July 2018 Weather in the Pacific Northwest

[TT-SEA]

 

No, I’m in Seattle until the afternoon of the 21st, and I’m in Vancouver, BC for most of the 22nd.

 

Yeah... I thought you were referring to day 13.  

[Phil]

This may be the most highly anticipated vacation in forum history. Appears to be on pace to pass up some of Tim's family jaunts.

I’ll stop by and say hello (if I can find an oxygen tank).

[Deweydog]

I’ll stop by and say hello (if I can locate an oxygen tank).

Come on by! We'll pick up some acronyms and a bucket of KFC and make an evening out of it!

[Geos]

Looks like it made 80. It can stay just like this for awhile. 

[TigerWoodsLibido]

We are at 91F here.  Nice warm day.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

PDX just avoids 90. High of 83 here. Beautiful day.

 

[Jesse]

18z and ensembles want to end the hot spell by Monday or Tuesday next week. Would be nice.

 

EPS seemed flatter with the ridging those days as well. As it stands now, tomorrow and Sunday are the best bet for temps well into the 90s. Might need to take a coast trip one of those days!

[The Swamp]

18z and ensembles want to end the hot spell by Monday or Tuesday next week. Would be nice.

 

EPS seemed flatter with the ridging those days as well. As it stands now, tomorrow and Sunday are the best bet for temps well into the 90s. Might need to take a coast trip one of those days!

 

At any point this summer will you be rooting for nice summer weather for an extended period?

 

Or are you going to be like Tim in the winter always looking out 10-15 days for warmer weather when a potential snow event is on tap?

[TT-SEA]

At any point this summer will you be rooting for nice summer weather for an extended period?

 

Or are you going to be like Tim in the winter always looking out 10-15 days for warmer weather when a potential snow event is on tap?

 

The weather down there has been much better overall this summer... they really need rain.

 

And his expectations are actually quite reasonable right now.  He is just hoping to avoid extreme heat.    Sort of like my expectations when I just want one single dry day and its 9 days out in the models.  

[GHweatherChris]

The weather down there has been much better overall this summer... they really need rain.

 

And his expectations are actually quite reasonable right now. He is just hoping to avoid extreme heat. Sort of like my expectations when I just want one single dry day and its 9 days out in the models.

And now you are answering questions for others? Wth, he didn't direct a question towards you... get that post count up!

[BLI snowman]

One of my good friends from High School just moved down to Christchurch, New Zealand. It’s been interesting following the weather down there and seeing his pics.

 

From what I can tell it is about as close as you can get to a Southern Hemisphere doppelgänger of this area,

climate wise.

 

Southern Chile is more similar, I'd say. Osorno area.

[Jesse]

At any point this summer will you be rooting for nice summer weather for an extended period?

 

 

By my definition? Yes. Lucky for you it won’t change anything either way.

[Jesse]

Southern Chile is more similar, I'd say. Osorno area.

 

Seems like their summers are cooler and their winters are milder. Maybe more like somewhere on the southern Oregon coast.

 

Christchurch seems to have warmer summers and chillier winters, which would make them a better match for the I-5 corridor proper. But that is splitting hairs, they are both fairly similar in the big picture.

[BLI snowman]

Seems like their summers are cooler and their winters are milder. Maybe more like somewhere on the southern Oregon coast.

 

Christchurch seems to have warmer summers and chillier winters, which would make them a better match for the I-5 corridor proper. But that is splitting hairs, they are both fairly similar in the big picture.

 

Christchurch is pretty different with the precip and more oceanic as a whole. Very evenly distributed rainfall and generally light throughout the year on the leeward south of the South Island. Southern Chile has areas with a Mediterranean distribution, like here.

 

I've always thought Queenstown, NZ sounded nice. Beautiful area and a little more continental than the rest of New Zealand. Need to get down there some day.

[TT-SEA]

Christchurch is pretty different with the precip and more oceanic as a whole. Very evenly distributed rainfall and generally light throughout the year on the leeward south of the South Island. Southern Chile has areas with a Mediterranean distribution, like here.

 

I've always thought Queenstown, NZ sounded nice. Beautiful area and a little more continental than the rest of New Zealand. Need to get down there some day.

 

 

What is odd about southern Chile is that they are leeward side of the mountains down there so you would think it would be drier.  

[Jesse]

What is odd about southern Chile is that they are leeward side of the mountains down there so you would think it would be drier.

No, they are actually windward. The jet stream goes west to east at that latitude down there just like it does up here.

 

What interests me is how much colder southern Chile gets once you get to the southern latitude of Portland and Seattle (45-47S). At that point there are glaciers coming down almost to sea level. You would think such a skinny piece of land surrounded by the ocean would be more moderated than we are...we are attached to a much larger continent that extends to the north and east.

 

Then again I think the Southern Ocean is pretty chilly year round, and Antarctica is a powerhouse for cold with very wide influence during the southern winter.

[TT-SEA]

No, they are actually windward. The jet stream goes west to east at that latitude down there just like it does up here.

 

What interests me is how much colder southern Chile gets once you get to the southern latitude of Portland and Seattle (45-47S). At that point there are glaciers coming down almost to sea level. You would think such a skinny piece of land surrounded by the ocean would be more moderated than we are...we are attached to a much larger continent that extends to the north and east.

 

Then again I think the Southern Ocean is pretty chilly year round, and Antarctica is a powerhouse for cold with very wide influence during the southern winter.

 

 

Fascinating... I need to learn more about that part of the world.

 

Why does the jet stream move west to east at 40S?    I thought it was opposite down there.

 

I am watching the IR loop for South America now and I see it does indeed move west to east.   Never noticed that.   

[Deweydog]

At any point this summer will you be rooting for nice summer weather for an extended period?

 

Or are you going to be like Tim in the winter always looking out 10-15 days for warmer weather when a potential snow event is on tap?

I wouldn't go there when it comes to J Dogg's Timilarities.

[Phil]

Fascinating... I need to learn more about that part of the world.

 

Why would the jet stream move west to east at 40S? It should be opposite of 40N right?

[TT-SEA]

 

 

 

Cool graphic... and informative.  

[Deweydog]

That reminds me of the egg sack on Arachnophobia.

[Jesse]

Fascinating... I need to learn more about that part of the world.

 

Why does the jet stream move west to east at 40S?    I thought it was opposite down there.

 

The Hadley Cells and Ferrell Cells mirror each other across the equator, but it works out that there is a westerly jet at the mid latitudes in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

 

Putting it very simply, warm air rises near the equator, sinks near 30N and 30S (the global desert belt) and rises again near where the Ferrell Cells meets the Polar Cells (polar front). So you have "surface" air rushing toward the equator from both sides thanks to the rising air there, and rushing toward the polar front thanks to rising air there. Away from the desert belts, which have sinking air. The coriolis effect deflects this movement and gives the equatorial regions their northeast and southeast trade winds, and gives mid latitude windward regions a generally southwest jet (here) or northwest jet (down there).

[Jesse]

Ha! Looks like you beat me to it Phil. Nice graphic.

 

Makes what I said a lot easier to visualize.

[Phil]

Cool graphic... and informative.

I assume you can see why cyclones/anticyclones spin backwards down there, looking at that image.

 

Don’t conflate the emergent coriolis dynamics.

[Phil]

The Hadley Cells and Ferrell Cells mirror each other across the equator, but it works out that there is a westerly jet at the mid latitudes in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

 

Putting it very simply, warm air rises near the equator, sinks near 30N and 30S (the global desert belt) and rises again near where the Ferrell Cells meets the Polar Cells (polar front). So you have "surface" air rushing toward the equator from both sides thanks to the rising air there, and rushing toward the polar front thanks to rising air there. Away from the desert belts, which have sinking air. The coriolis effect deflects this movement and gives the equatorial regions their northeast and southeast trade winds, and gives mid latitude windward regions a generally southwest jet (here) or northwest jet (down there).

This. Solid description.

[TT-SEA]

Doing a Google street view tour of the Osorno area and surrounding countryside... sort of looks like the Willamette Valley.    

 

Strange to see lots of fall colors on images from April and May.   

[Phil]

While we’re on the topic...

 

Climatology for SLPs/sfc winds, 500mb heights/vector winds, and 2m temperatures:

 

http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/104_2012_web_projects/Samantha_MacNeith/Images/pressureSystems.gif

http://geog.uoregon.edu/envchange/clim_animations/gifs/two_hgt500_web.gif

[MossMan]

[Front Ranger]

That reminds me of the egg sack on Arachnophobia.

 

Hear they're making a remake. I'm sure the spiders will be bigger...

[Deweydog]

Hear they're making a remake. I'm sure the spiders will be bigger...

CGI!!!

[Kayla]

Christchurch is pretty different with the precip and more oceanic as a whole. Very evenly distributed rainfall and generally light throughout the year on the leeward south of the South Island. Southern Chile has areas with a Mediterranean distribution, like here.

 

I've always thought Queenstown, NZ sounded nice. Beautiful area and a little more continental than the rest of New Zealand. Need to get down there some day.

Fun fact: I spent 6 months in Christchurch and Queenstown for work a couple of years ago. Can definitely say Christchurch is quite similar to Portland. Queenstown is gorgeous. Awesome weather year-around with nothing to extreme one way or the other.

 

I highly recommend going to the South Island. The whole island is gorgeous with huge variations in climate over a relatively short distance. Spent quite a bit of time flying out of Lake Tekapo which is an absolutely stunning area of the South Island.

[Phil]

Average temperatures in the Arctic peak tomorrow through the upcoming weekend. The long decline into winter begins on Monday.

 

We’re almost there!

[TigerWoodsLibido]

So glad it doesn't stay 90F at night like it does in Texas. This is perfect summer nighttime weather. And a beautiful star watching night with the moon not rising until 4AM or so.  Mars is fukkin massive in the sky as we are nearing the closest point in orbit, it rises sometime around 10 I think. Jupiter is also in a really good spot to use binoculars and see Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa.

[Phil]

Hurricane Chris was a cat2 at peak (not a cat3, misread NHC summary earlier). Weird how it waited until 35-40N to really blow up.

 

That’s pretty still impressive to see in July. Those waters don’t max out until late August.

[TT-SEA]

We should get a "winter" home in Christchurch.   Head down there in late October and come back here in late April.   We could perpetually live in perfect summer weather.        

[Phil]

[Phil]

Here’s July 2018 so far. Will probably finish with the classic warm season +AO look (torchy mid-latitudes, cold Arctic).

 

[TigerWoodsLibido]

Here’s July 2018 so far. Will probably finish with the classic warm season +AO look (torchy mid-latitudes, cold Arctic).

 

 

I like that sexy height anomaly near the GOA.

[Jesse]

Euro looks quite a bit hotter for longer than the GFS now.

[Tyler Mode]

Christchurch is pretty different with the precip and more oceanic as a whole. Very evenly distributed rainfall and generally light throughout the year on the leeward south of the South Island. Southern Chile has areas with a Mediterranean distribution, like here.

 

I've always thought Queenstown, NZ sounded nice. Beautiful area and a little more continental than the rest of New Zealand. Need to get down there some day.

I was there in April and Queenstown is perhaps one of the most picturesque towns I've seen.  I know there are quite a few in the Alps too.

 

Lots of wind in Christchurch.  The mountains were just getting their first snows (early for them) the 11th or so or April.

 

Two pics from Queenstown and the snowy one from my first full day there (April 11th) in the northern part of the south island.