Cloudy and Cool

I got back from a meeting at Lake Tahoe yesterday (American Meteorological Society Mountain Meteorology conference) and I am ready to get back on the plane to Reno. For September, which has often been a very good month around here, we are seeing cool, cloudy, and wet conditions west of the Cascade crest and north of Salem. Look at the latest satellite picture: you can see a week front moving over our region, but sun and warmth just to the south and east. If it makes you feel better,there are low clouds over coastal southern CA.


Looking at the actual temps versus climatology (image below). Over the last four weeks, and particularly since 21 August, we have generally been well below normal. Today was the worst of the worst.
You want to get more depressed? Here are the latest NWS extended forecasts (6-10 days). Below normal temps and above normal precip.

The problem is that we are locked in a pattern that keeps us cool, with persistent troughing (low pressure) over our area. Here is the upper level flow at 5 PM: ridging offshore and a trough moving into our area.


Tomorrow at the same time this trough deepens and extends down the coast, so that those smug folks in CA will get a big hit of clouds and some precipitation. We will be north of the action, which believe or not, is good for us...perhaps there will be a few breaks in the clouds in the afternoon.

Bottom line: cooler than normal, but not much precipitation. One good thing though--when I got home I rushed over to my vegetables--some of the tomatoes had turned red! Miracles do happen.