Snow at Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood on WednesdayI talk a lot about Seattle wather in this blog (for obvious reasons), but as bad as it has been in western Washington, Portland and vicinity have been worse. For example, Portland has broken its ALL TIME MONTHLY RECORD precipitation for June, HALFWAY through it. Impressive. There has been a persistent trough over the WA and as a result Portland has often got the brunt of incoming systems.
Here are the temperature and precipitation records this month for Portland. Few days have risen to the normal highs, and the last few days have been extraordinary cool with highs not even reaching 60F. Some days have experienced all time record low highs. The soggy conditions reached a pinnacle on the 6th when Portland had 1.48 inches in a day.
There is one major silver lining in this heavy-duty cloudiness....the waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge are running very high. I love waterfalls and headed down there this week and was not disappointed. Big flows, huge sprays, and warming up near the big fire at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson makes the cold go away. And all the while sun was always close by...just head east to Hood River or beyond and sun and relative warmth beckons.Or if you prefer fresh snow...no problem! Head for Mount Hood, where several inches fell at Timberline Lodge (see top picture).
We are now in a short improving trend and tomorrow should be partly cloudy and temps in the 60s. But I am afraid that things will go downhill on Saturday with a new upper low over us (see graphic), bring temps in the 50s and some precipitation.
Cliff, when will this end? Is this how it is going to be all summer? I know you have written that things will likely get better but that just doesn't seem to be the case. I wish someone would just come out andv say, "Look, this weather pattern is not moving and likely won't move for a long time. Anticipate this weather for the rest of June, July and August. Don't waste your energy hoping for a nice string of days, it just doesn't seem likely."
ReplyDeleteIf someone would just come out and say that I (and others) would just lower our expectations and stop getting let down every day.
Will you be that someone? Thanks
Cliff, when will this end? Is this how it is going to be all summer? I know you have written that things will likely get better but that just doesn't seem to be the case. I wish someone would just come out andv say, "Look, this weather pattern is not moving and likely won't move for a long time. Anticipate this weather for the rest of June, July and August. Don't waste your energy hoping for a nice string of days, it just doesn't seem likely."
ReplyDeleteIf someone would just come out and say that I (and others) would just lower our expectations and stop getting let down every day.
Will you be that someone? Thanks
Wishful thinking, Cliff said last week that summer starts July 11th or so. I bet that's right this year too. I just hope my tomato and pepper plants don't rot in the ground before then. LOL
ReplyDeleteBack when I was first planning our Big Road Trip East (we leave tomorrow at oh-dawn-hundred) I was actually worried about leaving the nice late June weather! Now I feel almost giddy to be leaving SEA for 3 weeks of true summer until we return. Not that I look forward to temps literally 30 degrees higher than what we've been having (ACK!) but the nights will be delicious and the water warm etc. Here's hoping that when we return in mid July, true summer has finally set in here. Good luck everyone, I'll be hoping for sun for you. Follow my trip on my blog and Twitter if you like!
ReplyDeleteWhen you see Savannah, GA (and much of the East) with a high of 104 and low of 79, heat indices of 115, and to quote a friend who has family back there "it looks like it's raining out because it's so humid". I'll take the clouds and drizzle. I'd rather have to wear a fleece jacket when I bike than not be able to go out at all. Think of the skin cancer benefits too. And, Belgian (or Belgian inspired) beer goes great with this weather. Relax, don't worry, have a beer.
ReplyDeletewishful thinking: I'm with you. I wish somebody would just come out and say that all the time. Part of the difficulty I've had adapting to the weather in the PacNW is the locals' insistence that "it doesn't rain that much here" and that "it's really nice in summer" though "summer" is really just July 15 to Aug 31. There's so little acknowledgment that, if you're not originally from here, the weather can be really, really tough. Nobody wants to admit that it can really suck here for very long stretches.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being the bearer of good news Cliff! This spring has been more wonderful than normal. What would it take for this to continue through the end of the summer?
ReplyDeleteTalk about irony. I noticed, according to the graph you posted, that 1.48 inches is the second rainiest June day ever recorded, only short of the all time in that very same day!
ReplyDeleteIf it rains another half inch or so, it'll be the wettest month of the year so far. Talk about rotten, moldy berry crops.
The official July outlook that came out yesterday predicts, unfortunately, continued cooler and wetter than normal conditions in the Pacific Northwest, at least west of the Cascades. For what it's worth, though, shorter term outlooks suggest that it won't continue to be so wet.
ReplyDeletehi Wishful Thinking, if this is of any help to you --
ReplyDeleteThe latest Environment Canada seasonal outlook for June, July and August was issued on June 1st. It predicts above normal precipitation for most of British Columbia (and bordering states). The only other notable prediction is for above normal temperatures for much of Eastern Canada.
Meanwhile, the mid-month NOAA temperature/precipitation outlook for July, August and September indicates slightly below normal precipitation extending from the US Pacific Northwest into Southern BC.
Basically - patience for the next month or so, then aaaah the joys of summer.
I have a thought. Since the weather here isn't good enough for most people here, and there is always better weather in the east, more sun than here, why don't most people who live here move away? Maybe they secretly do enjoy this weather. Either way, stop complaining and let those of us who live here because we find this weather very comfortable actually enjoy it instead of listening to your constant complaints. If you can't do that, move elsewhere. True Seattlites absolutely love this weather.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, how quickly people forget - two years ago, June was even cooler than this month. In fact, only one of the first 11 days of the month even got to 60 degrees - this year, every day in June has reached 60 at the airport.
I agree with Chris above. I'm assuming a lot of east coast weather lovers are begging for for heat and humidity. Even my local weather broadcaster apologized multiple times tonight for the horrible non summer weather. partly sunny and mid 70's this weekend. oH BOO hoo.
ReplyDeleteFor all west of the casecadeners, besides maybe too many drizzly days, there is absolutely nothing to complain about. No heat, cold, snow, ice, tornados, hurricanes, etc. I spent 4 years at UDUB, the best weather I've ever experience in the entire US.
Its awesome because we just get a taste of all those things, and Cliff can blog about it for us, but on average we don't have to live with it.
smokejumper, What do you mean there is no snow here? I've lived here four years now and it's snowed considerably in three of the four winters I've been here.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why the locals insist it doesn't snow in Seattle when nearly every year the weather insists it does.
I call it never-snow. As in, "it never-snows in Seattle." It looks like snow, but the locals call it "never-snow" for some reason.
The snow at Hood definitely afforded the ski area a big benefit for keeping terrain open later into the summer. We woke up at our campsite which was at about 3500' to flurries on Wed. morning and by the time we left Timberline at 4:30 after drying out there were at least 5 inches of snow in the parking lot and it was still coming down hard. Thurs. morning they were plowing the parking lot, much to the surprise of the employees operating the machinery!
ReplyDelete