Snow some places

Snow level is about 300ft (1000ft below freezing level). No snow in Seattle, but a good amount in places like Everett and Sea-Tac. Who got snow?

Snow tomorrow?

Just a maybe. We're not talking primo BC cold air here. Just some schwag marine origin cold air, which leaves ground surfaces above freezing.

Don't hold your breath for snow near sea level. Eastern suburbs could get few inches. Not an icing situation during the day.

Sorry.

Possible Snow Wednesday

Stay tuned for more accurate models.

Nothing to see here

In terms of temperatures and precipitation, it hasn't been a wacky or unusual winter, and there's nothing pointing to global warming.

It was windy on Saturday

This blog IS NOT a forecast service. You should NOT depend on it for warnings about serious weather events. Public school math SUX COX N DIX!!!!!!

This weekend

It rained a lot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPs-Ggmk6JA

Toot toot

All aboard the Pineapple Express. If you want to do something outside over the weekend...do it before 3 PM on Saturday.

Sometimes life imitates art

And sometimes it doesn't.



(a LOT of rain coming starting Sunday, with the establishment of a significant pineapple express event. And a super warm front. More on that later.)

Dealing with snowstorms is hard

Seattle did... meh.

(Read my book)

Don't live in Eastern Washington.

That's all.

Averages

We're through the worst of the rain, on average. The jet stream (the source of energy for storms) weakens in December versus November over the Northwest. However, January is the snowiest month in our area.

The next several days looks completely benign and boring...no strong storms or heavy precipitation. Saturday might even have some sun!

Slow news day

We're going to have absolutely boring, benign weather during the next five days. Not much precipitation. No lowland snow. Little wind. No heavy rain...even some sun! Dull! Good time to install a weather station!

I'm giving two talks today. One already happened. The other is at 6:45 at the NE Seattle library located at 6801 35th Avenue NE. It's about forecasting!

Weather websites

New UW Weather Radar Interface: http://www.atmos.washington.edu/weather/radar.shtml

Windwatch: http://www.atmos.washington.edu/SCL/

Just kidding

Lowland snow tomorrow from roughly 6 AM through 10-11 AM and then it turns to rain. Could have transitional periods of sleet and freezing rain. If the latter, be really careful if you have to drive.

This blog is becoming irrelevant

Quoted verbatim from the bottom of Cliff's latest entry:

So the bottom line:

today...what you see is what you get.
tomorrow morning will have the potential for some light am snow and increasingly slippery conditions of melting ice.
By late Thursday the warming should improve conditions substantially.
Friday we will transition back to normal with rain,typical conditions, and wind in the normal locations.

I guess you don't need this blog...today.

Make that 6 - 10 inches in Sequim

Lots more snow than predicted in some places, including the Northern Peninsula and south of the city. There are winds coming from the north, hitting winds coming from the south. They push each other up and create more precipitation (at least that's what I think I'm trying to say...)

I stand corrected

It snowed. Getting colder. 1 - 4 inches predicted, (more snow as you head south or east). Drive safe and have fun!

A disturbance

Gonna get colder. Not much snow in the city.

Lets be explicit

Snow in the South Sound and foothills over the next 24h. My weatherman in Bellevue tells me he's getting some snow.

Tomorrow, probably more of the same (only colder).

Cold weather update

Cold air is coming down from the north. Limited snow Saturday evening (check out my colorful map to see where). Spoiler: probably no snow in the lowlands...probably. Tuesday AM looks VERY COLD.

I don't want to overhype things, but...

SNOW!!!!!

Might have a small dusting on Sunday and/or Monday. Re-read chapter 4 of my book, it's about snow.

Wind and snow

200,000 lost power Monday night, and winds reached 117 mph on Stevens Pass!

We're gonna get some major cold in western WA Mon through Wed next week and a real chance for light snow in the lowlands on Monday.

Have you read my book yet?

Will it snow this weekend?

No.

Will it snow next week? Maybe. La Nina looks like she's making an appearance.

Ice kills

Roads can be icy when it's above freezing because surface of the earth can cool more than the atmosphere above. So when the thermometer (at 5' off the ground) says above freezing, the ground might be below freezing.

We are now entering the core of the roadway icing season, and roadway ice kills more NW citizens than ANY other weather phenomena! Be afraid!!!! BOO!!!!!

Seattle's Snow Prep

Better than it was in 2008. I have a few recommendations.

[nb: this is a long post, but I actually recommend you read or skim it if you plan to live in Seattle this winter]

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2010/11/is-seattle-ready-for-snow.html

It's sunny in Cle Elum

Because clouds release their moisture while gaining elevation in their ascent over the west side of the Cascades, then dissipate while going down the east side*. So sunny they're building a solar energy array.

* This, by the way, is the phenomenon behind most Northwest weather. I even get deja vu typing this footnote.

Cliff Mass Fan Page on Facebook

[ed: this isn't a TLDR post, i.e. Cliff didn't originally write this + lots of other words around it, bringing it to an enormous volume of text]

Someone (not me) made a Fan page for Cliff Mass on Facebook. If you're reading this blog you're obviously a fan of the Mass-ter so you should join that facebook group.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled pithy weather updates.

we broke some weather records

no big deal

Warm

Record highs yesterday. You can tell when dry air is going easterly because the view of the Cascades is very clear when viewing from Seattle.

Today should be a bit cooler (mid-60s). But this is still 10F higher than normal.

Friday: light showers
Satruday: more rain and clouds

Fall Heat Wave

Gonna be warm. Differences in pressure off the coast are causing the winds to increase elevation.

Upper 60's to lower 70's today! It should be warmer in Western WA than Eastern WA for a change.

Mostly rainy this weekend.

The weather will be good to Dems

Mild weather across the country will be good for Democratic candidates and causes. Or at least it won't be helpful to the GOP. However, I based this on a map created by Karl Rove so feel free to ignore slash laugh at me.

We have the strongest storms

Storms in the NW are just as violent as the famed "Nor'Easters", and they both spend plenty of time over water. See?

Events that start at 7 PM

Tonight on KIRO TV (channel 7) at 7 PM: a show about La Nina and the new coastal radar.

Wednesday night at 7 PM: American Meteorological Society meeting on where the oil in the Gulf went. Location: NOAA Sand Point (7600 Sand Point Way).

Yesterday, the rainshadow was centered over Seattle because the usual SSW winds changed to WSW.

Catch-up post

Friday Earmarks = coastal radar (so vote for Murray)
Saturday Strong winds and big waves, but not in the city (especially the waves). Rain everywhere
Sunday See "Saturday"

Typhoon Megi

Typhoon Megi might get close to us, bringing 55 knot winds offshore. But maybe not.

Inversion

A temperature inversion is when it gets warmer the higher up you go. We had one yesterday. They're caused by clear skys during the night, which allows the surface of the earth to cool down.

Weather report

A few more days of sun and warmth, then a major shift to stormy and wet weather this weekend.

Foggy

It's fig season.

Actual Cliff Mass quote

"Elvis is still alive"

Rain

We got a lot of it.

Finally

Mid-seventies today, 80s on Wednesday, and near 90F on Thursday. Because of the thermal trough (read my book or become a grad student of mine)

Getting warm right after July 4th

Before July 4th: clouds and showers. Lower 60s
On July 4th: No major storm. No guarantees
July 5th: Sun and 70s. Maybe low 80s!

More rain means you don't need to water

Since it's been so rainy, Seattleites have used less water than usual this year.

For this week: clouds and light rain. Highs in the mid to upper 60s.

I'm not telling what the weather for July 4th is gonna be. Ok you talked me into it. It's gonna suck.

Cloudy

It's been cloudy these days, because of the high pressure stuff that sinks towards the ground.

Finally broke 75F

Yesterday: finally broke 75F
Today: cooler, cloudier, maybe some rain

Eyjafjallajökull isn't having an impact on our weather.

Seasonal Affective Disorder in JUNE?

Today was the darkest day since early February. Happy Summer!

TV Weathermen are wrong

Don't believe the TV weathermen. They're predicting rain over all of Western Washington. The truth is that there will only be rain over most of Western Washington.

Portland weather is worse than ours

Sucks to live in Portland, their recent weather has double-sucked.

In other news, I love waterfalls.

[Sorry for the delay, I'm on vacation.]

Rebirth of Cool

It's so cold, the bees are dying.

I'm going to be a camp counselor for nerdy grownups, August 5 -8.

It was nice today

Told you so.

Tomorrow won't be as nice, just ok. The rest of the week will be "typical" whatever that means.

Rain

It rained a lot yesterday evening. Just like us weathermen predicted, so quit hating!

Saturday: warm and sunny
Sunday: "not as good"

Wet till Friday, then a warm weekend

This is the latest that the Sea-Tac maximum temperature has not hit 75F. We set a new record in crap weather! Thanks Juneuary.

Wednesday: rain
Thursday: rain
Friday: transition from rain to ...
Saturday: warm! (70's)
Sunday: warm!
Monday: probably not as warm?

Summer weather starts July 12

Until then...

The next few days will have rain on and off. Next weekend, there might be a major warm up.

Funnel cloud

There was a funnel cloud yesterday. Read my book.

Today was nice.

Rain predicted for tomorrow.

No wind

Oregon is going to get that wind tomorrow. Suckers.

It'll still be rainy tonight, through tomorrow morning.

Saturday: drier and warmer (60s)
Sunday: wet

Warmer next week? ... stay tuned.

New Coastal Radar Next Year

The new coastal radar will be installed around Hoquiam by September 2011. The radar dish is pre-owned, but it's still state-of-the-art. It's going to be pointing totally horizontal, to allow better coverage. That way fishermen won't get caught in storms that they didn't see coming. Yippee!

Juneuary

Lots of rain.

Windstorm on Friday.

Unfortunate forecast

I was joking last week when I said that we had typical May weather. It's actually been colder and wetter than usual. This will continue.

Today: partly cloudy skies and few scattered showers
Tonight/Wednesday: rainy
Thursday: okay
Friday: maybe a powerful windstorm on top of rain, but I'm not sure

Sunday Update

Oops, Sunday will actually be crappy unless you're in Shelton. Eastern Washington still looks good.

Memorial Day Weekend

Friday: very rainy

Saturday: less rainy

Sunday: dry during the day with light rain around dinnertime (best day for doing stuff)

Monday: cloudy with light rain

Weekend looking better

Friday: showers.

Saturday: starts out with showers, but they'll stop by 3pm.

Sunday: looks dry, with temperatures in the 60's.

Monday: starts ok, but showers will move in later in the day.

I can't predict the weather more than 3 or 4 days out.

Rain

Some weathermen are meeting Wednesday, at NOAA. 6:45PM. Building 9 Auditorium. Someone's gonna talk about tsunami warnings.

Expect temperatures to be cooler than normal, with rain. Rain will let up on Saturday morning, and continue by Sunday afternoon.

May

The weather this month has been typical. It's not getting warm any time soon.

Weather forecast: partly sunny today, highs in the upper 50's. Showers later. More showers are expected Sunday. Monday should be dryer.

Powerful Storm

It was windy last night. The storm moved North to Canada. It was windiest on the water, up to 83 MPH.

More Windy

It's going to be windy tonight. Windier than previously predicted, in fact.

Storm tomorrow

There's going to be a big storm tomorrow, which isn't unheard of in May. It will have wind. There may be power outages along the coast, where the storm will be strongest.

Wednesday storm

It's going to be windy on the coast Wednesday evening, due to pressure.

The radar is picking up birds instead of rain

It's been dry, but the weather radar last night showed lots of echos, suggesting it rained all night. No, it was just birds.

Look at weather radar to figure out when to bike

Look at the weather radar to figure out when to leave the house.

I'm going to repeat this info in person on the 20th at Noon. UW Gerberding Hall, Room 142.

The new Math books in Issaquah Schools

They're crappy :(

Convection

Convection is when air gets pushed upwards. There was some of that action over the mountains today, because the sun heats air which pushes it up the mountain slopes and oh fuck it just take my class at the UW next quarter ok?

Also, a whirlwind hit Genesee Park this afternoon. A whirlwind isn't a tornado.

Ships

Ships are the cause of weird line-shaped clouds because ship smog goes up in the air and creates clouds in the same path that the ships travel.

It'll be nice on Mother's Day.