January 2015 Observations for the Pacific Northwest

[richard mann]

Meh, I'd just get out of the PNW..marine climates suck. Move to Maine or New Hampshire..both are much cheaper places to live..and their snowfall averages are actually increasing.

 

And an hardy "Welcome to Forum", to you. ....

[Skagit Weather]

Still not raining too hard here, but it looks like it is dumping down near Shelton and Olympia.

[HighlandExperience]

Sad... 850 mb temps have really gone up. 

 

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/exper/mesoanalysis/s11/850mb/850mb_sf.gif?1420425684786

[TT-SEA]

Sad... 850 mb temps have really gone up. 

 

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/exper/mesoanalysis/s11/850mb/850mb_sf.gif?1420425684786

 

 

Turning to sleet at Snoqualmie Pass.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

I looked up the stats for Sandpoint, Kalispell, and Missoula. I'd definitely take Sandpoint.

[stuffradio]

Meh, I'd just get out of the PNW..marine climates suck. Move to Maine or New Hampshire..both are much cheaper places to live..and their snowfall averages are actually increasing.

You could move to the Okanagan in BC. Hot summers and cold/snowy winters.

[stuffradio]

I guess a herd of elk swam across the Columbia River yesterday near Astoria.

 

I think that's called a murder of Elk.

[HighlandExperience]

You could move to the Okanagan in BC. Hot summers and cold/snowy winters.

 

I'd love to live in Kelowna. Beautiful terrain and weather. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

I think that's called a murder of Elk.

 

There is a large elk herd up here. They move around quite a bit, but they prefer some of the grass fields on the high rolling plateau about 2 miles from my house, I saw them out there the other day. I'd say at least 75-100 of them. They usually move at night meaning I've almost hit a few late at night driving home. Going to work in the morning I've seen the carnage of an elk vs. vehicle collision on a couple of occasions.

[stuffradio]

There is a large elk herd up here. They move around quite a bit, but they prefer some of the grass fields on the high rolling plateau about 2 miles from my house, I saw them out there the other day. I'd say at least 75-100 of them. They usually move at night meaning I've almost hit a few late at night driving home. Going to work in the morning I've seen the carnage of an elk vs. vehicle collision on a couple of occasions.

There are no Elk here, but there are deer. I haven't seen one here, but a neighbour said ever since they lost their dog, a deer was coming by and eating their vegetables.

[Front Ranger]

Ah, sorry to hear that.

 

It's mostly environmental preference I guess. I love the scenery out west, but there's just not enough in the way of large scale dynamics and summer convection to satisfy me. I'm moving west mostly because my wife wants to, so we're looking at Leadville CO.

 

As far as winters go, the upper NE USA is hard to beat in terms of storm-size and cold air.

 

Not really familiar with Leadville (except for the fact they get really cold), but there is certainly a lot of late spring/summer convection in CO. Though of course the really big storms tend to form out on the plains.

[Front Ranger]

I looked up the stats for Sandpoint, Kalispell, and Missoula. I'd definitely take Sandpoint.

 

Any reason why? Kalispell is notably colder in the winter and gets slightly less snow, but it tends to be less sloppy and doesn't melt. The average snow depth in January in Kalispell is 16". In Sandpoint it's 9". They're almost identical in the summer.

 

Both are really nice areas.

[Front Ranger]

There is a large elk herd up here. They move around quite a bit, but they prefer some of the grass fields on the high rolling plateau about 2 miles from my house, I saw them out there the other day. I'd say at least 75-100 of them. They usually move at night meaning I've almost hit a few late at night driving home. Going to work in the morning I've seen the carnage of an elk vs. vehicle collision on a couple of occasions.

 

Interesting. I never saw elk when I lived around there, but lots of deer. Actually hit a couple, unfortunately.

[Tyler Mode]

1.04" here in Battle Ground.  At my parents 10 miles south, 0.27"

[TT-SEA]

There is a large elk herd up here. They move around quite a bit, but they prefer some of the grass fields on the high rolling plateau about 2 miles from my house, I saw them out there the other day. I'd say at least 75-100 of them. They usually move at night meaning I've almost hit a few late at night driving home. Going to work in the morning I've seen the carnage of an elk vs. vehicle collision on a couple of occasions.

Endless battle with elk here... and driving fast after dark up our hill can be a big mistake. They are also very destructive to lansdscaping.

[BLI snowman]

Any reason why? Kalispell is notably colder in the winter and gets slightly less snow, but it tends to be less sloppy and doesn't melt. The average snow depth in January in Kalispell is 16". In Sandpoint it's 9". They're almost identical in the summer.

 

Both are really nice areas.

 

Sandpoint gets a lot more precip and is a lot greener. It still feels like the PNW there. Bigger snowstorms, too. 

[TT-SEA]

There are no Elk here, but there are deer. I haven't seen one here, but a neighbour said ever since they lost their dog, a deer was coming by and eating their vegetables.

Never seen a deer there??? Wow. I can walk outside at almost any time of the day and see at least 2 or 3 deer along the road or in our yard. They are so domesticated that in chasing them away I can almost walk right up to them and swat them on the nose. They just stand there and look at you.

[stuffradio]

Never seen a deer there??? Wow. I can walk outside at almost any time of the day and see at leaat 2 or 3 deer along the road or in our yard. They are so domesticated that in chasing them away I can almost walk right up to them and swat them on the nose. They just stand there and look at you.

I have not seen a deer IMBY. I have seen deer around in areas here. If I have seen one here, it's such a rare occurrence IMBY. It's more common for me to see Hare's running around looking for vegetation to eat.

 

Edit: Also don't get me started on Black bears. They're too common around here. So common my dog attacked one this summer while I was walking in my back yard. He got wounded from the bears paw.

[Front Ranger]

Sandpoint gets a lot more precip and is a lot greener. It still feels like the PNW there. Bigger snowstorms, too. 

 

Thanks, Andrew.

 

Yeah, I guess if you want a place with more precip Sandpoint wins out. But the scenery and outdoor activities available right in you backyard in Kalispell are tough to beat.

 

Also, though Sandpoint gets bigger snowstorms, they also get more dud winters than Kalispell.

[TT-SEA]

I have not seen a deer IMBY. I have seen deer around in areas here. If I have seen one here, it's such a rare occurrence IMBY. It's more common for me to see Hare's running around looking for vegetation to eat.

 

Edit: Also don't get me started on Black bears. They're too common around here. So common my dog attacked one this summer while I was walking in my back yard. He got wounded from the bears paw.

 

 

The deer are rampant around my parent's neighborhood in Bellingham.    They don't even move out of your way when driving... you can sit there honking your horn and they just continue to slowly walk down the middle of the road.

[Front Ranger]

Really pronounced rain shadow over Seattle tonight. Heavy rainfall to the north and south.

[stuffradio]

The deer are rampant around my parent's neighborhood in Bellingham.    They don't even move out of your way when driving... you can sit there honking your horn and they just continue to slowly walk down the middle of the road.

You could get a Deer nudger on the front of your car. Just drive up to one verrry slowly, and nudge it at 2 km/hour until it walks away. It would probably move before you lined it up with your car though. I'm not saying to run it over, just nudge it away.

 

I've received 2.75 inches of rain today.

[TT-SEA]

I was supposed to be in the bullseye of heavy rain here tonight... but I am actually inside the rain shadow most of the time and its very windy.

 

Earlier runs of the WRF showed 5+ inches at my location through tomorrow afternoon but the heavy rain looks to end late tomorrow morning now and I am only at .60 for the entire event so far.    

 

I think the WRF over-estimated precip again.

[epiceast]

Good WRF run for snow.

[BLI snowman]

Thanks, Andrew.

 

Yeah, I guess if you want a place with more precip Sandpoint wins out. But the scenery and outdoor activities available right in you backyard in Kalispell are tough to beat.

 

Also, though Sandpoint gets bigger snowstorms, they also get more dud winters than Kalispell.

 

I assume his reasoning is similar to mine. Sandpoint is right next to a giant lake and ski resort, so I think it has plenty of recreation opportunities. And they don't really get "dud" winters, unless you consider 30" of snow with tons of cold days a dud, which I don't. 

[BLI snowman]

Also, Kalispell's snow depth numbers on WRCC are totally screwed up and I would suspect their average snow depth in the winter is equal to or even less than Sandpoint's.

[Guest Winterdog]

I haven't looked recently but a few years ago the price of land anywhere around Missoula was very high and even higher up towards Kalispell.  Even over around Thompson Falls prices were ridiculous and way higher than eastern Washington.  The locals were telling me it was because all the high rollers from California were moving up there. 

[Front Ranger]

I assume his reasoning is similar to mine. Sandpoint is right next to a giant lake and ski resort, so I think it has plenty of recreation opportunities. And they don't really get "dud" winters, unless you consider 30" of snow with tons of cold days a dud, which I don't. 

 

Dud is a relative term, of course, but since 1980 Sandpoint has seen 7 winters with less than 30" snow. Kalispell has seen 2.

[Front Ranger]

Also, Kalispell's snow depth numbers on WRCC are totally screwed up and I would suspect their average snow depth in the winter is equal to or even less than Sandpoint's.

 

They average 10" less snow but are 4 degrees colder in the winter - they average highs below freezing, while Sandpoint averages above. That would logically indicate higher average snow depth.

[Front Ranger]

I haven't looked recently but a few years ago the price of land anywhere around Missoula was very high and even higher up towards Kalispell.  Even over around Thompson Falls prices were ridiculous and way higher than eastern Washington.  The locals were telling me it was because all the high rollers from California were moving up there. 

 

Yeah, I'd guess that the case for most scenic areas of northern ID/western MT.

[BLI snowman]

They average 10" less snow but are 4 degrees colder in the winter - they average highs below freezing, while Sandpoint averages above. That would logically indicate higher average snow depth.

 

The Kalispell airport's snow numbers on WRCC are way wrong. Nearby Creston presents a more accurate picture for the Flathead Valley

 

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?mt2104

 

The old Kalispell station

 

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?mt4563

 

also shows a lower snow depth average. 6" versus 9" in January. It is what it is. Sandpoint's winters are better for snow.

[ShawniganLake]

Never seen a deer there??? Wow. I can walk outside at almost any time of the day and see at least 2 or 3 deer along the road or in our yard. They are so domesticated that in chasing them away I can almost walk right up to them and swat them on the nose. They just stand there and look at you.

Same here, deer by the dozens in our subdivision. They are actually overpopulating the island, they eat everything green. Some people would like to see their population controlled. We also had a resident black bear around here last summer. They were trying to trap it but don't think they ever did, so it will likely be back come spring. Also lots of cougar nearby, but they only get seen on a rare occasion.

[Snowman5678]

I was supposed to be in the bullseye of heavy rain here tonight... but I am actually inside the rain shadow most of the time and its very windy.

 

Earlier runs of the WRF showed 5+ inches at my location through tomorrow afternoon but the heavy rain looks to end late tomorrow morning now and I am only at .60 for the entire event so far.    

 

I think the WRF over-estimated precip again.

Same here, very windy but just some light drizzle.

[BLI snowman]

Very impressive rain event in SW WA tonight. Hoquiam is working on one of their wettest days on record, over 4 inches there so far today.

[stuffradio]

Very impressive rain event in SW WA tonight. Hoquiam is working on one of their wettest days on record, over 4 inches there so far today.

You should look to your north also. There are some stations approaching the 4 inch mark in the last 24 hours if this rate keeps up.

[bainbridgekid]

Very impressive rain event in SW WA tonight. Hoquiam is working on one of their wettest days on record, over 4 inches there so far today.

And just 0.21" at BFI.

[wx_statman]

Very impressive rain event in SW WA tonight. Hoquiam is working on one of their wettest days on record, over 4 inches there so far today.

 

2.02" in four hours. Crazy.

 

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/getobext.php?wfo=pqr&sid=hqm&num=60&raw=0&banner=off

[bainbridgekid]

2.02" in four hours. Crazy.

 

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/getobext.php?wfo=pqr&sid=hqm&num=60&raw=0&banner=off

6.09" in the last 8 hours at Black Knob along the SW side of the Olympics. Pretty insane.

 

[Phil]

Not really familiar with Leadville (except for the fact they get really cold), but there is certainly a lot of late spring/summer convection in CO. Though of course the really big storms tend to form out on the plains.

True, but the lack of wind shear/kinematic dynamics prevents the storms reaching severe criteria, as you said. I love big storms.

[richard mann]

-

Pretty much "zero" conjecture, or either much even in the way of more simple impressions posted above more recently whether model-connected or otherwise where looking ahead, my own more general thinking, would be that with colder air's looked at more over-all, both up or downstream more sluggish movement—even force of movement—at this point, the models most likely won't start to show much of anything more interesting through until this force of movement begins to pickup again more, post the 9th.