Weather Eye: An impressive string of big storms has fizzled over us
The Columbian
Published: October 25, 2015, 5:59am
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Friday, we saw pictures of what some media forecasters labeled “the strongest storm on Earth.” Can you imagine winds of over 200 mph? And at the peak of Hurricane Patricia, sustained winds of 200 mph. Is that enough to blow you away? Incredible.
Back home, we manage maybe the weakest storms on Earth, rain-wise. Several large storms have headed our way from out in the Pacific, only to fizzle and produce drizzle. Light amounts.
Another one today, a little stronger, will bring some light rain or showers. If we are lucky, a quarter-inch of rain. Another is scheduled to reach us late Wednesday or Thursday. We’ll see if it splits apart.
There may be hope yet with the start of the autumn rains; longer-range forecasts show rainy and cool weather in three weeks or so, with snow in the ski areas. That would be a reason for thankfulness the week before Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, Saturday afternoon turned out quite nice with blue skies and temperatures in the 65- to 70-degree range. Lots of folks still out in shorts and sandals — why not? It’s only late October in the Pacific Northwest. It may be the last warm day of 2015.
Saturday was a bonus day at the ocean, with blue skies and sunshine, as warm as inland with offshore winds.
Only one high temperature has been below average this month — 63 degrees on Oct. 2. We should average at or above average to month’s end. The average mean temperature so far is 59.4 degrees, 4.5 degrees above average. Rainfall is a paltry 0.56 inch, 1.75 inches below average.
Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://patricktimm.com.
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