May 2024 Pacific Northwest Weather

[snow_wizard]

I have to say this is getting a bit impressive on the cold side of things.  This after all of the recent well below normal temps.  Currently 39 here.

As an aside...thank God April is over.  For some reason April has been a month that puts me into deep depression in recent years.

[Meatyorologist]

Welcome back Jim!

00z GFS looks wetter for Saturday but we still only get around 0.5", and we are right on the edge of the precip shield at that.

[snow_wizard]

Just now, Meatyorologist said:

Welcome back Jim!

00z GFS looks wetter for Saturday but we still only get around 0.5", and we are right on the edge of the precip shield at that.

April was running insanely dry for my area until the last week or so.  It's a good thing we got that wet period.

I really like how the chilly night periods keep returning this season.  We've had a few runs that have approached the coldest mins I've recorded for their respective periods.  It's kind of interesting to see the posts in the April thread talking about there being many consecutive above normal monthly averages.  That hasn't been the case for SEA.  They have actually done OK for how warm ENSO was for much of the season.

[snow_wizard]

Down to 38 now.  An outside shot at hitting 32.

[TigerWoodsLibido]

46 minutes ago, snow_wizard said:

I have to say this is getting a bit impressive on the cold side of things.  This after all of the recent well below normal temps.  Currently 39 here.

As an aside...thank God April is over.  For some reason April has been a month that puts me into deep depression in recent years.

Good to see you in the offseason, Jim. You're a good person.

[snow_wizard]

For anyone that likes Fail Army this is one of the best ever!  I laughed so hard it almost hurt at times.

 

[MossMan]

Currently 36 degrees. 

[TT-SEA]

4 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

As an aside...thank God April is over.  For some reason April has been a month that puts me into deep depression in recent years.

I was thinking you might have reverse SAD but then remembered you also get down when its gloomy for long periods in November and December.

It seems like this April would have been to your liking... drier than normal, colder than normal, and with a decent amount of sunshine.

[TT-SEA]

Alright GFS... you completely took away any semblance of a nice weekend for us now so hopefully you are right about the rest of it.

[Blizzard777]

Absolutely loving this !  Greeted with this little storm this morning!!!

Oklahoma City

[SilverFallsAndrew]

SLE had a -0.1 departure in April. 

[TT-SEA]

1 minute ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

SLE had a -0.1 departure in April. 

-1.1 at SEA

-2.1 at BLI 

And a pathetically warm +0.4 at OLM

[SilverFallsAndrew]

9 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

-1.1 at SEA

-2.1 at BLI 

And a pathetically warm +0.4 at OLM

What happened to the station of the Gods?! 
 

 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

New CanSIPS is out and showing a solidly below normal May in Oregon, with temps in Washington near normal. It also is now forecasting below normal temps in July for Oregon and western Washington. Looks like an average October-December is on tap followed by a mild January and very cold February-April 2025. 

Edited May 1 by SilverFallsAndrew

[Deweydog]

[Tyler Mode]

Looking good for May 1st...

[SilverFallsAndrew]

4 minutes ago, Tyler Mode said:

Looking good for May 1st...

Willamette Basin up to 107% of average snow pack.

[TacomaWx]

7 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

I have to say this is getting a bit impressive on the cold side of things.  This after all of the recent well below normal temps.  Currently 39 here.

As an aside...thank God April is over.  For some reason April has been a month that puts me into deep depression in recent years.

Starting to get within long range guidance for my SW US trip may 9th-20th. I’m a little early for monsoon season down there but hoping for something interesting atleast. 

[Rubus Leucodermis]

2 hours ago, TT-SEA said:

Alright GFS... you completely took away any semblance of a nice weekend for us now so hopefully you are right about the rest of it.

That would probably mean a 90-burger for PDX and the rest of the Willamette Valley.

[TT-SEA]

10 minutes ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

That would probably mean a 90-burger for PDX and the rest of the Willamette Valley.

Yeah... and last week the GFS showed 87 at SEA for this Saturday and now it might not reach 50.  

[the_convergence_zone]

Low of 39 here this morning. That’s the first time I have ever recorded a sub-40F reading in May at this location (since 2020). 

[Cascadia_Wx]

54 minutes ago, Tyler Mode said:

Looking good for May 1st...

I don’t get it. It’s not like there usually isn’t snow up there on May 1 or something.

[ShawniganLake]

36F this morning with a fairly widespread frost. 

[TacomaWx]

@SilverFallsAndrew I noticed a while back you had been to Utah and posted some pics. Were there any places outside of the national parks there that you thought were worth seeing? Will be in Utah for a week. 

[Deweydog]

7 minutes ago, ShawniganLake said:

36F this morning with a fairly widespread frost. 

37 here

[TT-SEA]

Beautiful morning in North Bend... no zebra sighting yet.    One is still on the loose. 

[TacomaWx]

2 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

Beautiful morning in North Bend... no zebra sighting yet.    One is still on the loose. 

Lol I’m a little ways away from where the zebra got loose but I’ve been on the lookout up here at work the last few days. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Just now, TacomaWx said:

@SilverFallsAndrew I noticed a while back you had been to Utah and posted some pics. Were there any places outside of the national parks there that you thought were worth seeing? Will be in Utah for a week. 

Yeah, I was there for a couple days. I really want to go back for a week or two at some point. There is so much to see there. Not sure what part of the state you are going to, but the Central and Southern part of the state is incredible. I mean pretty much anywhere you go has incredible mountains, canyons, valleys, deserts, you really can't go wrong. Central part of the state is underrated. Check out Goblin State Park. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Can't believe it's May 1st and we aren't absolutely roasting yet. Just feels like a totally normal spring, which it has been. SLE has had slight negative departures 3 of 4 months to start the year. 

[Cascadia_Wx]

Started May with a low of 42 here. Last evening started out promising for 30s or frost by morning with crystal clear skies around and after sunset, but mid level clouds moved in later on.

Looks like VUO may have scored a low in the 30s with some brief morning clearing.

Currently mostly cloudy and 45.

[TacomaWx]

Just now, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Yeah, I was there for a couple days. I really want to go back for a week or two at some point. There is so much to see there. Not sure what part of the state you are going to, but the Central and Southern part of the state is incredible. I mean pretty much anywhere you go has incredible mountains, canyons, valleys, deserts, you really can't go wrong. Central part of the state is underrated. Check out Goblin State Park. 

We’re flying into Vegas and staying there for 2 nights. Then hitting all 5 national parks in southern Utah over the course of a week. Staying near Zion for 3 nights…then near Capitol reef national park for 1 night on the way to Moab for 3 nights. Then the Grand Canyon for 2 nights. 
 I’ve heard that cedar breaks and goblin state parks are pretty cool. I’m excited to check out Moab also for a couple days. Have never been to Nevada, Utah or Arizona so I’m pretty excited for it. 

[Sunriver Snow Zone]

9 hours ago, Cascadia_Wx said:

Takes some real skill to fit two completely contradictory ideas into the same sentence. Kudos!

Takes some real skill to fit so much air and empty space  into one brain. Kudos to your mother!

[Tyler Mode]

32 minutes ago, Cascadia_Wx said:

I don’t get it. It’s not like there usually isn’t snow up there on May 1 or something.

Who said anything about snow?

[Cascadia_Wx]

11 minutes ago, TacomaWx said:

We’re flying into Vegas and staying there for 2 nights. Then hitting all 5 national parks in southern Utah over the course of a week. Staying near Zion for 3 nights…then near Capitol reef national park for 1 night on the way to Moab for 3 nights. Then the Grand Canyon for 2 nights. 
 I’ve heard that cedar breaks and goblin state parks are pretty cool. I’m excited to check out Moab also for a couple days. Have never been to Nevada, Utah or Arizona so I’m pretty excited for it. 

We stayed three nights in Moab for a similar SW road trip a couple years ago and it was incredible. Arches national park can get packed, but one night we beat the crowds by heading up there after dark and hiking around with the full moon. That was really cool.

[Sunriver Snow Zone]

32 currently, low of 19, cold start to the month! Yesterday was a 44/26 day.

[TacomaWx]

Just now, Cascadia_Wx said:

We stayed three nights in Moab for a similar SW road trip a couple years ago and it was incredible. Arches national park can get packed, but one night we beat the crowds by heading up there after dark and hiking around with the full moon. That was really cool.

They have a reservation system now so hopefully that helps out with the overcrowding. I’m also hopeful the timed entry reservations help out at Mt.Rainier this year. Some people might not like it…but it definitely will help with so many people packing into parks.
 It’s necessary after the huge crowds of people that showed up at rainier last summer to check out the Perseids meteor shower. Tons of people trampled the fields. Straight up disrespectful to the park. 

[Cascadia_Wx]

1 minute ago, TacomaWx said:

They have a reservation system now so hopefully that helps out with the overcrowding. I’m also hopeful the timed entry reservations help out at Mt.Rainier this year. Some people might not like it…but it definitely will help with so many people packing into parks.
 It’s necessary after the huge crowds of people that showed up at rainier last summer to check out the Perseids meteor shower. Tons of people trampled the fields. Straight up disrespectful to the park. 

I agree. The need for a reservation system is a bummer, but it’s also become necessary at this point.

Didn’t hear about the meadows getting trampled so bad last August. I imagine that must have been up at Paradise. What a shame. Although it would be hard to beat the resource damage of the early 20th century when they had a golf course set up in the meadows.

 

[Cascadia_Wx]

2 minutes ago, Cascadia_Wx said:

I agree. The need for a reservation system is a bummer, but it’s also become necessary at this point.

Didn’t hear about the meadows getting trampled so bad last August. I imagine that must have been up at Paradise. What a shame. Although it would be hard to beat the resource damage of the early 20th century when they had a golf course set up in the meadows.

 

https://nwhickoryplayers.org/2016/11/the-short-spectacular-life-of-paradise-golf-course-mount-rainier-washington/

[TacomaWx]

2 minutes ago, Cascadia_Wx said:

I agree. The need for a reservation system is a bummer, but it’s also become necessary at this point.

Didn’t hear about the meadows getting trampled so bad last August. I imagine that must have been up at Paradise. What a shame. Although it would be hard to beat the resource damage of the early 20th century when they had a golf course set up in the meadows.

 

 I feel like visiting the national parks became exceptionally popular with the pandemic a couple years ago and social media. It’s great that people want to get out and see some of the amazing things we have out west…but the some of the parks aren’t built for millions of visitors a year like there is now. 
  I also feel like part of the problem is the type of visitors that come to the parks because they saw some cool TikTok videos and want to see it. Theres always been stupid people…but a lot of the younger generation don’t respect wildlife or vegetation. They just want some cool pics to post to social media.  The amount of disrespect and unawareness towards wildlife ive seen in Yellowstone and other places was insane. 
  So overall I think that most parks should have a reservation system. I think it’s a good way to limit people going in, but also maybe weeding out some of the idiots that show up (hopefully). 

[iFred]

Next four months produce some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Also only two months until fall rolls out at Hobby Lobby and three months until you can find The Spice at Safeway.