Weather Eye: Northwest bears brunt of soggy weather jokes
I had a chuckle about a cartoon, an old one for sure, that I came upon Sunday. The just of it shows two characters, and one comes up to the other and asks for a good sunblock. His buddy hands him a piece of paper, and he replies, "What is this?" The other says, "Directions to Seattle." And so it goes, the Northwest always gets the brunt of the wet and cloudy jokes.
Weather Eye: In the middle of February, our thoughts turn to spring
Is winter over? Going by the calendar, we have almost six weeks yet, but we weather folks call March the first month of spring. Two weeks left in February.
Weather Eye: Forecast not exciting for area weather
Not a whole lot on the horizon weather wise after some showers today. The weekend still looks dry with seasonal temperatures, nothing to write home about in our neck of the woods, for sure.
Weather Eye: Rainfall expected to give way to dry conditions
I was reviewing the latest newsletter from our state climate office on Monday and thought I would share a few bits of information with you. We all know it was wet last year but statewide it was the fifth wettest year since 1895 and the wettest since the turn of the century. The wettest year on record was 1996, followed by 1896, 1950 and 1899.
Weather Eye: Quake shakes up boring day
Well, what do you know. As I sit here typing my column, the house is shaking, rattling and rolling. Yep, a small earthquake about 3.5 occurred near Amboy, immediately becoming the only highlight to a rather boring weather day.
Weather Eye: With a few days left, January's still chilly, damp, dark
Monday was a typical January day — dark, gray and wet. What else would you expect?
Weather Eye: We're past the coldest part of winter and thinking about spring
The weather has turned much more seasonal, with showers, highs in the 40s and lows in the 30s. That will continue awhile, with snow possible in the higher foothills tonight. I expect highs for Wednesday through Friday near 50 degrees.
Weather Eye: Freezing rain largely fizzles; warmer temperatures ahead
As promised our inversion is long gone but not without a few brief pockets of sleet or freezing rain, mainly near the Gorge. It seemed the media made a bigger deal out of it than what occurred or what was on the horizon. Forecast models had the precipitation arriving earlier, during the early morning hours, than midday.
Weather Eye: Cold, dry interval of inversion is on its way out soon
The sunshine was sure a welcome sight Monday, although there was still a chill in the air even as high temperatures crept into the low 40s. The night had been very cold, with Vancouver officially registering a chilly low of 19 degrees early Monday. There were many other readings in the teens in the outlying area. The coldest I saw was 15 degrees.
Weather Eye: Under inversion, Vancouver's been abnormally cold and dry
The afternoon high temperatures for Saturday went like this: In the foggy areas, it remained just a couple degrees above freezing. In the sunny areas, it managed to pop into the 40s. Along the coast, it was in the 50s and in the mid-elevation levels of the mountains, it was in the 60s and even some 70s, about 30 to 40 degrees above average for January.
Weather Eye: Warm and cold trade places
No change in the weather pattern through early next week, except hopefully the warmer and drier air aloft will work its way to the surface at some point and bring our temperatures back up to normal or above and get rid of the low clouds.
Weather Eye: Snow threat low for now, but roads may be icy today
After I wrote my column Saturday afternoon — of course — one could see moisture streaming over the top of the massive ridge of high pressure and moving southward over the interior of British Columbia on Sunday. This produced enough moisture in the lower layers of the atmosphere and aided in providing a lift that produced some periods of light snow.
Weather Eye: Inversion will keep air in the lowlands cold, stagnant
After a chilly night and lots of clouds, the sun came out here in Salmon Creek about 3 p.m. but at 4 p.m., my high was only 32 degrees.
Weather Eye: Next several days bring possibility of snowfall in county
Talk about being under the gun for lowland snow. We are indeed. Of course, we need the two all-important ingredients at just the right time, cold air aloft and moisture. We now have that cold air aloft and there are several disturbances forecast to drop down the coast bringing moisture. Some forecast models keep the moisture offshore, while others bring it inland. I wish I had a surefire forecast for snow.
Weather Eye: Snow may fly as temperatures fall, but not pile up
Another round of winter weather will hit Washington and Oregon as a strong cold front moves inland late tonight. After a mild start, Wednesday will see falling temperatures and lowering snow levels.
Weather Eye: Cold will break, briefly; warm air will drop heavy rains
The first five days of January were cold and dry. The average mean temperature for Vancouver through Saturday was 32 degrees, eight degrees below normal. Precipitation was 0.08 of an inch as of 5 p.m. Saturday, nearly 1 inch below average.
Weather Eye: Cold temperatures will hang around for a few more days
Cold enough for you? Wow, those strong east winds in the east Clark County lowered wind chills significantly. Wind speeds of near 100 mph were occurring in the west end of the Columbia River Gorge. The areas out of the wind had very low overnight temperatures. Vancouver officially dropped to 21 degrees but there were reports in the outlying areas of the upper teens.
Weather Eye: 2012 ends with a snowy surprise for Clark County
Surprise, surprise, surprise! What a way to end 2012 — with a nice, white snowfall!
Weather Eye: As the year turns quietly, we'll have dry, cold Gorge winds
Portland froze for the first time this season early Saturday, at 29 degrees. Many locations in Clark County dipped into the mid-20s, with Vancouver officially recording its coldest winter temperature at 26 degrees.
Weather Eye: More showers and cool temps on tap
I hope everyone had a great Christmas, although it always seems to come and go so quickly! And for you weather enthusiasts out there, I hope you got a weather gadget or two to play with (I did)!
Weather Eye: Have a very merry N.W. Christmas
Merry Christmas! It will be a stormy holiday around the great Northwest with heavy rain, snow and strong winds, a very good day for the indoor festivities for sure.
Weather Eye: Last year's warm weather, sun a distant memory this holiday
Boy what a difference a year can make? Last year on the first day of winter I wrote a 'letter home to family' about our weather and shared it with you. The stormy, wet and cold weather we have experienced this fall and early winter was basically nonexistent this time last year.
Weather Eye: Northwest weather remains difficult for forecasters
'The Rise and Fall of Weather Forecasting." That sounds like a good title for a book, especially after the variety of weather we have endured the past week or so and with the forecasts of windstorms and snowstorms and not really much of either materialized.
Weather Eye: Wind wasn't as bad as feared; watch for snow
It was blustery Sunday night into early Monday, but nothing out of the ordinary, just a good winter storm. Although some computer models predicted a much stronger storm, it appeared to me that it would begin to "fill" or lose strength rapidly the moment it hit land, which is exactly what happened. I mentioned in Sunday's column there could be 40-50 mph winds up and down Interstate 5.
Weather Eye: A few flakes flicker in cold city skies; more may come
The first snowflakes of the season mixed with the rain here at city levels early Saturday morning while Clark County locations above 1,000 feet got an inch or two of snow.
Weather Eye: Snow in higher terrain; what about lowlands?
Winter weather is upon us, at least in the higher terrain. We are slowly but surely adding to the Cascade snowpack. Freezing levels will remain low enough for the next week or so that any moisture falling will be in the form of snow above 2,000 to 3,000 feet but occasionally dropping to the foothills and Coast Range passes. I am sure most folks here in the lowlands don't mind that we don't have to shovel the moisture that is falling here. Computer forecast models are certainly not in any agreement beyond a few days, so my confidence on what the weather will be like as we head toward Christmas is very low.
Weather Eye: Too soon to say if we will enjoy a white Christmas
Not a whole lot to get excited about this week weatherwise outside of a little rain today with decreasing showers Wednesday and then more rain over the weekend. Freezing levels went way up Monday but will drop tonight below mountain passes. The next 10 days or so any moisture that heads our way will be in the form of snow in the mountains.
Weather Eye: Sunny day will give way to cool temperatures
We had a welcome break Wednesday from the heavy rains and even got to enjoy some sunshine a good share of the day. That was a transition day from a southwest flow of air to a cooler northwest flow of air. The good news is that the mountains should receive one or two feet of new snow including the passes between now and the weekend as orthographic showers develop over the mountains.
Timm: Pineapple Express will yield to nights of nearly freezing
As promised here the other day, lots and lots of weather action heading our way for the weather buffs out there.
Weather Eye: Storm ushers out a wet November; will December be white?
November went out with a bang Friday evening, as a rather vigorous squall line moved through before midnight with gusty winds and heavy rain, putting some local rain amounts over the edge. November rainfall reports are coming in to me and I will report them this week. They are impressive -- well above November normals. Rainfall totals in the foothills were between 15 and 25 inches. Yep that is a lot of water!
Weather Eye: Expect rain here and a good burst of snow in mountains
A large low pressure system is anchored in the Gulf of Alaska and will remain there for several days, continuing to spin weather systems our way on regular intervals. A good punch to the coast today with high winds and surf, and general rains everywhere both west and east of the mountains. The higher Cascades will get snow.
Weather Eye: Enjoy one more day of pleasant weather
We had a very nice break from the heavy rains after Thanksgiving and we will enjoy one more day before we enter an extended stormy period Wednesday and beyond.
Weather Eye: An annual toast to Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving! Hopefully this day will offer the very best to you, your family and friends. We have many things to be thankful for and one is the great weather we enjoy in the Pacific Northwest. Like the fantastic late summer and fall weather we just had. Sure we get storms, snow and flooding but nothing compared to other parts of the country.
Weather Eye: Thanksgiving may be driest day of the week
‘When it rains it pours,” someone once said, and, of course, that was true on Monday. Heavy rains pelted our area with several inches in the foothills, and we were well on our way to the 2-inch mark in the city by 5 p.m. It was a stormy day in the neighborhood, to say the least.
Weather Eye: It's a fine time for raking leaves, but storms on way
Wednesday was one of those textbook autumn days, foggy in the morning with afternoon sunshine and fairly calm winds. One of those lazy days to rake the leaves or, in many cases, use a leaf blower, moving them who knows where.
Weather Eye: This week brings dose of typically rainy fall weather
Nothing too surprising this week weather-wise, with lots of clouds and showers, some dry periods and highs mostly in the 50s forecast. No big storms looming on the horizon.
Weather Eye: Cooler days arrive; holiday travelers may see some snow
It was a much cooler start to the day on Wednesday, with a see-your-breath kind of thing heading out to work in the early morning. The well-advertised cold front moved through overnight and lowered our afternoon highs into the 50s Wednesday. Further cooling will occur today and Friday with highs struggling to hit 50 degrees.
Weather Eye: Bundle up; it's about to get pretty chilly around here
I hope you enjoyed Monday because later tonight everything changes. A much cooler air mass drops south from the Gulf of Alaska and lowers snow levels and brings a chill in the air even at lower elevations. I mentioned this last week and everything is on track.
Weather Eye: As autumn cools off, it's time to look ahead, plan for winter
In two weeks, weather geeks from around the Northwest will gather at OMSI for the annual winter weather forecasting conference hosted by the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society. The meeting, open to the public, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 17. Details are at http://ametsoc.org/chapters/oregon.
Weather Eye: Weekend expected to be dry, mild; cooler air to make a return
The steady rained ended just in time for Halloween trick-or-treaters with scattered showers only lingering throughout the evening hours. Mild temperatures and some occasional brisk winds were common as well.
Weather Eye: Break in weather over; October rain continues to add up
Monday was a welcome interlude to our wet weather regime with some blue sky and sunshine and mild temperatures well into the 60s. Today will be much different, with periods of moderate to heavy rain.
Weather Eye: Wet October fills rain buckets, blankets mountains with snow
A wet weekend? Yes of course, our rainy season is finally well underway and October will leave with an abundance of water in the rain bucket. With over four inches for a monthly tally already and a brief visit from the Pineapple Express today and Monday, we will surely be over five inches, maybe even six inches, before all is said and done.
Weather Eye: October has been a wet one
Today, we transition from a cold, upper-level trough of low pressure to a warmer ridge of high pressure. It won't stay dry for too long as rain will follow this brief dry spell. Freezing levels will be higher during the weekend and into next week, so much of the snow that fell below 6,000-8,000 feet will melt. After all, it is early in the season.
Weather Eye: Snow's flying in the passes, winter forecasts flying here below
The first snow of the season fell on the Cascade passes early Saturday and was beginning to stick as seen on the traffic cams. Although amounts will not be heavy, most passes will see 2 to 4 inches for the weekend, with more above 5,000 feet.
Weather Eye: Cool air off coast will drive down local temperatures
Weather highlights: The grass is starting to green up, the trees are showing their colors, the geese are flying south in massive flocks, fresh snow on the mountain peaks, today will be warmer, near 70 degrees, and rain with mountain snows returns for the weekend.
Weather Eye: Don't put your storm gear away yet; cold days coming
Stormy weather continues in the Pacific Northwest as another betrayer front moved through last night. Blustery winds accompanied this storm with winds along the coast over 55 mph and inland 30-40 mph as of 6 p.m. Monday. There was even some lightning and thunder scattered around from the coast inland Monday evening.
Weather Eye: Friday's heavy rainfall makes up for months of dry conditions
The seasons changed rather quickly Friday as the first of several weather systems moved inland. Rainfall amounts surpassed longstanding records locally and also in other locales. The weather front stalled over southwest Washington with rainfall amounts between one and two inches. More heavy rain was expected today and Monday, along with breezy conditions especially along the coast and in the mountains.
Weather Eye: With rain on way Friday, get out and enjoy last day of sunshine
I am thinking that today will be our last 70-degree day for the year as a major weather pattern change begins on Friday. It has been well-advertised for nearly a week now and the giant weather machine is cranking up in the Gulf of Alaska, getting ready to make up for lost time.
Weather Eye: Enjoy sunshine, because rain will return this week
Finally it appears our weather pattern is changing to be more fall-like by the end of the week. A series of weather systems out of the Gulf of Alaska will move through with various strengths but all bringing some much-needed rain.
Weather Eye: Dry weather will continue, but beware those chilly nights
Our dry October continues until further notice well into next week. We will see more offshore flow resulting in very dry air. In the wind-sheltered areas the next couple of night temperatures will plummet to freezing or below in the normally colder areas.
