December 2020 Weather Observations for the PNW

[Gradient Keeper]

Just now, BLI snowman said:

 

I owe you an unbelievable debt of gratitude for this good sir. 

But Wait....

.... There's MORE!

12z ECMWF 10 Day Rainfall, Snowfall totals

 

[BLI snowman]

2 minutes ago, DJ Droppin said:

But Wait....

.... There's MORE!

12z ECMWF 10 Day Rainfall, Snowfall totals

 

Saving this beauty onto my desktop as we speak! 

[Phil]

20 minutes ago, BLI snowman said:

2016-17 was also a gangbusters upper level setup for us that comes around once every 10-20 years. Perfecly placed 500mb anomalies while the rest of the continent largely torched. Can't expect that every year.

FWIW, there was an extremely cold airmass in interior NW Canada in March 2017. Coldest ever recorded at 850mb at any time of year (-46C).

Interestingly enough, though cold of that magnitude has become less frequent since the 1980s, the absolute minimum extremes haven’t changed all that much.

[ShawniganLake]

10 minutes ago, DJ Droppin said:

Who knows. On the EURO the Day 3 low which seems to be trending stronger(927mb on 12z) and a notch further west, IF it were to develop a bit sooner over the Western Bering that would hug it along Kamchatka and pump up a huge Gulf of Alaska ridge. I don't know if we can rule that out entirely. #graspingatalotofstraws

I saw a tweet that it has potential to be one of the strongest extratropical cyclones ever in the North Pacific. Could give the pattern a kick. Who knows 

[Gradient Keeper]

Just now, ShawniganLake said:

I saw a tweet that it has potential to be one of the strongest extratropical cyclones ever in the North Pacific. Could give the pattern a kick. Who knows 

We need the ole Kamchatka Bomb which is a key player for a big GOA block.

[Phil]

Remember when the CPC was arguing the MJO wouldn’t be a factor in January?

Rule of thumb: Never call for a weak MJO after a SSW. 

 

 

[Rubus Leucodermis]

1 hour ago, Requiem said:

At least it looks stormy

Forecast is a bit on the chilly side but we should still manage to eke several episodes of 50˚F rain out of it.

[Gradient Keeper]

1 minute ago, Phil said:

Remember when the CPC was arguing the MJO wouldn’t be a factor in January?

Rule of thumb: Never call for a weak MJO after a SSW. 

 

 

It's all coming together piece by piece for the PNW. Here we go!

[Front Ranger]

33 minutes ago, BLI snowman said:

The complete lack of cold on this side of the globe doesn't feel like a standalone pattern-oriented fluke. It obviously fits well within the overall trend of the last half decade. We can't just expect to torch globally for 18 months straight and then magically nosedive once December comes around. Everything is tied together and our major winter cold airmasses don't happen in a vacuum. 

 

This month happened. No reason it couldn't happen in January.

[BLI snowman]

7 minutes ago, Phil said:

FWIW, there was an extremely cold airmass in interior NW Canada in March 2017. Coldest ever recorded at 850mb at any time of year (-46C).

Interestingly enough, though cold of that magnitude has become less frequent since the 1980s, the absolute minimum extremes haven’t changed all that much.

Yeah, that was the 3rd coldest March on record in Fairbanks. Most of the continent was ugly though that winter, basically the eastern 2/3.

[Front Ranger]

7 minutes ago, Phil said:

Remember when the CPC was arguing the MJO wouldn’t be a factor in January?

Rule of thumb: Never call for a weak MJO after a SSW. 

 

 

The SSW already happened?

[jakerepp]

Dog sitting while my brother in law is down on the Big Island. What a gorgeous, crisp day and a perfect opportunity to explore the ‘urban forest’ park in Edmonds 

[Meatyorologist]

Thank god nobody here works at the CPC.

[TheNewCulverJosh]

Just got home, 26.9 and Snoop would need an umbrella Fo his Snizzle my dizzle.

[Deweydog]

5 minutes ago, jakerepp said:

Dog sitting while my brother in law is down on the Big Island. What a gorgeous, crisp day and a perfect opportunity to explore the ‘urban forest’ park in Edmonds 

He/she seems unfazed by the lack of cold air around the globe. Dogs are weird.

[Phil]

6 minutes ago, Front Ranger said:

The SSW already happened?

What? 

[bainbridgekid]

7 minutes ago, jakerepp said:

Dog sitting while my brother in law is down on the Big Island. What a gorgeous, crisp day and a perfect opportunity to explore the ‘urban forest’ park in Edmonds 

It actually looks like he's standing.

[Front Ranger]

8 minutes ago, Phil said:

What? 

You said never call for a weak MJO after a SSW.

[Phil]

2 minutes ago, Front Ranger said:

You said never call for a weak MJO after a SSW.

Yeah. Point being?

[Canadian guy]

Any update on the euro weeklies?

[jakerepp]

12 minutes ago, Deweydog said:

He/she seems unfazed by the lack of cold air around the globe. Dogs are weird.

She doesn’t seem too concerned  about it. Loves the snow, but there are mountains for that.

[Deweydog]

Teeth gnashing aside, today is absolutely stunning.  Just best to ignore the surrounding snowless foothills.

My wife had a Facebook memory pop up from 2015 when we filled the back of the pickup with snow from Larch Mountain.  #ninamemories

[Omegaraptor]

Zonal wind reversal is starting.

[Winterdog]

With all this negativity Jim is likely to have his first winter tantrum soon before exiting stage left.
 

 

 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Sunday is looking like an absolute snow dump in the mountains. 

[BLI snowman]

11 minutes ago, Deweydog said:

Teeth gnashing aside, today is absolutely stunning.  Just best to ignore the surrounding snowless foothills.

My wife had a Facebook memory pop up from 2015 when we filled the back of the pickup with snow from Larch Mountain.  #ninamemories

I'd love to go back in time to six hours ago when it was colder 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Just now, Acer said:

With all this negativity Jim is likely to have his first winter tantrum soon before exiting stage left.
 

 

 

One of these days I would love for him to be proven right. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Oh my.

[Deweydog]

8 minutes ago, BLI snowman said:

I'd love to go back in time to six hours ago when it was colder 

Or six hours from now!!!

[Winterdog]

7 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

One of these days I would love for him to be proven right. 

He’s right as often as we get cold and or snowy, so not very often.  But he has been right.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Just now, Acer said:

He’s right as often as we get cold and or snowy, so not very often.  But he has been right.

What is that old saying about a broken clock?

[MossMan]

Nice day for some yard work! 

[Winterdog]

1 minute ago, MossMan said:

Nice day for some yard work! 

I can hear that D**n thing all the way down here!

[Deweydog]

5 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

What is that old saying about a broken clock?

They’re a great sign of impending GOA blocking?

[Meatyorologist]

 

[Meatyorologist]

Very potent closed low narrowly missing us in the fantasy range.

[Christensen87]

Lots of windstorm potential in the coming weeks. 

[Winterdog]

I topped out at 38 today after a low of 27.  Frost still hanging around in all shaded areas.  Brrrr.  Gotta get out there on highway 9 and look for some road kill before it gets dark.

[ShawniganLake]

3 minutes ago, Acer said:

I topped out at 38 today after a low of 27.  Frost still hanging around in all shaded areas.  Brrrr.  Gotta get out there on highway 9 and look for some road kill before it gets dark.

Squirrel is a favourite of mine especially around the holidays.  Try brining it first then a slow roast. 

[Rubus Leucodermis]

31/45 for the day. Now 44˚F.