March 2024 Weather in the PNW

[Phil]

16 minutes ago, ShawniganLake said:

I feel like I’d probably wake up if a tornado hit my house. 

At that point it’s too late.  

[bainbridgekid]

1 hour ago, Eugene-5SW said:

Like Phil said. Most of Arizona is on permanent standard time, and yet life goes on.

The exception is the Navajo Nation, which observes the typical DST schedule.

It works there because of their latitude. Near the Winter solstice, the sun rises in Phoenix at 7:30 and sets at 5:30. If Seattle were on permanent standard time, the sun would rise here at 9:00 and set at 5:20. I just think that's way too late for it to stay dark in the morning (and I'm not a morning person at ALL so would certainly appreciate the extra daylight in the evening.)

The sun also sets BEFORE 8 PM there on the Summer solstice which would be pretty awful. We are already approaching 8pm sunsets here and it's still March.

 

 

[Phil]

6 minutes ago, bainbridgekid said:

It works there because of their latitude. Near the Winter solstice, the sun rises in Phoenix at 7:30 and sets at 5:30. If Seattle were on permanent standard time, the sun would rise here at 9:00 and set at 5:20. I just think that's way too late for it to stay dark in the morning (and I'm not a morning person at ALL so would certainly appreciate the extra daylight in the evening.)

The sun also sets BEFORE 8 PM there on the Summer solstice which would be pretty awful. We are already approaching 8pm sunsets here and it's still March.

 

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Your sunset time today is 7:14pm. 8pm is nautical twilight there.

[bainbridgekid]

2 minutes ago, Phil said:

Your sunset time today is 7:14pm. 8pm is nautical twilight there.

Like I said . . . approaching 8 pm. The sun sets in Phoenix at 7:40 on the Summer solstice. That's a near negligible difference from where we are already.

[Phil]

Standard time in summer would be so stupid. The horizon already begins brightening at 430AM on DST. Standard time would move that to 330AM.

In Seattle it would be even worse, probably 245AM.  

[Cascadia_Wx]

8 minutes ago, bainbridgekid said:

It works there because of their latitude. Near the Winter solstice, the sun rises in Phoenix at 7:30 and sets at 5:30. If Seattle were on permanent standard time, the sun would rise here at 9:00 and set at 5:20. I just think that's way too late for it to stay dark in the morning (and I'm not a morning person at ALL so would certainly appreciate the extra daylight in the evening.)

The sun also sets BEFORE 8 PM there on the Summer solstice which would be pretty awful. We are already approaching 8pm sunsets here and it's still March.

 

 

That map is probably the best visual representation of a migraine that I’ve ever seen 

[RentonHill]

15 minutes ago, Cascadia_Wx said:

That map is probably the best visual representation of a migraine that I’ve ever seen 

Mine are more like a pipe clamp over my temples with a 5 pound weight in my forehead

[Cascadia_Wx]

5 minutes ago, RentonHill said:

Mine are more like a pipe clamp over my temples with a 5 pound weight in my forehead

I don’t think Brettschneider makes that map

[Front Ranger]

33 minutes ago, Phil said:

I visited Colorado Springs last May and loved every second of it. Snowcapped mountains on the western horizon, beautiful convective cloud structures, large diurnal temperature variability, no muggy, swampy feeling when stepping outside. It’s underrated if anything IMO.

Even the warmer days didn’t feel warm because the air up there is quite thin (and dry). 

March through June is my favorite time of year here. Tons of variability, big snowstorms in March and sometimes April, frequents thunderstorms with occasional severe weather in May and June, everything turns green, and usually not many 90+ days until late June.

[Front Ranger]

54 minutes ago, Doinko said:

Looks like my relatives in Highlands Ranch probably have 16-18" of snow already. And then the airport barely has anything!

Yeah, this is one of those situations where the airport doesn't represent the metro area at all.

I'm up to 9".

[Phil]

I’m soooo glad I don’t have pollen allergies. Everyone around me is sneezing and hacking up a storm worse than cold/flu season.

Somehow the pollen counts this year are outpacing last year (which was already a record breaking season). Can see it floating in the air, blowing on the ground with every breeze.

[Sunriver Snow Zone]

42 currently, a high of 47-50 seems like a safe bet at this point. Should get into the 60s on Saturday.

[Phil]

31 minutes ago, Front Ranger said:

March through June is my favorite time of year here. Tons of variability, big snowstorms in March and sometimes April, frequents thunderstorms with occasional severe weather in May and June, everything turns green, and usually not many 90+ days until late June.

The storms in CO are visually spectacular. Best I’ve ever seen anywhere. No low level scud clouds obstructing the view of the parent cumulonimbi (basically never see the actual storm structure here, always obscured).

Also it seemed like every storm cell in CO Springs produced hail. Even the most mediocre cells. It hailed almost as frequently as it rained. Yet there wasn’t any strong wind or outflow with any of the storms.

So different from what I’m used to. Here every little cell has a gust front or imbedded wet microburst, and hail is a rarity confined to the most severe storms. I’ve gone years without seeing a single hailstone.

[snow_wizard]

Pretty nice looking 500mb pattern for early spring.

[Phil]

Interesting how hail is the primary severe wx phenomenon out west, but as you travel east it becomes less frequent and is replaced by high wind.

[the_convergence_zone]

1 minute ago, Phil said:

Interesting how hail is the primary severe wx phenomenon out west, but as you travel east it becomes less frequent and is replaced by high wind.

Upscale growth! 

[TT-SEA]

5 minutes ago, snow_wizard said:

Pretty nice looking 500mb pattern for early spring.

Sunny and cool... not bad.  

[MossMan]

Set it to daylight savings time and then forget it!!

[iFred]

2 hours ago, TT-SEA said:

Hope we all came to a clear consensus now on good places to live and how clocks should managed.   Finally settling those debates once and for all.   

Don't make me bring up section 4c of the ToS concerning the use of the eye roll emoji.

[MossMan]

My dog/kid grass area can finally start healing from the horrors it had to endure during the dry January blast that nuked it. 

[Front Ranger]

46 minutes ago, Phil said:

The storms in CO are visually spectacular. Best I’ve ever seen anywhere. No low level scud clouds obstructing the view of the parent cumulonimbi (basically never see the actual storm structure here, always obscured).

Also it seemed like every storm cell in CO Springs produced hail. Even the most mediocre cells. It hailed almost as frequently as it rained. Yet there wasn’t any strong wind or outflow with any of the storms.

So different from what I’m used to. Here every little cell has a gust front or imbedded wet microburst, and hail is a rarity confined to the most severe storms. I’ve gone years without seeing a single hailstone.

Yep. Interesting to see the different pockets throughout the West.

[Deweydog]

Gorgeous day!

[MossMan]

15 minutes ago, Deweydog said:

Gorgeous day!

Nice and warm out as well! 

[bainbridgekid]

1 hour ago, Phil said:

The storms in CO are visually spectacular. Best I’ve ever seen anywhere. No low level scud clouds obstructing the view of the parent cumulonimbi (basically never see the actual storm structure here, always obscured).

Also it seemed like every storm cell in CO Springs produced hail. Even the most mediocre cells. It hailed almost as frequently as it rained. Yet there wasn’t any strong wind or outflow with any of the storms.

So different from what I’m used to. Here every little cell has a gust front or imbedded wet microburst, and hail is a rarity confined to the most severe storms. I’ve gone years without seeing a single hailstone.

That's mostly because in CO the hail has a mile less time to melt on its way down right? Guessing it probably hails a LOT 5,000 feet above D.C. too.

[the_convergence_zone]

8 minutes ago, bainbridgekid said:

That's mostly because in CO the hail has a mile less time to melt on its way down right? Guessing it probably hails a LOT 5,000 feet above D.C. too.

Giant hail will make it to the ground if it forms. It doesn't melt that fast. Colorado gets more graupel and pea-sized hail than the east coast because of the temperature profiles and less air resistance, but for severe hail the main thing is that the storm modes are different. Convection grows upscale as it progresses eastward and the organized clusters produce more wind and less hail and tornadoes. 

 

[iFred]

2 minutes ago, the_convergence_zone said:

Giant hail will make it to the ground if it forms. It doesn't melt that fast. Colorado gets more graupel and pea-sized hail than the east coast because of the temperature profiles and less air resistance, but for severe hail the main thing is that the storm modes are different. Convection grows upscale as it progresses eastward and the organized clusters produce more wind and less hail and tornadoes. 

 

That hail map can almost be interpreted as "sometimes the cells get really pretty cloud tops".

[the_convergence_zone]

1 hour ago, Front Ranger said:

Yep. Interesting to see the different pockets throughout the West.

That map must be using some sort of crappy data source LOL. Or maybe hail just doesn't like to fall in Alabama. 

Edit @iFred just saw your comment above 

[Tanis Leach]

20 hours ago, Cascadia_Wx said:

Crazy to think that Mark was calling for an all time March high of 82 just a few days ago.

I never saw 82 from Mark, and I talked to him last night and 77 was the highest one that he approved. 

 

82 was the math I used for temperature potential using the 850s Mark was using. 

[snow maniac]

It sure would be a nice day if it wasn't for this steady cold wind. 

[the_convergence_zone]

Does anyone else have absurd numbers of stinkbugs whenever the weather gets warm? How do I get rid of them? 

[TT-SEA]

Just now, the_convergence_zone said:

Does anyone else have absurd numbers of stinkbugs whenever the weather gets warm? How do I get rid of them? 

They have gotten so bad around here.   We noticed them coming in when it got cold in the fall... seeing less of them now as it warms up.   

[Timmy Supercell]

2 hours ago, Front Ranger said:

Yeah, this is one of those situations where the airport doesn't represent the metro area at all.

I'm up to 9".

I'm starting to hate airport wx stations.. for nearly the last hour I've heard thunder, none at mine. In fact, I think the station is closer to the storm than I am. 

[TT-SEA]

12 minutes ago, snow maniac said:

It sure would be a nice day if it wasn't for this steady cold wind. 

You must be exposed to the north wind.   Almost completely calm here so it actually feels warmer than the temp of 56.

[RaleighHillsRunner]

7 minutes ago, the_convergence_zone said:

Does anyone else have absurd numbers of stinkbugs whenever the weather gets warm? How do I get rid of them? 

I think you’re referring to box elder beetles? Last couple summers we’ve had them pretty bad, although we lost one of our maples in the ice storm so hopefully a few less this year. If you have box elder Maples near the house it’s pretty hard to avoid, but you can have pros come out and do treatments to limit them around outdoor living spaces. We don’t get many inside thankfully. 

[RaleighHillsRunner]

Woodpeckers are out en masse today making noise - Spring is here! 
 

[Timmy Supercell]

6 minutes ago, RaleighHillsRunner said:

I think you’re referring to box elder beetles? Last couple summers we’ve had them pretty bad, although we lost one of our maples in the ice storm so hopefully a few less this year. If you have box elder Maples near the house it’s pretty hard to avoid, but you can have pros come out and do treatments to limit them around outdoor living spaces. We don’t get many inside thankfully. 

If they're brown, stinkbug is the correct name (but they don't usually "stink" lol)

Boxelder bugs look sort of like fireflies.

[the_convergence_zone]

Just now, Timmy Supercell said:

If they're brown, stinkbug is the correct name (but they don't usually "stink" lol)

Boxelder bugs look sort of like fireflies.

Correct, stinkbugs. They do stink terribly if you threaten or squash them. I find multiple ones in my house every week, I also found a ton of them overwintering in my outdoor furniture when I was cleaning it out today. 

[T-Town]

9 minutes ago, RaleighHillsRunner said:

Woodpeckers are out en masse today making noise - Spring is here! 

Doo doo doo lookin out my back door

[ShawniganLake]

30 minutes ago, snow maniac said:

It sure would be a nice day if it wasn't for this steady cold wind. 

Yea. I was working near the ocean and the breeze was chilly.  Kept alternating between sweater and no sweater. Really frustrating  

[RaleighHillsRunner]

21 minutes ago, Timmy Supercell said:

If they're brown, stinkbug is the correct name (but they don't usually "stink" lol)

Boxelder bugs look sort of like fireflies.

Yeah usually don’t stink, but I’ve heard smashing them might. I dunno, annoying little buggers either way lol. Much preferred to yellow jackets tho. Wonder if the somewhat extended hard freeze will have any impact on their numbers this year