A Cool/Wet Start of Summer

The forecasts for the next week or so are definitive:   we are going to start the summer quite cool and wet.

And the implications for both wildfires, water resources, and agriculture are quite positive.

Let me begin with temperature, showing you the temperature anomalies from normal for the next 15 days from the most skillful system in the world (the AI forecast of the European Center). 

Blue indicates below normal (up to 5 F colder than normal), and green indicates even colder anomalies.

For the next five days, the whole region is cold, with some areas of Oregon over 10F colder than normal.  

The following five days (through July 2) are colder than normal over the entire region, with British Columbia being the most frigid.

Even colder for the following five days (through July 7).

In Seattle, my colleagues at the National Weather Service don't predict high temperatures will reach 70F during the next week (below).

Importantly, no big heatwave in eastern Washington, so crops will not be stressed.  To show this, here are the predicted temperatures at Yakima.  Very temperate for the dry side.

And there will be precipitation at times through July 8. 

Substantial amounts in the Cascades (up to around 2-3 inches) and large totals in the Rockies (see below).  Importantly, even eastern Washington will get some light rain.

Want more good news?     

This kind of cool pattern is very favorable for wind energy, as it is associated with substantial westerly winds descending the eastern slopes of the Cascades.   To demonstrate this, below are the latest wind generation numbers from Bonneville (below)

Wind energy generation (the green line) surged upwards as temperatures cooled.  Furthermore, energy use (red line) has dropped substantially as air conditioning demands have declined with the cooler temperatures.

Can you imagine what the Seattle Times Climate Lab and some amateur online sites would be saying if there were a warm anomaly of the same magnitude as the upcoming cold period?  They would be making all kinds of claims about global warming.  

And no....this is not evidence of global cooling. 😕