May 2024 Pacific Northwest Weather

[Cascadia_Wx]

11 minutes ago, TacomaWx said:

 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). 

There’s a lot to unpack here. I work in natural resource management so I see a lot of this stuff first hand on a weekly basis. I do think there are factors that have helped lead to overuse of the parks, as you mentioned, and sometimes there are people that come up for the “wrong” reasons with little respect for nature. That said, I’m not of the mind that the younger generation is inherently any worse than those before. I see plenty of people of all ages being great visitors or not so great. It all comes down to education and prior exposure.

[iFred]

15 minutes ago, TacomaWx said:

 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). 

They need to limit high speed data at these parks. You’ll still be able to make a voice call and reach out to emergency services, but you won’t be able to live stream your friends dance at Lake Tipsoo.

[TacomaWx]

10 minutes ago, Cascadia_Wx said:

There’s a lot to unpack here. I work in natural resource management so I see a lot of this stuff first hand on a weekly basis. I do think there are factors that have helped lead to overuse of the parks, as you mentioned, and sometimes there are people that come up for the “wrong” reasons with little respect for nature. That said, I’m not of the mind that the younger generation is inherently any worse than those before. I see plenty of people of all ages being great visitors or not so great. It all comes down to education and prior exposure.

Yeah, maybe part of my opinion on disrespect to the environment is just my overall axe to grind with people my age and younger. This place is the closest thing I have to social media…I feel like overall social media has made people very vain and idiotic. I just see a lot of my current and former friends nowadays that are so absorbed and “dumbed down” with it and I just think it’s changed people for the worst. Many people consider me disconnected from the world but I like it that way. 

[Tyler Mode]

5 minutes ago, TacomaWx said:

Yeah, maybe part of my opinion on disrespect to the environment is just my overall axe to grind with people my age and younger. This place is the closest thing I have to social media…I feel like overall social media has made people very vain and idiotic. I just see a lot of my current and former friends nowadays that are so absorbed and “dumbed down” with it and I just think it’s changed people for the worst. Many people consider me disconnected from the world but I like it that way. 

Agreed.  I have a friend that was talking about everything bad that was going to happen during the eclipse and asking me questions like is "everything" going to stop working?  I'm like where do you get this info...her answer...Tiktok............

[MossMan]

Lovely early morning drive over Steven’s Pass! 32 at the summit with snow flocked trees. And lovely as always here in Orondo! Stored my boat here in my relatives summer place garage this winter season since I was tired of cleaning out mousy motels when I would store it outside at home. Time to bring it back and get it in the water soon! Was a tight fit but I had a good fungal toenail’s width to spare when I brought it over and parked it in early October. 

Edited May 1 by MossMan

[SilverFallsAndrew]

34 minutes ago, iFred said:

They need to limit high speed data at these parks. You’ll still be able to make a voice call and reach out to emergency services, but you won’t be able to live stream your friends dance at Lake Tipsoo.

When I was at Zion there was essentially no cell service, but it was pretty busy to say the least. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

When we went to Arches they do limit the number of visitors. You have to have a ticket for a specific time slot to enter the park. Depends on the park too. We went to Mesa Verde and there was hardly anyone there. 

[TT-SEA]

Lovely day.

[Front Ranger]

10 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

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.

This year so far. When you eliminate the major outliers in each direction, there has only been one actual warm month across the board, February. And it wasn't nearly the torch that some Nino Februarys have been.

January, March, and April were pretty close to normal overall across the lowlands.

Jan

BLI: -2.2

SEA: -1.2

Seattle city: -.5

OLM: 1.8

PDX: -1.6

Downtown Portland: -2.2

Battle Ground: -1.2

SLE: -.2

EUG: 1.9

Feb

BLI: .4

SEA: .3

Seattle city: 1.6

OLM: 2.0

PDX: 2.1

Downtown Portland: .5

Battle Ground: 1.9

SLE: 1.1

EUG: 2.8

Mar

BLI: -1.1

SEA: 0.0

Seattle city: 1.0

OLM: 1.3

PDX: 1.7

Downtown Portland: 0.0

Battle Ground: .4

SLE: -.6

EUG: .4

Apr

BLI: -2.1

SEA: -1.0

Seattle city: .1

OLM: .4

PDX: 1.6

Downtown Portland: .1

Battle Ground: 0.0

SLE: -.1

EUG: .5

[NorthBend RainEnthusiast]

2 hours 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. 

I'll be on a SW USA trip during the same time period, though it'll be in Navajo country in the four corners region. I've traveled Utah and Arizona extensively over the last decade and have some tips:

• Zion National Park: I'll leave out tips on the classic hikes at Zion in the main canyon (Angel's Landing, Observation Point, Narrows) since there is plenty of information out there about those. The key is to catch the earliest shuttles, you won't feel the crowds as much then. What many miss is that there are three other areas of Zion that are absolutely worth exploring:
  • Kolob Canyons: This is located off I-15 and is an incredible area of Zion. The best short hike I have ever done is located here, the South Fork of Taylor Creek. Cannot recommend this trail enough.
  • East Canyon: I recommend Many Pools "off-trail" hike, absolutely incredible and very lonely.
  • Kolob Terrace: I recommend the Northgate Peaks trail at the Wildcat Canyon trailhead, it is absolutely beautiful and uncrowded.
  • I would recommend any of those three areas over Cedar Breaks, which will be mostly snow still in May.
• Bryce Canyon:
  • Hike the Fairyland Loop trail in the park.
  • We found Kodachrome Basin State Park near Cannonville to be worth the visit, I think we hiked the Angel's Palace trail. Great BBQ at IDK BBQ nearby.
  • There is also Willis Creek slot canyon nearby  (feet will get wet), absolutely worth it.
• Capitol Reef:
  • The drive between Bryce and Capitol Reef on UT-12 is mindblowing, one of the prettiest highways you'll ever drive.
  • Look up the Burr trail in Grand Staircase Escalante and Capitol Reef, absolutely worth making it to the steep windy section, Headquarter Canyon was a great trail.
  • Inside the park, don't forget to get some pie! It sells out fast but is delicious. Cohab Canyon, Grand Wash, all great trails.
• Moab:
  • The best hike I've found in all of Canyonlands/Arches is the Chesler Park/Joint Trail loop. Druid Arch is cool too. I prefer Needles District over Island in the Sky and both over Arches. 
  • 128 east along the river is beautiful, plenty of camping and rock climbing, Fisher Towers is beautiful (biggest climb I've done). 145 is fun too, pushed my car to the limits.
• Grand Canyon:
  • Given your other travels, I hope you're visiting the North Rim instead of the South Rim. Much quieter, the lodge is my favorite in the NPS and the hikes are great! 

Have a great trip!

[T-Town]

2 hours 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. 

As others have said, Moab and the nearby parks are amazing. Still my favorite place Ive visited. We were there in 1991 and again in 2001 so a long time ago. No crowds in those days in Arches and Canyonlands even in the peak summer months. A different story these days Im sure. You will love it. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

23 minutes ago, Front Ranger said:

This year so far. When you eliminate the major outliers in each direction, there has only been one actual warm month across the board, February. And it wasn't nearly the torch that some Nino Februarys have been.

January, March, and April were pretty close to normal overall across the lowlands.

Jan

BLI: -2.2

SEA: -1.2

Seattle city: -.5

OLM: 1.8

PDX: -1.6

Downtown Portland: -2.2

Battle Ground: -1.2

SLE: -.2

EUG: 1.9

Feb

BLI: .4

SEA: .3

Seattle city: 1.6

OLM: 2.0

PDX: 2.1

Downtown Portland: .5

Battle Ground: 1.9

SLE: 1.1

EUG: 2.8

Mar

BLI: -1.1

SEA: 0.0

Seattle city: 1.0

OLM: 1.3

PDX: 1.7

Downtown Portland: 0.0

Battle Ground: .4

SLE: -.6

EUG: .4

Apr

BLI: -2.1

SEA: -1.0

Seattle city: .1

OLM: .4

PDX: 1.6

Downtown Portland: .1

Battle Ground: 0.0

SLE: -.1

EUG: .5

Eugene and Olympia are a shell of their former selves. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

We went to Cedar Breaks last month. Up at the top at 10,400 there was a lot of snow! 

[TT-SEA]

Pattern change becoming more likely starting next week... 12Z EPS looks the same as previous runs.

[SouthHillFrosty]

1 hour ago, iFred said:

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. 
 

You must have been on the same daily stand up call with my wife. She mentioned she needs to start "prepping soon of the holidays upcoming"..... 

 

[Front Ranger]

2 hours ago, 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. 

I remember driving through the middle of the state Memorial Day weekend 2008, and it's surprisingly mountainous. Saw snow falling at I want to say around 6000' feet or so.

[Front Ranger]

9 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Eugene and Olympia are a shell of their former selves. 

Indeed. And BLI and PDX are both on crack, PDX the bad kind.

[Front Ranger]

2 hours 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. 

Zion and Moab are both in my top 10 of places I've seen in the U.S. They both also get very hot in the summer, you definitely picked a good time to go.

[T-Town]

10 minutes ago, Front Ranger said:

Zion and Moab are both in my top 10 of places I've seen in the U.S. They both also get very hot in the summer, you definitely picked a good time to go.

We stayed at the KOA in Moab on both our trips. In a tent in 91 with the wife and I and in one of their tiny cabins with the kids in 2001. Good memories. 

[TacomaWx]

51 minutes ago, NorthBend RainEnthusiast said:

I'll be on a SW USA trip during the same time period, though it'll be in Navajo country in the four corners region. I've traveled Utah and Arizona extensively over the last decade and have some tips:

• Zion National Park: I'll leave out tips on the classic hikes at Zion in the main canyon (Angel's Landing, Observation Point, Narrows) since there is plenty of information out there about those. The key is to catch the earliest shuttles, you won't feel the crowds as much then. What many miss is that there are three other areas of Zion that are absolutely worth exploring:
  • Kolob Canyons: This is located off I-15 and is an incredible area of Zion. The best short hike I have ever done is located here, the South Fork of Taylor Creek. Cannot recommend this trail enough.
  • East Canyon: I recommend Many Pools "off-trail" hike, absolutely incredible and very lonely.
  • Kolob Terrace: I recommend the Northgate Peaks trail at the Wildcat Canyon trailhead, it is absolutely beautiful and uncrowded.
  • I would recommend any of those three areas over Cedar Breaks, which will be mostly snow still in May.
• Bryce Canyon:
  • Hike the Fairyland Loop trail in the park.
  • We found Kodachrome Basin State Park near Cannonville to be worth the visit, I think we hiked the Angel's Palace trail. Great BBQ at IDK BBQ nearby.
  • There is also Willis Creek slot canyon nearby  (feet will get wet), absolutely worth it.
• Capitol Reef:
  • The drive between Bryce and Capitol Reef on UT-12 is mindblowing, one of the prettiest highways you'll ever drive.
  • Look up the Burr trail in Grand Staircase Escalante and Capitol Reef, absolutely worth making it to the steep windy section, Headquarter Canyon was a great trail.
  • Inside the park, don't forget to get some pie! It sells out fast but is delicious. Cohab Canyon, Grand Wash, all great trails.
• Moab:
  • The best hike I've found in all of Canyonlands/Arches is the Chesler Park/Joint Trail loop. Druid Arch is cool too. I prefer Needles District over Island in the Sky and both over Arches. 
  • 128 east along the river is beautiful, plenty of camping and rock climbing, Fisher Towers is beautiful (biggest climb I've done). 145 is fun too, pushed my car to the limits.
• Grand Canyon:
  • Given your other travels, I hope you're visiting the North Rim instead of the South Rim. Much quieter, the lodge is my favorite in the NPS and the hikes are great! 

Have a great trip!

This was very helpful I really appreciate you taking the time to write this up. Besides a couple state parks I hadn’t looked much into things outside of the national parks so this is great info. 

[TT-SEA]

Don't mean to interrupt the travel discussion... but pretty excited that I took my first steps without crutches in PT this morning.    Really makes you appreciative of the little things!

Also interesting that talking about places to stay and hikes in Hawaii seriously raised the ire of one person on here a couple months ago.     

[Cascadia_Wx]

Looks like VUO hit 38 this morning. Score. I might start following that station more than PDX. Already subscribed to its Twitter feed.

[Cascadia_Wx]

Even though the overall pattern gets ridgier again I don’t mind the long range 12z GFS. Still some ups and downs and wetter patterns sandwiched in there between the ridges.

[TacomaWx]

2 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

Don't mean to interrupt the travel discussion... but pretty excited that I took my first steps without crutches in PT this morning.    Really makes you appreciative of the little things!

Also interesting that talking about places to stay and hikes in Hawaii seriously raised the ire of one person on here a couple months ago.     

Glad to hear you’re doing better with the leg injury. My injury was much different and I was also younger…but I broke my right leg and ankle in July 2018. I had no idea how hard it would actually be to learn to walk again it was even worse than the surgeries or initial pain for me. I’m about 90-95% in my right leg almost 6 years later I’d say. 

[RaleighHillsRunner]

1 hour ago, TT-SEA said:

Lovely day.

Jealous! 

[Cascadia_Wx]

4 minutes ago, RaleighHillsRunner said:

Jealous! 

Not sure what it’s doing in your part of town but it’s in the mid 50s with some overcast and sunbreaks at times here.

[TT-SEA]

10 minutes ago, TacomaWx said:

Glad to hear you’re doing better with the leg injury. My injury was much different and I was also younger…but I broke my right leg and ankle in July 2018. I had no idea how hard it would actually be to learn to walk again it was even worse than the surgeries or initial pain for me. I’m about 90-95% in my right leg almost 6 years later I’d say. 

Having to learn to walk again is pretty surreal.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

53 minutes ago, Front Ranger said:

Zion and Moab are both in my top 10 of places I've seen in the U.S. They both also get very hot in the summer, you definitely picked a good time to go.

May have been due to the pandemic, but Moab was busier in April than when I was there in august 2020. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Solid overcast in Salem.

[YahRaEl]

Not too hot and some showers for summer 

[Groundhog]

4 hours 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. 

That’s similar to what my wife and I did for our honeymoon in May 2011. Only difference is that we didn’t stay in Vegas. We got in our rental car and bolted outta there to Knab. Having been to these areas in ‘89 & ‘90 as a kid and ‘11 as an adult, you realize you need years to properly explore it all. A few days here and there is enough to get you addicted. Also,  north rim of the Grand Canyon was closed when we went there. On May 10, 2011 there was 4-6” of fresh snow on the north rim.

[MossMan]

Looks like a shower is happening over towards Lake Chelan. 
Currently 65 degrees with a breeze. 
Warm in the sun! 

[MossMan]

Just now, MossMan said:

Looks like a shower is happening over towards Lake Chelan. 
Currently 65 degrees with a breeze. 
Warm in the sun! 

And there it is! 

[Phil]

8 hours ago, Blizzard777 said:

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

Oklahoma City

We had a nice little thunderstorm last night too. Nothing violent but some decent lightning strikes and cracking thunder. Not nearly enough rain, though.

[Phil]

3 hours ago, TT-SEA said:

Pattern change becoming more likely starting next week... 12Z EPS looks the same as previous runs.

With the MJO transiting the W-Hem (and a *very* modest niño-lean still remaining in the system state), I’m optimistic we could pull off a couple weeks of western ridge/eastern trough (+TNH and/or +PNA) centered in the middle of the month. Though previous attempts at this have always wound up being cut short in some way or another, so my expectations are low.

Still, it’s the same reason I was optimistic about a cooler/wetter pattern a few weeks ago, which did come to fruition. The intraseasonal (MJO/CCKW) component of tropical forcing is operating cleanly and dominant over the (now collapsing) background state. I don’t think there will be any niño elements remaining during the next MJO transit in June, though.

Impressive to see it maintained so well on the EPS weeklies over a month out, regardless.

[RentonHill]

Absolutely beautiful in the Tri Cities. Best time of year to be here. Was pretty hungry as i walked by these goslings, and was tempted after i saw that woodland park bear snacking on some ducklings…but i let them be. 

 

 

 

[Sunriver Snow Zone]

Beautiful day today, great backcountry skiing! Didn't snap any of my own pics, so here's the Mt bachelor webcam this morning vs now. Looks a little less snowy now but still great. 

[Sunriver Snow Zone]

I'm expecting 1-4" of snow tonight and tommorow morning, I'm on the southern edge of the precip so this will be borderline, but cold air will not be an issue. Also expecting another couple inches of snow this weekend.

45 currently, 52/19 day.

 

[Meatyorologist]

25 minutes ago, Sunriver Snow Zone said:

I'm expecting 1-4" of snow tonight and tommorow morning, I'm on the southern edge of the precip so this will be borderline, but cold air will not be an issue. Also expecting another couple inches of snow this weekend.

45 currently, 52/19 day.

 

Crazy how you can keep racking in the teens in May. All you need is a clear sky and an airmass that isn't completely torching.

Have you ever had a day that reached 90F after bottoming out below freezing?

[LowerGarfield]

Currently 54F and sunny with a comfortable breeze.