November 13, 2008

A Major Improving Trend

The heavy precipitation event is over now...and some of the rainfall totals in the mountains were impressive: over the past 48 hrs this is how much rain fell:

Snoqualmie Pass 8.66 inches
Stampede Pass 8.60
Rainier Paradise 6.74
Hoh Ranger Station 6.40

while at Sea Tac is was only 1.15 and at the UW about .5 inch. A wonderful example of what happens here under strong westerly flow--lots of precipitation on the western slopes of the mountains and a mega rainshadow over the lowlands downstream of the Olympics and the Mts. of Vancouver Island. We did get a Puget Sound convergence zone forming late yesterday and it was evident this morning (see radar and sat picture). As westerly winds move around the Olympics they converge--providing upward motion and a band of clouds and often precipitation.

The CZ will weaken today, with party clouds skies...and yes, even some sun. By the air mass is cooler and we will stay in the lower 50s in general.

Just a note: I will be on KUOW tomorrow at 9 AM for an hour and then will give a talk on local weather (and sign my book) on Saturday at 2 PM at the downtown (central) Seattle Public Library.

3 comments:

  1. I wonder if you might want to rethink your choice of language a bit, specifically your growing tendency to categorize rain as bad and sunshine as good. You're showing signs of the dreaded "TV weatherman syndrome".

    That is, we don't all want sunshine all the time, or all despise rain, or cold, or storms. So when you talk about an "imroving trend", or categorize the coming weekend as "extraordinarily nice", or sunbreaks and showers as "not bad for November", it seems at odds with the intelligence of your presentation. It makes me wince every time.

    To beat a dead horse, I thought today's sunbreaks were extraordinarily nice, nicer than a day of plain sunshine. Likewise the warm mist of yesterday, a typical soft hazy northwest day.

    After all, you're not talking to children, or TV watchers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michael,
    I am hopelessly biased..this time of the year I want more sun and less rain. I can't afford to go to Hawaii right now...so a sunny day is all I can get...cliff

    ReplyDelete
  3. I believe Cliff said just today on Weekday that as a kid he liked nothing better than a stormy day. He's a fan of dramatic weather!

    ReplyDelete

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