Heavy Snow Predicted for February 22-26
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours. I hope cupid finds you today and you get shot with a bit of love.NOWCAST - Clouds are on the increase and so will be the rain as a large low pressure center moves our way today and tomorrow. Rain heavy at times especially in the mountains and windy as well. About 36 hours of pretty much non-stop precipitation. Weekend looks dry with highs Saturday into the 60's.
FORECAST - Today: Rain developing. Highs 45 to 50. South wind 10 to 15 mph.
Tonight: Rain possible heavy. Lows around 45. South wind 10 to 20 mph.
Thursday: Rain...breezy. Highs around 55. Southwest wind 15 to 25 mph. Thursday night:
Rain then showers likely after midnight. Breezy. Lows 40 to 45. Southwest wind 10 to 25 mph shifting to the west 10 to 15 mph after midnight.
SEVEN DAY TREND - Nice weekend hopefully and then clouds and rain back later Sunday and all of next week with lowering freezing levels and fresh powder in the mountains. Low elevation snow possible by the end of next week.
OUTCAST - SNOW? Todays blog title get your attention? Thought it would, it got mine. Okay, The Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting cold and snow later next week for the Pacific Northwest and that coincides with computer models indicating lowering snow levels as we transition to a cold trough of low pressure off our coast with the flow of air coming down from the north. On the chilly side of things. So with this pattern change anything is possible. Whether it develops into something like last December or recently last month stay tuned. Certainly will be an active weather week. Watch for the East Coast to warm up, if it does, the West Coast usually cools down. Odds are against snow in the lowlands in late February but has occurred in the past a few times. Of course I said the other day I thought we wouldn't see anymore cold and snow. So if it snows do I get credit?
Governor Ted - You'll remember recently the governor of Oregon asked Sen. Brad Avakian, D-Bethany, to draft legislation allowing Kulongoski to appoint an official state climatologist. The senator now says that proposal is dead. Apparently the governor and George Taylor's boss at OSU have "worked out" a deal. Taylor is to get a new title and could be more in the weather information business than climate business. His boss Mark Abbott, dean of OSU's School of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, said a center for climate change has been under discussion for some time now and this deal with the governor could provide the funding. Abbott is on Ted's task forces on climate change. If this comes to pass they would seek a PHD researcher to head the unit and be the official sate climatologist. Interesting that Taylor's contract expires June 30 but we can still call him state climatologist until then according to his boss.
Interesting that the governor changed his blatant tune after the citizens of his state in an unofficial poll were 8 to 1 against his statements about Taylor. And, all the national press that caused him undue attention. I bet he wishes this would all blow away quickly and didn't think it would be such a big deal making the statements he did. Perhaps he needs to listen to the citizens of his state that he serves. Politicians bend with the wind folks, keep the pressure on.
Our dear legislature in Olympia have introduced a bill to declare, "The office of Washington state climatologist is created," with extensive climate information responsibilities, and the climatologist to be "appointed jointly by the president of Washington State University and the president of the University of Washington." Wasn't any mention about Phil Mote in all this recent press that he isn't the "official" state climatologist either. Even though his web site says so just like Taylor's. This is the case with most state climatologists if you browse their web sites. I think other states will be quietly passing laws to make them official and appoint those that share the political views of the state. Maybe the state climatologist should be an elected position? Now that would really be a hot seat. Hummm....
Wait for another warm day - Here is a headline from Washington DC hot off the presses:
HOUSE HEARING ON 'WARMING OF THE PLANET' CANCELED AFTER ICE 
STORM
The Subcommitte on Energy and Air Quality scheduled for today, February 14 is postponed due to inclement cold weather. The hearing was entitled " Climate Change: Are greenhouse gas emissions from Human Activities contributing to global warming of the Planet?" I guess officials will have to wait for a warmer day to discuss this as Washington DC is currently in a deep freeze.
BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggests two of Greenland's largest glaciers are melting at variable rates and not at an increasing trend.
The study, led by Ian Howat, a researcher with the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center and the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory, shows the glaciers shrank dramatically and dumped twice as much ice into the sea during a period of less than a year between 2004 and 2005.
But then, fewer than two years later, they returned to near their previous rates of discharge.
Howat says such variability during such a short time underlines the problem in assuming glacial melting and sea level rise will necessarily occur at a steady upward trajectory.
"Our main point is that the behavior of these glaciers can change a lot from year to year, so we can't assume to know the future behavior from short records of recent changes," he said. "Future warming may lead to rapid pulses of retreat and increased discharge rather than a long, steady draw down."
The research is online in the journal Science Express.
I guess I will stay off my OFF TOPIC soapbox today unless something really strikes me. Enjoy your day!
-- posted by Pat Timm @ 8:58 AM,
