March Weather in the Pacific Northwest

[Front Ranger]

I imagine that is almost always the case during extended wet periods.

 

Not necessarily. Some of the wettest years in SEA history didn't have any record wet months, but they had 9 or 10 months that were wetter than normal.

 

The wetness has been unusually consolidated into certain periods lately. 

[TT-SEA]

Not necessarily. Some of the wettest years in SEA history didn't have any record wet months, but they had 9 or 10 months that were wetter than normal.

 

The wetness has been unusually consolidated into certain periods lately.

 

Yeah... and for 6-month periods as in 2015-16 and 2016-17.    

[Front Ranger]

Yeah... and for 6-month periods as in 2015-16 and 2016-17.    

 

As have the dry stretches, like the aforementioned late spring/early summers of 2015-16.

 

That's what's prevented anything close to a record wet year...the unusually concentrated wet periods each year have been somewhat offset by unusual dry stretches.

[Phil]

Today was the 15th straight sub-52 maximum at PDX. This is only the 2nd time since 1971 that we've seen such a cool streak of maximums this late into the winter season. The other was in 2011. Both 2011 and 2018 inched past 1993 on the calendar, which had an 18 day streak end on March 3rd.

Careful, Tim won’t like those analogs.

[Phil]

It could be argued that we’re back in the -PDO regime now despite SSTs/subsurface having not fully responded yet.

 

The atmosphere/subtropics have always lead the mid/high latitude SST changes, and this might be an excellent display of that.

[BLI snowman]

1958!

 

Easily more impressive than July 2009.

 

With a third runway and a few more hotels, I think SEA could have hit 106 on 7/28/1958.

[Jesse]

Easily more impressive than July 2009.

 

With a third runway and a few more hotels, I think SEA could have hit 106 on 7/28/1958.

Maybe we could get Boeing to start painting all of their airplanes black to maximize the UHI there going forward.

[BLI snowman]

Maybe we could get Boeing to start painting all of their airplanes black to maximize the UHI there going forward.

 

Even still, nothing will ever truly top the brutal heat waves of the 1950s.

[Jesse]

Even still, nothing will ever truly top the brutal heat waves of the 1950s.

True. We are just trying to keep up at this point.

[Jesse]

Tim, did the Euro keep the weekend dry? I can’t completely tell looking just at the 500mb map. Looks like it’s potentially right on the edge.

 

We are heading up to Port Townsend on Sunday so I was curious.

[ShawniganLake]

Tim, did the Euro keep the weekend dry? I can’t completely tell looking just at the 500mb map. Looks like it’s potentially right on the edge.

 

We are heading up to Port Townsend on Sunday so I was curious.

Looks mostly light and scattered rain thru the weekend.

 

24hr precip on Sunday

 

[wx_statman]

Now if we could get a 50s/early 60s style summer.

 

1958 

[Jesse]

1958

Flatty patty beat you to it.

[wx_statman]

Flatty patty beat you to it.

 

I saw after posting. Haha.

 

July 1956 

[Jesse]

I saw after posting. Haha.

 

July 1956

Summer 1954/1964 hybrid.

[Jesse]

I looked at July 1956 and that was actually a really good month. Lots of heat but it was broken up by cool downs and marine layer days, which used to be a hallmark of our summer climate even during warm months. Cool nights overall too.

[stuffradio]

1958 

Looks nice!

 

[BLI snowman]

I saw after posting. Haha.

 

July 1956 

 

Jesse would have died and gone to heaven here

 

https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KPDX/1956/8/2/DailyHistory.html

[wx_statman]

Seriously though, some of those summers were ridiculously chilly. 

 

1953-1957 isn't comparable for general lack of summer heat to anything we've seen this century, and it's not even close. And that's with the great heat waves in June 1955 and July 1956 factored in. Outside of July 1956 (which was epic in the Portland area), no other July-August day even topped 95 in Portland between 1952 and 1958. 

[wx_statman]

Jesse would have died and gone to heaven here

 

https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KPDX/1956/8/2/DailyHistory.html

 

Epic. And two weeks after widespread 107-109 readings in the metro area.

[Jesse]

Epic. And two weeks after widespread 107-109 readings in the metro area.

Sounds fun. High summer heat is great, especially in a dynamic pattern with lots of ups and downs. Thunderstorms, marine pushes, offshore flow, spikes and crashes.

 

The sustained high end stuff of recent years is just nasty, though, in my humble opinion.

[wx_statman]

Sounds fun. High summer heat is great, especially in a dynamic pattern with lots of ups and downs. Thunderstorms, marine pushes, offshore flow, spikes and crashes.

 

The sustained high end stuff of recent years is just nasty, though, in my humble opinion.

 

Agreed. The more dynamic the better. Reaching way back, I personally loved the roller coaster in July 1996. We haven't really duplicated something like that since. 

[Jesse]

Agreed. The more dynamic the better. Reaching way back, I personally loved the roller coaster in July 1996. We haven't really duplicated something like that since. 

 

I recall a nice sequence in August 2008. Probably one of my favorite summer months of the modern era. Great summer on the whole really.

[Jesse]

EPS now shows a deep western trough at day 10.

[Timmy]

Haven’t been paying attention to weather, but it’s snowing now

[TT-SEA]

EPS now shows a deep western trough at day 10.

 

Just like the operational run.

 

Might end up being a decent pattern for us with the focus down in CA... the coldest 850mb temp anomalies are down there as well.     

 

A pattern with ULL action through CA seems almost inevitable in March and maybe April this year given the winter they have had down there.   That pattern can produce some very nice weather for us overall.   

[Deweydog]

Just like the operational run.

 

Might end up being a decent pattern for us with the focus down in CA... the coldest 850mb temp anomalies are down there as well.

 

A pattern with ULL action through CA seems almost inevitable in March and maybe April this year given the winter they have had down there. That pattern can produce some very nice weather for us overall.

You're f*cked.

[TT-SEA]

Tim, did the Euro keep the weekend dry? I can’t completely tell looking just at the 500mb map. Looks like it’s potentially right on the edge.

 

We are heading up to Port Townsend on Sunday so I was curious.

 

Saturday looks like the nicer of the two days on the 12Z ECMWF.   

 

There are some scattered showers shown on Sunday but its still warm.   The 12Z ECMWF keeps the rain on the coast for most of Monday as well with warmer temps than Sunday for WA.   I am very skeptical about it holding off that long.  

[Brennan]

Hailing here... Would have been a really good day for our "yesterday" hike. Looks snowy on the mountain behind the house here. 

[Jesse]

You're f*cked.

 

Matt's ready for spring.

[Deweydog]

Matt's ready for spring.

It IS spring.

 

Sorry...

[Jesse]

It IS spring.

 

Sorry...

Great season! As long as we are consistently flirting with record warmth.

[Deweydog]

Great season! As long as we are consistently flirting with record warmth.

So jaded... B+!

[Front Ranger]

Easily more impressive than July 2009.

 

With a third runway and a few more hotels, I think SEA could have hit 106 on 7/28/1958.

 

What made 1958 so impressive is how it utterly defied the prevailing local climate trends of the time.

 

Kinda like January 2017...

[Front Ranger]

I looked at July 1956 and that was actually a really good month. Lots of heat but it was broken up by cool downs and marine layer days, which used to be a hallmark of our summer climate even during warm months. Cool nights overall too.

 

All UHI jokes aside, the difference is definitely less extreme if you compare downtown Portland's numbers then to now. 

[TT-SEA]

Day started with drizzle and ice pellets but it turned into a decent afternoon... surprisingly dry with some peaks of sun and 46 degrees.

[MossMan]

Chunky shower currently. 39.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Ensembles look good

[Jesse]

Eugene put up a 55/26 today. That’s some March weather I can sink my teeth into.

[wx_statman]

I recall a nice sequence in August 2008. Probably one of my favorite summer months of the modern era. Great summer on the whole really.

 

August 2008 was definitely it's own animal. What made July 1996 particularly memorable though was the swing from hot to cold and back to hot. Crazy progression. I'm sure if someone was to graph the high temps for every July in PDX history, 1996 would stand out among the spaghetti mess.