August 2022 PNW Observations and Discussion - 1956 Redux!1!!1!

[Doinko]

93 in Portland

[Meatyorologist]

5 hours ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

I don't think we need to make this personal, we all have different values and experiences. I think someone from up in the Puget Sound region is going to look at this differently at this point. They would probably feel somewhat immune to this, and they are not losing the places they have fond memories of. 

After September 2020 I will never be the same. It was by far the most traumatic experience I have ever had. You build your home and life, and then to have to literally run for your life, I can't even describe what that feels like. Being woken up by law enforcement yelling to flee, not being able to see anything because its pitch dark from smoke, not knowing where the fire is... It was terrifying. But we were lucky, our house ended up being fine, and the fire actually stopped a couple miles away. Many many people were less fortunate than us. We just had to leave our home for 8 days, with about half that time not knowing if we would have a home to go back to, but it could have been a lot worse. And you gain a new perspective from something like that, you feel for the people who didn't have a home to go back to, and you have a new sense of empathy towards people who lose their homes in fires in California, Texas, wherever, when you see it on the news it's no longer just an abstract. But you cannot expect people to haven't been through something like that to understand, there is no way they could, and that is fine, that is good, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. 

To say the Puget Sound region hasn't seen as much destruction as the Willamette Valley is accurate, but it's not like we've been idly watching by as global warming has harmed everyone else. Glaciers are noticably smaller than they were when I was young; I had never seen Mt. Rainier as bare as it was this time last year. Bug and leaf cycles are off kilter, bushes and trees are damaged, animal behavior is off. Hell, in a more direct manner even the weather is simply noticeably warmer.

It's been horrific in the Willamette Valley but it hasn't been a cakewalk here either. Lost the whole front yard of bushes to last June's heatwave.

[YahRaEl]

90° at Boeing Field which I feel is a better station spot to cover for Seattle rather than SeaTac

[Phishy Wx]

suppose to be 74 here Saturday, lows near 50. but wait for it, back up to 98 by next wednesday.  hoping it's the last gasp of mega heat and we start to trend downwards

[TT-SEA]

6 minutes ago, Phil said:

Not going to make it.

So sad.  But still... second place behind 2015 is impressive.  

No such problem here.  92 in North Bend.

[NWbyNW]

 

WILDFIRE UPDATE  

NEW Known Wildfires started today! 8/25/22  

Washington - 16 (16 new fires today. Lightning has sparked several near fires in Washington's Northeastern corner in mostly remote, hard to reach places.  The rash of fires in the South Sound yesterday have mostly been put out, but sadly a few are still burning in Thurston County around Olympia. The fast moving Blankenship Fire mentioned yesterday has been put out.  This brings us back to four large fires in the state. The total again increases from 61 to 66 now... Washington has seen a growth in total fires every day for over a week now, the first time all fire season.) Total: 66

Oregon - 9 (9 new fires in the state again today.  The fast moving Swamp Creek Fire and the Getting Road Fire mentioned yesterday have thankfully been put out. We drop from five large fires to three again.  One of the large fires from yesterday did get put out by crews.  The total number of fires still dropping from 40 to 35.) Total: 35

Idaho - 12 (12 new fires in the state today. Things were going so good for Idaho up until last week and now things keep getting worse in the state.  They went from having under ten fires to a growing number each and every day. The Little Fire, as it is called, is still burning north of McCall and keeps growing.  Soon it won't be so little.  A fire near Fort Hall we brought up yesterday was put out.  We are back to three large fires in the state. The total number of fires increases from 77 to 79.) Total: 77

California - 19 (19 new fires in the state of California. There are five large fires in the state, one up from yesterday. This new fire, the Red Fire, has already burned over 1,000 acres and it's burning over the footprint of of a 2001 fire known as the Hoover Fire. The total drops from 63 to 54. ) Total: 54

British Columbia - 62 (62 new blazes in the past 24hrs.  There are five large fires in the province. The total amount of fires swells from 237 fires to 266.) Total: 266

Who Has had The Most Amount of Fires (Ranked by days in which they've had the most fires, only counting days we've kept track here.)

1. British Columbia - 32 days with the most wildfires

2. Oregon - 2 days with the most wildfires.

SMOKE UPDATE

Offshore winds are blowing smoke into Western Washington, but it is mostly aloft. The exception is the eastside from Monroe down to Maple Valley seeing some moderate air conditions and hazy skies.  Even a hint of smoke has made it to downtown Seattle.  Tacoma and Everett are both in the clear still. There is some smoke within mountain valleys are in the eastern foothills of Western Washington.  Smoke will blow back eastward as onshore winds come in Wednesday.  Hazy conditions in Wenatchee and Chelan will continue.

The same can be said for Oregon as smoke has blow west over the the state.  Offshore flow has allowed this smoke over the western part of the state.  Thankfully it is aloft and not effecting air quality. The exception will be the Rogue Valley having to deal with an isolated fire in the vicinity. Smokey and hazy conditions have been an ongoing issue all summer in Medford and it will be increasing within the next 24hrs as winds shift California wildfire smoke in its direction.  It isn't certain if it will be low lying or aloft. 

Smoke is pouring from the Bitterroot Range in Idaho, but remains trapped mostly in mountain valleys. The Long Valley may see smokey skies and moderate air quality over the course of the next few days.  The rest of the state is seeing smoke, but high in the atmosphere and not low to the ground.  Just expect hazy conditions throughout most of the state.

Smokey conditions are effecting Prince George and the majority of the Nechako Plateau. Smoke from BC's interior has made it's way through the Fraser River gap and is allowing for some low level smokey air from Hope to as far west as Gibsons.  It is less than yesterday and should go away within the next 24hrs. The smoke is mainly at the edge of the mountains and isn't flowing south past Vancouver.  

Heavy smoke persists in isolated areas of Northern California.  Offshore and northerly winds have pushed much of the smoke aloft and northward into Oregon.  Redding is seeing a break from smoke today. Conditions have improved in southern California. Smoky and hazy conditions are likely for the Lake Tahoe region within the coming days as there are now two large fires producing a lot of smoke south of the location.  Winds are expected to shift and could blow heavy smoke into the region.

[Cloud]

6 minutes ago, ChrisAmunRA said:

90° at Boeing Field which I feel is a better station spot to cover for Seattle rather than SeaTac

This is a fight that we’ve been fighting and continuing to lose. This is why you see a few members including myself reference BFI more often than not. And it’s not because I live right by it either. 

[YahRaEl]

1 minute ago, Cloud said:

This is a fight that we’ve been fighting and continuing to lose. This is why you see a few members including myself reference BFI more often than not. And it’s not because I live right by it either. 

I am not to far being here in Belltown Seattle I use different WX including my own but do prefer to use Boeing Field as an Airport Station that's nearby 5-6 miles from City of Seattle vs 10-12 miles that SeaTac is

[YahRaEl]

Some nearby stations I follow on weatherlink

[Cloud]

6 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

So sad.  But still... second place behind 2015 is impressive.  

No such problem here.  92 in North Bend.

Though rare, it could happen in Sept. But we’re gonna be asking for 2 more 90s days to break the record. As it stands right now next chance is early next week but looks quite marginal as well. Not gonna bank on it. 
 

 

[Cloud]

3 minutes ago, ChrisAmunRA said:

I am not to far being here in Belltown Seattle I use different WX including my own but do prefer to use Boeing Field as an Airport Station that's nearby 5-6 miles from City of Seattle vs 10-12 miles that SeaTac is

The problem I have with SEA (as discussed many times) is not so much because it’s farther away from city center. It’s the fact that it sits on a plateau and on certain days, wind direction can play havoc on its output, even if it’s very brief, it has to be recorded as official. A lot of the time, it’s not a good representation of the entire area. BFI is at sea level and is much better. 

[Phishy Wx]

pretty good convection over NE WA right now pivoting south towards Spokane metro.  storms look wet too.  hoping for a downpour and with Lightning 

[BLI snowman]

19 minutes ago, Cloud said:

This is a fight that we’ve been fighting and continuing to lose. This is why you see a few members including myself reference BFI more often than not. And it’s not because I live right by it either. 

BFI definitely is more representative overall being that it's in the actual city and closer in elevation to the majority of city locations.

The problem I see is that for whatever reason there are large gaps in the official data at BFI within the NCDC database that make it a very fragmented period of record, which makes it harder to compile averages and extremes. That is despite the fact that it's actually an older station than SEA (BFI began observations in 1928 and SEA began in 1944) and that from what I can tell they have been recording the weather there continuously from the jump. In fact, it is by that measurement the oldest continuously operating weather station in Seattle and it's probably seen fewer land use changes than SEA overall as well.

Edited August 26, 2022 by BLI snowman

[RentonHill]

I hit 92 and have been 90-91 for several hours. I figured SeaTac would have made it. 

[Cloud]

4 minutes ago, BLI snowman said:

BFI definitely is more representative overall being that it's in the actual city.

The problem I see is that for whatever reason there are large gaps in the official data at BFI within the NCDC database that make it a very fragmented period of record, which makes it harder to compile averages and extremes. That is despite the fact that it's actually an older station than SEA (BFI began observations in 1928 and SEA began in 1944) and that from what I can tell they have been recording the weather there continuously from the jump. In fact, it is by that measurement the oldest continuously operating weather station in Seattle and it's probably seen fewer land use changes than SEA overall as well.

Great points!! And this is actually something I noticed while scouting through the database in recent years. There are a lot of missing data. My guess is this largely the reason why the NWS don’t want to move to BFI. SEW would also work tbh. 

[JW8]

I haven't had a chance to do any deep dives in to models. Anyone have any temp, wind, and cloud cover predictions for tomorrow in the Seattle/Bellevue area? Hosting a work event on my boat on lake WA- definitely not the best weather day, but hoping not too bad. Thanks!

[Thermal Trough]

17 hours ago, Skagit Weather said:

It's funny you mention the food. The seafood is fresh, but many Chileans have no idea how to cook it. The only time I had good seafood was at international restaurants such as Peruvian. Even decently upscale places generally overcooked their fish. The food in general is terrible in the country unless you like northern European bland. They put half a tub of mayonnaise on everything (one of their national dishes is the "completo" which is a hot dog with more mayonnaise than hot dog) and I swear they're allergic to spice. Their cocktails and produce though are fantastic!

I guess to add a weather element to this post, Chile has such a unique climate. Down in the south you have some of the wettest temperate locations in the world with almost continuous year round rainfall while in the north you have the Atacama Desert and the driest location in the world. Santiago itself has quite a similar climate to San Jose, CA with slightly less rain and slightly cooler lows from more of a continental influence (and higher elevation). Unfortunately it's situated in a basin so it suffers from quite bad pollution like LA did a couple decades ago.

Thanks for the heads up, I guess I'll have to cook the majority of the seafood myself when I visit. I wanna taste their barnacles so bad.  

The Atacama Desert is so interesting. It's the driest in the world but since it lies so close to the Pacific Ocean it gets dense fog. It doesn't rain but there's enough moisture to help support vegetation called lomas.

"One of the driest places on Earth, South America’s Atacama Desert — a 1,000 kilometer stretch along the western coast of Peru and northern Chile — receives almost no rainfall. But there are isolated patches of green amidst the desert sands, thanks to water from an unusual source — fog.

In some parts of the Atacama coastline, moisture from clouds formed over the Pacific Ocean drifts inland and sweeps over the desert slopes. The fog isn’t wet enough to produce rain, but it does provide enough moisture for isolated islands of vegetation called lomas. Grasses, cacti, shrubs and small trees flourish in these fog oases, surrounded by mountains and shifting dunes.

Scientists estimate the South American lomas support some 1,400 plant species, more than 40% of which are found nowhere else. But the lomas are important for another reason too: people depend on them to scratch out a living in an otherwise barren land."

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-future-of-a-fog-oasis/

[Cloud]

1 minute ago, RentonHillTC said:

I hit 92 and have been 90-91 for several hours. I figured SeaTac would have made it. 

Inter-hour did showed it hit 90 after 5pm. But have to wait to see if it’s official. 

[YahRaEl]

[YahRaEl]

[Kayla]

55 minutes ago, Jginmartini said:

What a beautiful storm!!! Awesome shot 

That means a lot coming from you!

[BLI snowman]

16 minutes ago, Cloud said:

Great points!! And this is actually something I noticed while scouting through the database in recent years. There are a lot of missing data. My guess is this largely the reason why the NWS don’t want to move to BFI. SEW would also work tbh. 

Yeah, Sandpoint has been recording continuously now since 1986 and even has snowfall data as well. Also in the city of course.

[YahRaEl]

1 minute ago, BLI snowman said:

Yeah, Sandpoint has been recording continuously now since 1986 and even has snowfall data as well. Also in the city of course.

How do I access Sandpoint Station I can't find it anywhere 

[TacomaWx]

1 hour ago, SnowWillarrive said:

Will there be a big crash this evening? 

Looks like it maybe not major but it’ll crash. 87/61 here…still 87 currently but down to 76 in Shelton. It is coming. 

[Doinko]

29 minutes ago, BLI snowman said:

BFI definitely is more representative overall being that it's in the actual city and closer in elevation to the majority of city locations.

The problem I see is that for whatever reason there are large gaps in the official data at BFI within the NCDC database that make it a very fragmented period of record, which makes it harder to compile averages and extremes. That is despite the fact that it's actually an older station than SEA (BFI began observations in 1928 and SEA began in 1944) and that from what I can tell they have been recording the weather there continuously from the jump. In fact, it is by that measurement the oldest continuously operating weather station in Seattle and it's probably seen fewer land use changes than SEA overall as well.

I checked some different months at BFI vs SEA and it's interesting to see the difference in snowfall in months like January 1950 for example probably somewhat due to elevation. BFI saw 7.8" of snow on 1/13/1950 while SEA saw 20". I guess SEA being farther south might've helped too but even at the end of the month as well they recorded way more.

[YahRaEl]

If I was in Tacoma I'd use KTCM (McChord) tho Port of Tacoma has a Station TPUYR

[The Swamp]

4 hours ago, Cascadia_Wx said:

12z EPS. Long range needs a little work but the control looks nice. Good to see decent agreement on the troughing and some rain chances later next week, though.

12Z EPS. Long range needs a little work but the control looks real nice for a heat wave August 28 through September 2.  Good to see decent agreement on summer continuing in all it's warm/hot glory.  Good decent agreement on a slight cool down before summer resumes again on or about September 6.

 

Fixed it for you.

 

You're welcome.

[Cloud]

14 minutes ago, ChrisAmunRA said:

How do I access Sandpoint Station I can't find it anywhere 

https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/climate/monthdisp.php?stn=KSEW&p=temperature&mon=8&wfo=sew&year=2022

[Cloud]

17 minutes ago, ChrisAmunRA said:

How do I access Sandpoint Station I can't find it anywhere 

Also here.. Under "Nowdata" ->> "Seattle City Area" is the WFO station. 

https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=sew

[Blizzard777]

90/60 and currently 88*

Another day in summer
Lol, I’m so displaced right now not belonging anywhere except on the road. 
Been a weird year and now having issues adjusting back to being home.  This will be short lived

 

[YahRaEl]

10 minutes ago, Cloud said:

https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/climate/monthdisp.php?stn=KSEW&p=temperature&mon=8&wfo=sew&year=2022

 

5 minutes ago, Cloud said:

Also here.. Under "Nowdata" ->> "Seattle City Area" is the WFO station. 

https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=sew

Thanks!!!

[Jbolin]

13 minutes ago, Doiinko said:

I checked some different months at BFI vs SEA and it's interesting to see the difference in snowfall in months like January 1950 for example probably somewhat due to elevation. BFI saw 7.8" of snow on 1/13/1950 while SEA saw 20". I guess SEA being farther south might've helped too but even at the end of the month as well they recorded way more.

It doesn't hurt that SeaTac is on a frigging "plateau" and KBFI is essentially at sea level.

Take west seattle and QA as examples, I've routinely see those areas receive between 2-4" more snowfall than a spot half a mile away and 150 feet lower receiving half that amount.

It's not rocket surgery man.

 

 

[Kayla]

Got hit with a very strong cell this evening. She was beautiful! Picked up 1.03” of rainfall/hail in 30 minutes! Temp also dropped from 80 down to 49 degrees during the storm.

The approach.

 

During.  

 

[YahRaEl]

Lakewood (Pierce College)

[Doinko]

1 minute ago, JBolin said:

It doesn't hurt that SeaTac is on a frigging "plateau" and KBFI is essentially at sea level.

Take west seattle and QA as examples, I've routinely see those areas receive between 2-4" more snowfall than a spot half a mile away and 150 feet lower receiving half that amount.

It's not rocket surgery man.

 

 

Yeah I'm not too familiar with the microclimates in Seattle so I find the differences interesting. That makes sense though. The ice storm on the 19th must've been pretty bad in Portland though, Seattle had already warmed up but Portland received 2" of precip while staying below freezing.

[YahRaEl]

South Hill/Puyallup Airport (KPLU)

[YahRaEl]

Auburn Municipal Airport 

[YahRaEl]

Interesting 2° cooler at the Puyallup Pierce College Station vs South Hill/Puyallup Airport 

[Blizzard777]

8 minutes ago, Kayla said:

Got hit with a very strong cell this evening. She was a beautiful! Picked up 1.03” of rainfall/hail in 30 minutes! Temp also dropped from 80 down to 49 degrees during the storm.

The approach.

 

During.

 

 

 

This is part of my problem…..I need to be under this sort of thing daily.  The addiction is real sadly . Those skies are magical to me!

 

[BLI snowman]

36 minutes ago, ChrisAmunRA said:

How do I access Sandpoint Station I can't find it anywhere 

I don't know that they have a MESOWEST link to their real-time hourly data. But since it's the location of the NWS office they do take daily records and you can always find their most recent daily data on the SEW site. Looks like they pulled an 89 today.

 

00
CDUS46 KSEW 260118
CLISEW

CLIMATE REPORT 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE
618 PM PDT THU AUG 25 2022

...................................

...THE SEATTLE WA WFO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 25 2022...
VALID TODAY AS OF 0500 PM LOCAL TIME.

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1894 TO 2022


WEATHER ITEM   OBSERVED TIME   RECORD YEAR     LAST                   
                VALUE   (LST)  VALUE           YEAR                   
.....................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)                                                          
 TODAY                                                               
  MAXIMUM         89R       MM  89    1916    79                      
                                      1933                           
  MINIMUM         63        MM  49    1902    53                      
                                      1973                           
  AVERAGE         76                          66                   

PRECIPITATION (IN)                                                    
  TODAY            0.00          1.29 1977     0.00                   
  MONTH TO DATE    0.04                        0.22                   
  SINCE OCT 1     39.95                       34.26                   
  SINCE JAN 1     22.92                       19.94                   

SNOWFALL (IN)                                                              
  TODAY            0.0                         0.0                    
  MONTH TO DATE    0.0                         0.0                    
  SINCE OCT 1      5.3                         9.2                    
  SINCE JUL 1      0.0                         0.0                    
  SNOW DEPTH       0                                                 

DEGREE DAYS                                                           
 HEATING                                                              
  TODAY            0                           0                      
  MONTH TO DATE    3                           8                      
  SINCE JUN 1    138                          85                      
  SINCE JUL 1     18                          11                      

 COOLING                                                              
  TODAY           11                           1                      
  MONTH TO DATE  143                         127                      
  SINCE JUN 1    322                         381                      
  SINCE JAN 1    322                         381