February 2024 Weather in the PNW

[Phishy Wx]

45 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Live look from the weather deck! 

looks wet

[MossMan]

52 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Live look from the weather deck! 

Time to hop on the jetski! 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

29 minutes ago, MossMan said:

Time to hop on the jetski! 

All kinds of water craft float by in the summer! 

[Deweydog]

One month ago RIGHT NOW model riding was in FULL SWING.

[iFred]

2 hours ago, Timmy said:

I know there was talk about banning day 10+ gfs snow maps in the past.  Can we do the same for anything relating to 10mb temps and SSW’s as well?

In all seriousness, yes. Dr S. Nyberg, a respected atmospheric social sciences professor from the University down in Phoenix had mentioned that there was some serious damage done to the wider community when we people who are not studied, trained, and accredited both share these maps and make any kind of prognostications.

I'm no lawyer, but like a few of you, I play one on the internet, so I can only surmise that we take on a bit of legal risk when people use this forum to make grand statements about atmospheric conditions that they have no education in. As a matter of fact, the Oregon State Board of Examiners notes that licensure ensures that practitioners in these critical fields of science are properly trained to interpret and discuss the details of charting based on both observations and numerical weather prediction.

Concerned folks can obtain a license online through the Oregon State Board of Examiners website.. We will be clamping down on related posting from Oregonians in the near future unless you have been licensed in the state of Oregon.

[iFred]

1 hour ago, TT-SEA said:

Well... stratospheric warming is actually a given with an established Nino pattern.    But as history has shown... it doesn't usually translate to PNW cold and snow in a Nino spring.    I think the Nino pattern causes the SSW and also sends the cold elsewhere during the Feb - Apr period.    

Sounds like an early start to the warm and dry season to me.

Kind of excited to get all of the spring work done by mid March, opens the rest of the season to some experimental gardening.

[ShawniganLake]

7 minutes ago, iFred said:

Sounds like an early start to the warm and dry season to me.

Kind of excited to get all of the spring work done by mid March, opens the rest of the season to some experimental gardening.

I work for some people that have had some success experimenting with growing small cacti in their garden on a sunny dry slope.  Something to consider for sure.  Water smart gardens are a good idea 

[ShawniganLake]

Euro has a couple frosty nights and possibly some brief over running slush next week. 

[MossMan]

38 minutes ago, Deweydog said:

One month ago RIGHT NOW model riding was in FULL SWING.

3 years ago right now as well! 

[MossMan]

[Deweydog]

3 minutes ago, MossMan said:

3 years ago right now as well! 

Ah yes… Three year anniversary of the SB Sunday 12z CMC for the regional ages! Tomorrow also makes three years since I got shot #2 and shaved another 15 years off my life expectancy!

[the_convergence_zone]

29 minutes ago, ShawniganLake said:

I work for some people that have had some success experimenting with growing small cacti in their garden on a sunny dry slope.  Something to consider for sure.  Water smart gardens are a good idea 

My mom sent me some prickly pear cactus which thrives in zone 4 in Wisconsin. She has a huge patch there that is the envy of her neighbors. 

Unfortunately...it would rather be blasted with -20 degree F cold and buried in four feet of snow than deal with our moist, drippy winters. It just rots here...but yet somehow survives and doesn't quite die entirely. A few of you can probably relate...

At least the peonies that she sent me are thriving. 

It's on my short list to install drip irrigation this year, I'm sick of constantly watering during our heat waves. 

[iFred]

30 minutes ago, ShawniganLake said:

I work for some people that have had some success experimenting with growing small cacti in their garden on a sunny dry slope.  Something to consider for sure.  Water smart gardens are a good idea 

Being serious, real cereal right now. Being in my mid 30s with a house, a kid, and a wife who would rather live in the worst area of Seattle than the best neighborhood in Minneapolis, I came to realize that I love our weird climate as much as I love my family. Sure, I wished it snowed more and we experienced more summer thunderstorms, but climate change is making quick work of that and my wife is finally on board with a cabin in the Cascades or even in Alaska for us to winter at.

What Tim predicted a decade ago came true over the past couple years, I enjoy warm and sunny days now too. I like getting some yard work done, some gardening, or working on restoring a local wetland. I also enjoy dark and damp days to get that cozy feeling while I work on some code or dive into a good book. I guess I’m old now.

This summer is jam packed with projects that I want to front load; expanding my garden into my lawn, redoing the drainage so I can pool water for longer over the summer, plant a sunflower forest for the hell of it, spin up some algae tubes to test carbon capture, get solar roof tiles installed, and much more. I need dependable warm and dry Pacific Northwest days to get that done, and the earlier the better.

[iFred]

4 minutes ago, the_convergence_zone said:

My mom sent me some prickly pear cactus which thrives in zone 4 in Wisconsin. She has a huge patch there that is the envy of her neighbors. 

Unfortunately...it would rather be blasted with -20 degree F cold and buried in four feet of snow than deal with our moist, drippy winters. It just rots here...but yet somehow survives and doesn't quite die entirely. A few of you can probably relate...

At least the peonies that she sent me are thriving. 

It's on my short list to install drip irrigation this year, I'm sick of constantly watering during our heat waves. 

I experimented with drainage rock on top of dense sand and built a basin with it before filling over topsoil. Water retention was a drastic improvement late summer and it seems none of the tubers or grass roots took on rot or mold. I’ll probably still need to drip in some spots, but a change in the drainage was night and day.

[MossMan]

23 minutes ago, iFred said:

Being serious, real cereal right now. Being in my mid 30s with a house, a kid, and a wife who would rather live in the worst area of Seattle than the best neighborhood in Minneapolis, I came to realize that I love our weird climate as much as I love my family. Sure, I wished it snowed more and we experienced more summer thunderstorms, but climate change is making quick work of that and my wife is finally on board with a cabin in the Cascades or even in Alaska for us to winter at.

What Tim predicted a decade ago came true over the past couple years, I enjoy warm and sunny days now too. I like getting some yard work done, some gardening, or working on restoring a local wetland. I also enjoy dark and damp days to get that cozy feeling while I work on some code or dive into a good book. I guess I’m old now.

This summer is jam packed with projects that I want to front load; expanding my garden into my lawn, redoing the drainage so I can pool water for longer over the summer, plant a sunflower forest for the hell of it, spin up some algae tubes to test carbon capture, get solar roof tiles installed, and much more. I need dependable warm and dry Pacific Northwest days to get that done, and the earlier the better.

Sounds like awesome upcoming projects, hope to see pictures this spring/summer! 

[Phishy Wx]

1 hour ago, ShawniganLake said:

I work for some people that have had some success experimenting with growing small cacti in their garden on a sunny dry slope.  Something to consider for sure.  Water smart gardens are a good idea 

I'm going to try a Cabbage Palmetto in Spokane.  Its the state tree of South Carolina where I grew up

 

[ShawniganLake]

40 minutes ago, the_convergence_zone said:

My mom sent me some prickly pear cactus which thrives in zone 4 in Wisconsin. She has a huge patch there that is the envy of her neighbors. 

Unfortunately...it would rather be blasted with -20 degree F cold and buried in four feet of snow than deal with our moist, drippy winters. It just rots here...but yet somehow survives and doesn't quite die entirely. A few of you can probably relate...

At least the peonies that she sent me are thriving. 

It's on my short list to install drip irrigation this year, I'm sick of constantly watering during our heat waves. 

Yes I believe these are prickly pear cactus. They are experimenting with a few clumps and I heard their neighbors a few doors down have some large clumps that are doing well.  No doubt they would probably struggle in any average moist soil locations around here, but this area they are growing in is quite dry.  It’s the Maple Bay Area where these rocky ocean front properties slope down quite sharply and have a very thin rocky top soil covering.  My customers are very ecologically minded and have spent 10s of thousands of dollars on planting native plants and restoring their lawn to be a naturalized Garry oak meadow.  For some reason she takes joy in these little cacti though. 

[ShawniganLake]

2 minutes ago, Phishy Wx said:

I'm going to try a Cabbage Palmetto in Spokane.  Its the state tree of South Carolina where I grew up

 

Nice.  A few members will be by with a drill and some roundup shortly after it’s planted.  

[RentonHill]

[snow_wizard]

The Graph Cast digs that trough in a lot more solidly next week than the other models.  It doesn't just move out like the others show either.

[snow_wizard]

2 minutes ago, RentonHill said:

Wowzers!  I think Phil is going to have to concede on this.  It's a big enough deal that we don't even have to score at the very beginning of it.  We could be looking at a quick hit, then cold in the East, then a retrogression.

Tim is saying this is like 2016, but that year had a +QBO, and this is minus.

[snow_wizard]

18 minutes ago, Phishy Wx said:

I'm going to try a Cabbage Palmetto in Spokane.  Its the state tree of South Carolina where I grew up

 

Good luck.   Spokane has legitimately cold winters.

[RentonHill]

Just now, snow_wizard said:

Wowzers!  I think Phil is going to have to concede on this.  It's a big enough deal that we don't even have to score at the very beginning of it.  We could be looking at a quick hit, then cold in the East, then a retrogression.

Tim is saying this is like 2016, but that year had a +QBO, and this is minus.

We beat Phil!!! hooray!! whats our prize?

[RentonHill]

Euro weekly control. ALMOST delivers. 

 

[snow_wizard]

54 minutes ago, iFred said:

Being serious, real cereal right now. Being in my mid 30s with a house, a kid, and a wife who would rather live in the worst area of Seattle than the best neighborhood in Minneapolis, I came to realize that I love our weird climate as much as I love my family. Sure, I wished it snowed more and we experienced more summer thunderstorms, but climate change is making quick work of that and my wife is finally on board with a cabin in the Cascades or even in Alaska for us to winter at.

What Tim predicted a decade ago came true over the past couple years, I enjoy warm and sunny days now too. I like getting some yard work done, some gardening, or working on restoring a local wetland. I also enjoy dark and damp days to get that cozy feeling while I work on some code or dive into a good book. I guess I’m old now.

This summer is jam packed with projects that I want to front load; expanding my garden into my lawn, redoing the drainage so I can pool water for longer over the summer, plant a sunflower forest for the hell of it, spin up some algae tubes to test carbon capture, get solar roof tiles installed, and much more. I need dependable warm and dry Pacific Northwest days to get that done, and the earlier the better.

Really good post.  I agree that our summers are the absolute best if you want to get stuff done outside.  Just no two ways about it.

The dark and damp days are another thing.  I used to like them MUCH more than I do now.  At least for me the older I get the harder it is to deal with.

[Deweydog]

FWIW, my wife is ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE it’s going to snow in March. She also hates snow after Valentine’s Day. She would not do well here.

[snow_wizard]

2 minutes ago, RentonHill said:

Euro weekly control. ALMOST delivers. 

 

Very nice!

[snow_wizard]

5 minutes ago, RentonHill said:

We beat Phil!!! hooray!! whats our prize?

A blast perhaps?

[RentonHill]

7 minutes ago, snow_wizard said:

A blast perhaps?

[snow_wizard]

7 day mean for 500mb height anoms on the weeklies control for late month.  Far from terrible.

[snow_wizard]

One thing I'm having trouble buying with the SSW is there is no clear PV split being shown yet.  That could easily change.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

2 minutes ago, snow_wizard said:

7 day mean for 500mb height anoms on the weeklies control for late month.  Far from terrible.

Far from it!

[High Desert Mat?]

33 minutes ago, RentonHill said:

Full wind reversal?

[snow_wizard]

1 hour ago, the_convergence_zone said:

My mom sent me some prickly pear cactus which thrives in zone 4 in Wisconsin. She has a huge patch there that is the envy of her neighbors. 

Unfortunately...it would rather be blasted with -20 degree F cold and buried in four feet of snow than deal with our moist, drippy winters. It just rots here...but yet somehow survives and doesn't quite die entirely. A few of you can probably relate...

At least the peonies that she sent me are thriving. 

It's on my short list to install drip irrigation this year, I'm sick of constantly watering during our heat waves. 

Hilarious!

[MossMan]

Late February is fantastic for delivering! 

[Port Angeles Foothiller]

1 minute ago, MossMan said:

Late February is fantastic for delivering! 

I'm pretty sure you have a snow picture for any day Oct thru April

[MossMan]

4 minutes ago, Port Angeles Foothiller said:

I'm pretty sure you have a snow picture for any day Oct thru April

I only have 4,591 snow pictures on my phone.

[ShawniganLake]

25 minutes ago, MossMan said:

Late February is fantastic for delivering! 

Feb 28th in my backyard last year

 

[Sunriver Snow Zone]

1 hour ago, Phishy Wx said:

I'm going to try a Cabbage Palmetto in Spokane.  Its the state tree of South Carolina where I grew up

 

The entire forum might disown you if you do that....

 

 

[ShawniganLake]

57 minutes ago, RentonHill said:

Euro weekly control. ALMOST delivers. 

 

Hmm. Maybe I’m throwing in the towel too early.