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March 2020 Weather Discussion for the PNW


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That mentality can apply to many things in life aside from weather.

That’s true. I compare myself to others way too much. I guess it’s good enough just being me instead of hating myself for not being someone else.

 

Wow, pretty philosophical for a weather blog, huh?

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"Let's mosey!"

 

--Cloud Strife

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Top 5 Snow Events (post 2014):

 

(1. January 10th, 2017: 18.5 in.

(2. February 6th, 2014: 7.5 inches

(3. February 20th, 2018: 5.0 inches

(4. February 21st, 2018: 4.0 inches

(5. December 14th, 2016: 3.5 inches

 

Honourable Mentions: December 7th, 2018, February 9th, 2019.

 

Total since joining the Weather Forums: 3"

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Wow!  The ECMWF is very close to encore performance at day 10.  Mega block very close to the sweet spot.

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Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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Pretty cool event, it absolutely delivered in terms of precip. It really could have had some serious totals if we had some cooler/drier air in the gorge already. The heaviest precip was well to my east so I didn't get cold enough until early AM. Ended up with dusting on non road surfaces. About the same as some of the previous brushes with snow this season.

 

The band had a very sharp cut off to the west. Just a few miles west of the metro in Banks and areas further west in the coast range there was nothing. Even at the places with 800ft or 1500ft, zero accumulation. The best dynamics were over on the east side/Clark county. Really glad to see some of you scored a few inches!

 

This setup would have absolutely killed it for us back in Dec-Jan.

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I love cool nights too. I’ve said this before, but it was amazing to me how quickly you guys cooled off at night when I was up there the last few summers. Right when the Sun went down you could feel the difference. Like instantaneously. Even on those 100*F days in Leavenworth, the temp would drop into the low/mid 60s at night and we opened the windows. Like wtf? Was so foreign to me.

 

Around here it struggles to drop 10 degrees from the afternoon high to midnight, and then the cooling slows even more. Diurnal cycle is like 12-15 degrees.

 

That is one thing I love about the West.

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Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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The models actually handled this thing pretty well despite a certain bro going to bed mad last night.

I went to bed because I was tired.

 

I certainly do pity a kid that does nothing but insult people online literally all day. Go he productive for a change.

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Wow!  The ECMWF is very close to encore performance at day 10.  Mega block very close to the sweet spot.

 

 

Given how much this coming week has moderated compared to what the models once showed... this is not that close to a repeat.

 

ecmwf_T850a_namer_11.png

**REPORTED CONDITIONS AND ANOMALIES ARE NOT MEANT TO IMPLY ANYTHING ON A REGIONAL LEVEL UNLESS SPECIFICALLY STATED**

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34 with heavy snow. Pretty crazy for mid March here.

 

I'm very glad you are scoring.  I know you have been really frustrated for a while now.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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The fields near chilliwack don’t appear to be flooded. And the 0F dew points and 60mph winds are probably drying out the top layer of soil.

 

Not good for early season crops, happy to see this is going to moderate rapidly. Finally jumped back above freezing here in Victoria, sitting at 33F now; with sunny skies and no snow cover the March sun angles should start ripping into this outflow this afternoon.

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The models actually handled this thing pretty well despite a certain bro going to bed mad last night.

 

Yeah, I did notice the 3km NAM and Euro also picked up on the precip being heavier on the east side and that not much precip would extend into the coast range. They didn't figure this out until the event was right on top of us though. Overall it was a pretty good performance by the models except for being a bit too optimistic on cold air advection from the gorge too quickly, the FV3 was especially bad on that as expected. 

 

 

sn10_acc.us_nw.png

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Pretty cool event, it absolutely delivered in terms of precip. It really could have had some serious totals if we had some cooler/drier air in the gorge already. The heaviest precip was well to my east so I didn't get cold enough until early AM. Ended up with dusting on non road surfaces. About the same as some of the previous brushes with snow this season.

 

The band had a very sharp cut off to the west. Just a few miles west of the metro in Banks and areas further west in the coast range there was nothing. Even at the places with 800ft or 1500ft, zero accumulation. The best dynamics were over on the east side/Clark county. Really glad to see some of you scored a few inches!

 

This setup would have absolutely killed it for us back in Dec-Jan.

I’m shocked, I wish you could have done better on accumulation. That’s strange that nearly every model had pretty hefty accumulations in places like Vernonia.

"Let's mosey!"

 

--Cloud Strife

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Top 5 Snow Events (post 2014):

 

(1. January 10th, 2017: 18.5 in.

(2. February 6th, 2014: 7.5 inches

(3. February 20th, 2018: 5.0 inches

(4. February 21st, 2018: 4.0 inches

(5. December 14th, 2016: 3.5 inches

 

Honourable Mentions: December 7th, 2018, February 9th, 2019.

 

Total since joining the Weather Forums: 3"

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Leavenworth is in a mountain valley and rarely sees highs around 100 or lows in the low to mid 60s. I would say highs mid 80s and lows around 50 are the norm there in the summer.

 

You must have been there during a pretty major heatwave with those numbers.

 

Oddly Leavenworth is a lot warmer than Cle Elum in the summer.  They don't get the cool west wind as often.  Cle Elum is an amazing climate IMO...they stay cooler in the summer due to cool air flowing in over Snoqualmie Pass and in the winter they stay cold due to cold air damming along the East Slopes of the Cascades due to the flow usually being offshore in the winter.

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Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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Leavenworth is in a mountain valley and rarely sees highs around 100 or lows in the low to mid 60s. I would say highs mid 80s and lows around 50 are the norm there in the summer.

 

You must have been there during a pretty major heatwave with those numbers.

We do average 30 days a year with highs of 90 or above.  100 is not nearly as common, maybe 5 on average.  But we do get a lot of days in the mid 80's like you said.  And it does cool down nicely at night.   Mid 80's is probably the average, but with that being the average, anything above normal pushes is into the 90's.

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We do average 30 days a year with highs of 90 or above. 100 is not nearly as common, maybe 5 on average. But we do get a lot of days in the mid 80's like you said. And it does cool down nicely at night. Mid 80's is probably the average, but with that being the average, anything above normal pushes is into the 90's.

Thanks. I was actually hoping you’d chime in since you live there. Sounds like I was pretty close despite shooting from the hip.

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Interesting to see SW winds from Salem south. Coolish day from there south. Notably chilly from Aurora - north with offshore flow. Winds are calm here and 39. 

Snowfall                                  Precip

2022-23: 95.0"                      2022-23: 17.39"

2021-22: 52.6"                    2021-22: 91.46" 

2020-21: 12.0"                    2020-21: 71.59"

2019-20: 23.5"                   2019-20: 58.54"

2018-19: 63.5"                   2018-19: 66.33"

2017-18: 30.3"                   2017-18: 59.83"

2016-17: 49.2"                   2016-17: 97.58"

2015-16: 11.75"                 2015-16: 68.67"

2014-15: 3.5"
2013-14: 11.75"                  2013-14: 62.30
2012-13: 16.75"                 2012-13: 78.45  

2011-12: 98.5"                   2011-12: 92.67"

It's always sunny at Winters Hill! 
Fighting the good fight against weather evil.

 

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Pretty cool event, it absolutely delivered in terms of precip. It really could have had some serious totals if we had some cooler/drier air in the gorge already. The heaviest precip was well to my east so I didn't get cold enough until early AM. Ended up with dusting on non road surfaces. About the same as some of the previous brushes with snow this season.

 

The band had a very sharp cut off to the west. Just a few miles west of the metro in Banks and areas further west in the coast range there was nothing. Even at the places with 800ft or 1500ft, zero accumulation. The best dynamics were over on the east side/Clark county. Really glad to see some of you scored a few inches!

 

This setup would have absolutely killed it for us back in Dec-Jan.

 

It's just nice to see this setup happen again this season.  The atmosphere often has a pretty good memory from the end of one cold season into the beginning of the next as long as a major ENSO event doesn't change the equation too much.

  • Like 1

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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This is incredibly to see in late winter here.

 

This really is a very special event.  You only need to look at the 500mb pattern to know that.  If fine details had gone a little more favorably the West Side could have seen numbers rivaling 1906 or even 1870.  I think the chances are good we will see one more very anomalous cold snap before we are done.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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The ECMWF meteograms show some places in the Puget Sound area having freezing low temps every single day for the next week!  Besides that the new EPS shows a very nice Aleutian / GOA block again by day 10.  Color me impressed.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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Share on other sites

I’m shocked, I wish you could have done better on accumulation. That’s strange that nearly every model had pretty hefty accumulations in places like Vernonia.

 

It's ok, just how it is. You gotta get lucky and be in the right spot sometimes.

I saw some models making last minute shifts where they moved the sweet spot well east of me. Hey it could have been worse, there wasn't even a dusting just a few miles west of me. Regardless, one day we will have another legit snowstorm like Jan 2017 with a ton of snow all over and many frozen days after.

 

 

Starting to snow moderately again under these showers. Nice big flakes. 

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Yeah PDX up to 43 now. Nowhere close to a high in the 30s today. And there hasn’t even been much in the way of sun.

 

Onshore flow is a lot colder at the surface than offshore flow at this point in the season.

 

Yeah, today is actually a little warmer here then yesterday. Looking forward to a chilly night though. 

Snowfall                                  Precip

2022-23: 95.0"                      2022-23: 17.39"

2021-22: 52.6"                    2021-22: 91.46" 

2020-21: 12.0"                    2020-21: 71.59"

2019-20: 23.5"                   2019-20: 58.54"

2018-19: 63.5"                   2018-19: 66.33"

2017-18: 30.3"                   2017-18: 59.83"

2016-17: 49.2"                   2016-17: 97.58"

2015-16: 11.75"                 2015-16: 68.67"

2014-15: 3.5"
2013-14: 11.75"                  2013-14: 62.30
2012-13: 16.75"                 2012-13: 78.45  

2011-12: 98.5"                   2011-12: 92.67"

It's always sunny at Winters Hill! 
Fighting the good fight against weather evil.

 

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Yeah PDX up to 43 now. Nowhere close to a high in the 30s today. And there hasn’t even been much in the way of sun.

 

Onshore flow is a lot colder at the surface than offshore flow at this point in the season.

Was a high in the 30’s today even considered?

 

You need steady, moderate precip this time of year for that to even be a possibility, at least at PDX.

My preferences can beat up your preferences’ dad.

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Outlet mall parking lot is absurdly empty for a nice Saturday afternoon in the spring. And the strange dichotomy of spring arriving and nature coming to life standing in stark contrast with the gloom of the current situation in the world and locally continues. Feels surreal.

 

20200314-143815.jpg

**REPORTED CONDITIONS AND ANOMALIES ARE NOT MEANT TO IMPLY ANYTHING ON A REGIONAL LEVEL UNLESS SPECIFICALLY STATED**

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