Our atmospheric river event is over, but the effects--from flooding and avalanches to landslides--are not.
Take a look at the storm totals just released by the National Weather Service (ending 7 AM).
The Bishop station in Olympic National Park got 14.41 inches and nearby Quinault was hit by 9.16 inches. SeaTac (not shown below) received 3.79 inches.
Below is a storm total map for the region.
The heaviest precipitation (almost entirely rain) fell from the Olympics and central Cascades south into NW Oregon. But a very beneficial aspect of this storm was the moderate rainfall over far eastern Washington and Idaho. Dryland wheat farmers are probably very happy now. Water resources around the state are in good shape now.
To get a good feeling for the hyper-precipitation gradients around here during such events, take a look at the storm total precipitation derived from the Camano Island National Weather Service radar (below). Radars can, in fact, be used as rain gauges, with proper caution. Don't take the precipitation values in terrain too seriously...a lot of blocking issues.
Wow.
The rainshadow is really evident, centered on central Whidbey Island. Less than half an inch. But there was a HUGE precipitation gradient down Puget Sound, with some isolated locations in the lowlands getting close to 5 inches.
Daily precipitation records were broken throughout the region, on both sides of the Cascades. Just too many to list.
And with all that precipitation, many local rivers are at very high levels. Quite a few rivers in western Washington, in the Cascades, and even on the eastern slopes of the Cascades are experiencing daily records (records for March 1)--as shown by the black dots below.
Northwest Oregon is the same (see below)
And several rivers in western Washington are at flood levels (orange, red, and purple dots in the NWS plot below). Want to see something impressive? Go to Snoqualmie Falls today.
Today will seem nearly tropical around the region, with highs in the mid-50s in western Washington and mid-to upper 60s in eastern Washington. Enjoy.
Finally, today is a major one for meteorologists. A new geostationary weather satellite will be launched at 1:38 PM PDT. This satellite, GOES-T, will replace the satellite that views the West Coast, which is plagued by some technical issues. You can watch the launch here.
How come I did not get a convergence zone in between Seattle and Everett? It seemed the total rainfall was rather modest here.
ReplyDeleteI happened to check your blog at 1:36pm, thought to myself that 1:38pm was really random, looked at the clock, clicked the link for the launch, and watched Lift Off! That was exciting and couldn't have timed it better!
ReplyDeleteI did go to Snoqualmie Falls today to take a few photos and videos - she was impressive.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Abernathy Mt. was (barely) the overall winner. No surprise to me, it's our closest site - and my gage reached 6.49" on the 28th, easily my new lifetime-wettest day. How curious that #2 (4.82") was about 55 days earlier..
ReplyDeleteWe are still in a emergency drought declaration.
ReplyDeleteHow is this even remotely possible?!
DeleteEven today I see the usual virtue signaling from the head of DNR r.e. wildfire prevention and climate change yet zero mention of forest fuel management. Cliff has written several blog posts about this yet these folks aren't listening and instead investing millions in technocratic solutions while neglecting the basic fact that our forests are choked with dead fuels.
Today I heard a USDA employee, a water supply specialist at the Mt.Vernon office explain in a worried tone that it might not snow enough and while right now the snowpack is ok, "it could get worse".
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