been a firestorm of comments in the media and blogosphere--and I have gotten quite a few emails about it.Let me give you my take on this article and on a variety of related topics ( budget cuts, the quality of the UW student body,...
Upside Down Rainbow
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Several people sent me pictures of what they described as an upside down rainbow high in the sky around 5 PM today. Here are some examples:Courtesy of Casey BurnsCourtesy of David OvensThe colors in these "smiley faced" rainbows were very vivid.What was causing this unusual occurrence? It is what is called a circumzenithal arc.This arc are caused...
Convergence Zone Snow in April!
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Bellevue, WA snow around 8 PM at 200 ft ASL. Picture courtesy of Julia Ziobro Today we had a strong convergence zone and with cool air aloft the result was that in the heavier convergence showers the snow level was driven to the surface over some of the lowlands.This morning dawned with a spectacular convergence zone over the north Sound.Just beautiful....
California Versus the Northwest
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It is often true that California and the Northwest are often in contention for the wet stuff (and we usually win!). We have seen a number of periods this winter when a trough developing over the West Coast has sent the jet stream and all the moisture down into California. And it is going to happen again.Last week I was staying in Monterey, California...
Radioactivity Measurements
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During the past few days a great deal of information has come in about the amount of radiation reaching the U.S. from the Fukushima reactors in Japan. Measurable radiation has reached our shores, but thousands of times below intervention standards.Recently, a University of Washington team presented highly sensitive results based on measuring the radioactive...
