A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
NOWCAST - Okay, we had a few sprinkles that WERE NOT in the forecast today. But, we had some nice sunshine mid day as well with highs in the 70's so I guess that makes up for it? The clouds that moved through late in the afternoon and evening had just enough lift moving into the warm air over us that a few light showers developed., Amounts were not measurable in most places. Okay, back to some sunshine on Thursday with highs again into the 70's. Near 80 on Friday and the weekend still looks good but could see a repeat of this evening Saturday night. All in all, I think most BBQ's will take place just fine. If you are going on an annual camping trip in the mountains, best dig a rain trench around your tent and carry some extra plastic. You never know!! Be prepared I say.
OUTCAST - Here a few items of interest from the Washington State Climate Office -
The Climate Prediction Center's 1-month outlook for June indicates equal chance conditions for temperature and precipitation, except for the Blue Mountain region where there is a slightly increased probability for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation. The 3-month outlook for June-July-August suggests a slightly increased chance for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation for much of Washington. In the tropical Pacific, sea-surface temperatures remain consistent with ENSO neutral conditions and may transition to La Niña conditions in the next 2-3 months based on the current observed atmospheric trends and as predicted by a few models. However, half the models suggest ENSO neutral conditions will prevail for the remainder of the year. With the current spread of the forecasts and the typically low forecast skill of ENSO in the spring, there is considerable uncertainty as to whether or not La Niña may develop and therefore, not much emphasis should be placed on the current ENSO forecasts. Historically, the next few months are a critical time period for the possible emergence of La Niña and ENSO forecasts issued in the summer and fall have been much more accurate than those issued in the spring. For other seasonal outlooks, including local temperature outlooks, see http://climate.washington.edu/outlook.html.
GOOD NEWS! No water shortages seen! Late season snow showers around the Puget Sound region gave way to record heat a few days later. April 6, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport recorded a record high of 79 degrees, breaking the previous record of 73 set in 1977.
April temperatures were near normal with a statewide average temperature of 47.0F, 0.2F cooler than the 1901-2000 average. Precipitation on the other hand, was below to much below normal for many parts of the state. Statewide precipitation was 63% of normal and 24th driest April out of 113-years (1 being the driest, 113 the wettest), with the Okanogan region being the driest (13% of normal). Due to the lack of precipitation, snowpack as of May 1 has not improved since March, but still remains healthy overall for most of the state. Statewide snowpack is 93% of normal, down only 5% from April 1. The lowest observations are found in Eastern Washington-Walla Walla River Basin 35% of average (36% drop from last month), Spokane River Basin 60%, east slopes of the Cascades 79%. Despite the below average readings, the above average snowpack and precipitation received earlier in the season has filled up reservoirs in most areas and is likely not going to produce any water shortages this summer. Further, streamflow forecasts for spring and summer indicate near to above average streamflow throughout the state.From other sources - Get a larger dart board will you? Read Here.
EPA web site for climate change in case you wanted to know. Click Here.
Water Runoff Forecasts - Washington as stated above looks good, Oregon so so and the rest of the West, is way behind. Click Here.
Jesus Hit by Lightning - Read Here.
Fire Season Outlook by Paul Werth ,Weather Research and Consulting Services, LLC
Click Here
-- posted by Pat Timm @ 7:45 PM,
