February 2014 in the PNW

[IbrChris]

Yep we're moving in 2015, which is the year Shelby will start school. We're thinking Chelan WA or Coerde Alene, ID.

CDA is really nice. My mother is from Bonners Ferry area. My folks now live down in SE Idaho though.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

This winter has been a total bummer for snow at my location...I just want to get through the big El Nino turd fest next year and hit the multi year Nina we know is coming after that. I am pretty optimistic for 2015-16.

[snow_wizard]

Christ man. I hear you. I am trapped also. I have property to visit but we have a family business so it makes it hard to move away. But yeah I agree I hate this ******* place most of the time.

I think this is why I fight with Tim so much. I know I have to make the most of what little fun weather we do get here and he constantly reminds me of horrible it really is.

[IbrChris]

This winter has been a total bummer for snow at my location...I just want to get through the big El Nino turd fest next year and hit the multi year Nina we know is coming after that. I am pretty optimistic for 2015-16.

 

Compared to much of the 1990s and early 2000s the last 8-10 winters have been relatively decent. Not as good as the 1980s, but heading in the right direction. Before anyone gets down into the nitty gritty I am speaking of the period as a whole, there were winters that were a dud for various areas in the 2004-2014 period.

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

CDA is really nice. My mother is from Bonners Ferry area. My folks now live down in SE Idaho though.

I love bonners ferry.

[HighlandExperience]

I think this is why I fight with Tim so much. I know I have to make the most of what little fun weather we do get here and he constantly reminds me of horrible it really is.

Don't get to down man. This winter has been a heart breaker for sure.

 

Btw I thought last winter sucked, but this one has sucked even more. I don't care about dry cold!

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Compared to much of the 1990s and early 2000s the last 8-10 winters have been relatively decent. Not as good as the 1980s, but heading in the right direction. Before anyone gets down into the nitty gritty I am speaking of the period as a whole, there were winters that were a dud for various areas in the 2004-2014 period.

 

I agree. This winter was a huge step in the right direction for W. Oregon. Even last winter though being quite dull and having no lowland snow, was not a torchfest by any means.

[Snowman5678]

Seattle winters make me really miss my new england winters. Best climate IMO but to each there own. I do love the mountains out here though.

[MossMan]

Still coming down pretty hard here, between watching the snowfall and watching my wife pace (she is at the leave me alone stage at the moment) I am a bit on overload!

[Guest Monty67]

The band of snow across southern Vancouver island has really got its together in the last few hours. I have received over 3" since 530pm. Has been snowing better than 1"/hr here since about 730pm. Winds have shifted from SE to E and NE so that is likely helping increase snow rates.

[IbrChris]

1300 line based on RAP analysis seems to have shifted N a bit...some areas across Snohomish County may see more of a mix. -2c line @ 925 over Whatcom County. Pretty marginal out there tonight but there doesn't appear to be any 850-925 mb warm layer to screw things up, so areas that are snow now will probably stay that way.

[Phil]

CDA is really nice. My mother is from Bonners Ferry area. My folks now live down in SE Idaho though.

My wife is pulling for Chelan because she used to vacation there every summer. I've been once and I loved it. I can almost still hear the sound of the cottonwood leaves rustling in the breeze.

 

My problem is that I currently live near a bunch of wind turbines, (I live on backbone ridge) and I'm not sure anyone will want to buy my house unless I take a loss.

[Dan the Weatherman]

Don't get to down man. This winter has been a heart breaker for sure.

 

Btw I thought last winter sucked, but this one has sucked even more. I don't care about dry cold!

This has been one of the worst winters to this point that I have ever seen even by southern California standards, and I have lived here my entire life.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Went hiking in the Opal Creek area in the Little NF Santiam River drainage east of Salem. There was a decent amount of snow once you got up to "Jawbone Flats" I think that is a little over 2000'.

 

[IbrChris]

My wife is pulling for Chelan because she used to vacation there every summer. I've been once and I loved it. I can almost still hear the sound of the cottonwood leaves rustling in the breeze.

 

My problem is that I correctly live near a bunch of wind turbines, (I live on backbone ridge) and I'm not sure anyone will want to buy my house unless I take a loss.

I am partial to Idaho myself. If I worked in Spokane I would live in either CDA or Rathdrum Prairie area. As far as snow I would think they would be similar, although I'm not too familiar with Lake Chelan's climate. CDA area probably gets a bit colder on average.

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

I am partial to Idaho myself. If I worked in Spokane I would live in either CDA or Rathdrum Prairie area. As far as snow I would think they would be similar, although I'm not too familiar with Lake Chelan's climate. CDA area probably gets a bit colder on average.

Depends where you live in Chelan. The snow gets much deeper as you move west up the lake.

[Phil]

I am partial to Idaho myself. If I worked in Spokane I would live in either CDA or Rathdrum Prairie area. As far as snow I would think they would be similar, although I'm not too familiar with Lake Chelan's climate. CDA area probably gets a bit colder on average.

How are the summers in CDA? I love thunderstorms, so that's a factor for me. but I hate the horrible humidity out this way in the summer.

 

I've spent a few summers in Scottsdale AZ, and aside from my constant nosebleeds, I found it more comfortable out there with the lack of humidity...no joke.

[brody]

New GFS shows NOTHING for MOST of Puget Sound south of Arlington

[HighlandExperience]

I love bonners ferry.

That area is heaven

[Brennan]

Been stuck at 33*F here just East of BLI for the past 2-3 hours despite the NE breeze picking up slightly. Snowing moderately but not really adding up. All the grass is covered and the trees are white, but the roads are just slushy at best. Just a tad further North and places east of here are seeing better accumulation. 

[TT-SEA]

At this point I am so ready for this winter to be over. My absolute least favorite time of year. Winter is pretty much done and it takes forever and a day for it to finally get nice. This time we have the added treat of a possible major El Nino next winter to look forward to! Have I ever made it totally clear how much hate this climate? My wife has agreed it's past time for us to make a serious effort to get out of here. I can hardly wait until we are in a position to be able to sell our house so we can do it. Tim sure picked a good time to get out of here this year.

 

 

Literally the best 10 days this winter to completely miss.   

 

My neighbor said its been miserable pretty much since we left.     

 

Unfortunately it looks like we could be staying in this overall wet pattern beyond next weekend.

[brody]

NWS is going to upgrade the Watch up north to a warning 

[IbrChris]

How are the summers in CDA? I love thunderstorms, so that's a factor for me. but I hate the horrible humidity out this way in the summer.

 

I've spent a few summers in Scottsdale AZ, and aside from my constant nosebleeds, I found it more comfortable out there with the lack of humidity...no joke.

Summers are pretty good...but not overly thundery. CDA still sees around 12-15 tstorm days a year, perhaps 1-2 more than Spokane. July highs are in the mid 80s with lows dropping into the lower 50s. It's not much different than the rest of the inland NW. Afternoon RH values do fall below 20% often in summer.

 

Winters in CDA are a bit colder than the bulk of eastern WA, a couple degrees colder than Spokane but not as cold as Colville.

[Brennan]

Trees are starting to move here. Should freeze up here soon I would think. Cant stand it being sopping wet. 

[brody]

Trees are starting to move here. Should freeze up here soon I would think. Cant stand it being sopping wet. 

You guys in Bham are about to be Upgraded 

[IbrChris]

12z ECMWF ensembles were interesting. This is the chart for PDX but it illustrates the similarly decent spread in ensemble solutions for the rest of the I-5 corridor.

 

[TT-SEA]

And Jim... you will not be moving.   You have had this same meltdown at least 10 times on here in the past.

 

The problem is that I know you are miserable 90% of the time in the winter here like you said tonight... but then you put on this silly-positive face with your posts and I know its not real.   I just wish you would be real all year long.   So what if it sucks for cold and snow lovers?    We can't we call a spade a spade and not pretend... or be forced to only make positive posts about the prospects for cold and snow?

[IbrChris]

You guys in Bham are about to be Upgraded 

The warning seems reasonable, 3-7" across western Whatcom.

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

And Jim... you will not be moving.   You have had this same meltdown at least 10 times on here in the past.

 

The problem is that I know you are miserable 90% of the time in the winter here like you said tonight... but then you put on this silly-positive face with your posts and I know its not real.   I just wish you would be real all year long.   So what if it sucks for cold and snow lovers?    We can't we call a spade a spade and not pretend... or be forced to only make positive posts about the prospects for cold and snow?

A spade is a triangle of confusion and fear on this forum man!

[IbrChris]

Summers here, at least in western Oregon, seem close to perfect. Almost straight out of a depiction of the Elysian Fields
 

"to the Elysian plain…where life is easiest for men. No snow is there, nor heavy storm, nor ever rain, but ever does Ocean send up blasts of the shrill-blowing West Wind that they may give cooling to men."

— Homer, Odyssey (4.560–565)

 

Honestly no better description of our summers.

[TT-SEA]

Last summer was so incredibly nice. My favorite of all time.

 

We live for summer in our family and try to tolerate winter.

[IbrChris]

Last summer was so incredibly nice. My favorite of all time.

 

We live for summer in our family and try to tolerate winter.

It is just a tad warmer and drier down here...almost mediterranean from about early July through mid September most years. We average about 80-82 for a high in July and August.

[luvssnow_spokane]

New GFS shows NOTHING for MOST of Puget Sound south of Arlington

So, the GFS finally caught up with the EURO ?! OMG I am shocked! I kept hearing how much better the GFS has been... I blame the swamp down here. Swamp gas has been extra strong this year. --

[SilverFallsAndrew]

I see a couple of the GFS ensembles show that arctic air penetrating a little further south. One outlier goes crazy and gives PDX -17 850s...

 

Could see the first 60 degree reading of the year in many parts of the Willamette Valley this week. SLE and Eug may not really end up below average for the month, but that is semantics. They got theirs. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

It is just a tad warmer and drier down here...almost mediterranean from about early July through mid September most years. We average about 80-82 for a high in July and August.

 

The mild lows last summer really sucked IMO. Many lows 55+ at my location which is generally very rare.

[IbrChris]

The mild lows last summer really sucked IMO. Many lows 55+ at my location which is generally very rare.

Ya DP was well above normal. Too bad our boundary layer moisture never translates to the mid levels due to the marine inversion. Central and eastern US can get the same problem when there's strong ridging during the summer and a lack of deeper moisture advection off the Gulf. The boundary layer can have ridiculous amounts of moisture yet the mid levels are bone dry.

[IbrChris]

August 2013 had a mean low temp of 60.9 at PDX. Not only is this the warmest Aug mean low ever, with records back to 1874, but it even managed to push the monthly mean temp to the 5th warmest on record in the 1849-2013 period of record: 71.2 (all-time record 72.3 in 1986).

Only one other month has seen a higher mean low temp, 61.2 in July 1998.

[Jesse]

I have Montana in my sights right now, but my heart will always be in the PNW. If I do actually move there, I will probably end up back out here some day. I just need to get my cold/snow/thunderstorm fix for 8-10 years.

 

It isn't really the "hell" Tim and Jim are making it out to be, though. If it was a bad as they are saying this region wouldn't be inhabited with millions of people, and it wouldn't have been the promised land for thousands of pioneers and settlers in the mid-19th Century.

[Jesse]

August 2013 had a mean low temp of 60.9 at PDX. Not only is this the warmest Aug mean low ever, with records back to 1874, but it even managed to push the monthly mean temp to the 5th warmest on record in the 1849-2013 period of record: 71.2 (all-time record 72.3 in 1986).

 

Only one other month has seen a higher mean low temp, 61.2 in July 1998.

Impressive, but UHI should be taken into consideration when looking at these records.

[IbrChris]

I have Montana in my sights right now, but my heart will always be in the PNW. If I do actually move there, I will probably end up back out here someday. I just need to get my cold/snow/thunderstorm fix for 8-10 years.

 

It isn't really the "hell" Tim and Jim are making it out to be, though. If it was a bad as they are saying this region wouldn't be inhabited with millions of people, and it wouldn't have been the promised land for thousands of pioneers and settlers in the mid-19th Century.

 

I completely agree...but as a kid I hated it here. I hope my kids grow up enjoying it. If we could keep these summers with the winters we had during the latter 19th century, that would be optimal.

 

Bozeman area is really cool, I'd love to live there. My folks live near Rexburg, Idaho a similar distance from Yellowstone Park and roughly the same climate as Bozeman. Arctic air tends to stick around awhile longer in eastern Idaho with no Chinooks to mix it out. Bozeman gets reprieves but also gets the truly arctic stuff a bit more often than Idaho.

 

Great area.