End of Another Month
Monday, July 30, 2007
Nowcast - Morning clouds today were patchy and very brief allowing full sunshine to brighten Almost time to tally the rainfall for July, only one day to go and I think most areas will report below average rainfall despite showers earlier in the month. At least it has been a warm month as overnight lows have been rather balmy due to cloud cover. My rainfall is .79 inches about .20 inches below normal. Pearson Airpark has recorded .61 inches, .18 inches below normal.
Bear facts - You heard about the bear officials shot and killed near Government Camp. I know it was a pest getting into residential garbage etc. but why couldn't they have tranquilized it and hauled it away to the deep woods?
Fall? I have heard people talking about back to school shopping and fall sports already. Is everyone bored or what? It is still summer folks so let's talk summer and enjoy the summer weather.
Forests are heating up - The US Forest Service is developing plans to combat global climate change. Read Here
NewsBusters - A July 27-29 2007 U.S. Senate trip to Greenland to investigate fears of a glacier meltdown revealed an Arctic land where current climatic conditions are neither alarming nor linked to a rise in man-made carbon dioxide emissions, according to many of the latest peer-reviewed scientific findings. Recent research has found that Greenland has been warming since the 1880's, but since 1955, temperature averages at Greenland stations have been colder than the period between 1881-1955.
A recent study concluded Greenland was as warm or warmer in the 1930's and 40's and the rate of warming from 1920-1930 was about 50% higher than the warming from 1995-2005. One 2005 study found Greenland gaining ice in the interior higher elevations and thinning ice at the lower elevations. In addition, the often media promoted fears of Greenland's ice completely melting and a subsequent catastrophic sea level rise are directly at odds with the latest scientific studies. These studies suggest that the biggest perceived threat to Greenland's glaciers may be contained in unproven computer models predicting a future catastrophic melt.
PRO-CON: IS GLOBAL WARMING CAUSE FOR BRITISH FLOODING?If the recent torrent of water was not bad enough, the surge of ignorant speculation as to its causes has added to the misery of the season. Numerous commentators and supposed "experts" have asserted that the flooding is proof of global warming.
Much the same was contended by similar characters about the mild February (remember that?) enjoyed this year.
That this flies totally in the face of the mainstream thesis about climate change - that Britain will endure wetter winters and drier summers - is plainly immaterial. If the weather moves away from the "norm" in any direction, then it must be global warming.
One camp that has not joined in this ludicrous orgy of false prophesy is the category that should know the most about the weather, the professional meteorologist. Our weather correspondent, Paul Simons, has pointed out that summer floods do occur in Britain rather often. There were, he outlines, dreadful runs of weather in the 1840s, 1910s and 1950s before the advent of low-cost airlines and quantifiable carbon emissions. -Times of London editorial
Fire & Ice? - Read This
The 41 percent Fraud - Read This
-- posted by Pat Timm @ 9:34 PM,
Summer continues to roll on . . . .
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
NOWCAST - Looks like morning clouds and afternoon sunshine the next few days with a few more clouds each day. Highs will be above average Thursday but be about seasonal or slightly less by the weekend. Kind of like June weather rather than July. That's okay by me, I enjoy the cooler side of summer anyways. Okay, many of you like it hot I know. I'm sure we will have a few more of those in August. So, highs in the 80's cooling to upper 70's by the weekend. How does August look? About average with seasonal highs but again, a risk of some rainy periods and higher humidity.
Well, the Brits are changing their curriculum for the school children. Less history about Churchill and foreign affairs, and more about global warming. Read here
And while we are in the cheery land of tea and crumpets, all of the recent flooding rains are being blamed on global climate change exclaim experts. Did you really expect something else? What a pity Basil. Read and weep here
Want to hear more about Al Gores 7-point pledge? Okay if I have to, go here
And while some parts of the planet are under water from monsoon type rains, other areas are burning up. Much of the West from eastern Washington and Oregon east and south are only expected to get worse. Despite a marine influence on the western valleys and along the coast it is still very hot in the far east and very windy too. Good news is not a lot of thunderstorms yet. Read the hot flash here.
Is China Exempt? Read the Greenie Watch here
One year above average proves global warming is here. Read this
Okay, enough for now, more later, Do enjoy your week in summer. -PT
The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. - Henry Miller
-- posted by Pat Timm @ 9:41 PM,
Have We Turned a Corner . . .Yes We Have
Tuesday, July 24, 2007NOWCAST - Finally it appears we will get back to summer with less clouds, less humidity, and warmer temperatures. Clouds will slowly depart Tuesday and the sunshine will draw near. By Wednesday and Thursday we will be well into the 80's and touching 90 degrees. Most of the rain fell in Puget sound where many rainfall records were broken over the weekend. Between 2 and 4 inches of rain fell both in the Olympics and the North Cascades causing rivers to reach flood stage. For details check out my column in the Arts & Living Section in Tuesday's Columbian.
OFF TOPIC - I have to pass this along, it is just too cute to let go. The latest scam going around, is the
-- posted by Pat Timm @ 12:01 AM,
A Change in The Weather
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
NOWCAST - Ah, doesn't the recent change in the weather feel great? The rain was nice and the cooler temperatures for sure. As long as it doesn't last too long, right? Wednesday will see more showers and a risk of scattered thunderstorms as the low center moves towards the coastline. Temperatures will be back up to normal (80 or so) by the weekend and for sure next week. Still no hot weather coming our way.Fires are still burning out of control in both Washington and Oregon but cooler temperatures and higher humidity should help a bit. The down side is that it has been windy and the prospects of more lightning is not good either.
We have over half the month in the record books now and the official records at
Global Warming issues keep popping up in the headlines everyday but a recent poll I heard about today say that Americans are getting tired of hearing about it, over 60 percent of those polled. And the price tag to even make a tiny dent in any contribution that man makes is way up there in the hundreds of billions of dollars. And we don't even know if that would do any good. There is still too much we DO NOT know about this aspect of science. Past history tells us one thing and politicians and environmentalists tell us another. Separating fact from fiction and theories raises the heat all by itself. Mark my words, a decade from now, we will be off on another tangent greater than global warming which will certainly take a backseat ride. Just my humble prediction. Don't knock it, make your own prediction and let's reunite here ten years from now.
Canada isn't much better off, experts there say it would take tens of billions of dollars to meet Kyoto goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels. Government officials there say "You could take every vehicle off the road in Canada, every car, every truck, every bus, every motorcycle, as well as throw in lawnmowers and BBQ's from tomorrow morning through year 2012 and that still would be nowhere near enough to achieve that target." (Info taken from the Vancouver Sun, June 24, 2007).Off topic here - I recently purchased a new vehicle and just wanted to pass along my experience with you. I can tell you where not to purchase a new vehicle from :
VANCOUVER/FORD HYUNDAI in Vancouver, Washington.
I can tell you where to go for a fair and honest deal and an excellent buying experience:
BOB HALL AUTO GROUP in Yakima, Washington. I purchased a new Hyundai Veracruz from their dealership, Hyundai of Yakima. It was perhaps the best buying experience I have ever had and one that I drove away with without feeling ripped off! If you are in the market for a new or used vehicle, contact Lori Mitch at 509-249-8999. Lori and Sales manager Mike were outstanding and offered the greatest customer service I have ever experienced. It was worth the 200 mile trip.
-- posted by Pat Timm @ 7:46 PM,
Temperature Soars to 104 Degrees
Tuesday, July 10, 2007RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
629 PM PDT TUE JUL 10 2007
...ALL-TIME RECORD HIGH SET AT HOQUIAM AIRPORT...
AN ALL-TIME RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 99 DEGREES WAS SET AT
HOQUIAM AIRPORT TODAY. THE PREVIOUS DAILY RECORD FOR JULY 10TH WAS
77 SET BACK IN 1961. THE PREVIOUS ALL-TIME HIGH WAS 98 SET BACK ON
8/9/1981 AND 7/11/1961.
...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT QUILLAYUTE AIRPORT...
A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 93 DEGREES WAS SET AT QUILLAYUTE
AIRPORT TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 78 SET IN 2002.
...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT BELLINGHAM AIRPORT...
A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 86 DEGREES WAS SET AT BELLINGHAM
AIRPORT TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 84 SET IN 2003.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
514 PM PDT TUE JUL 10 2007
...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES SET AROUND THE REGION TODAY...
OFFSHORE FLOW FROM A STRONG THERMAL LOW PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER NW
OREGON AND A STRONG UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WAS
ENOUGH TO SMASH RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES AROUND THE REGION. ASTORIA
SURPASSED THEIR OLD RECORD BY OVER 15 DEGREES AND TILLAMOOK WAS NOT
FAR BEHIND REACHING 100 DEGREES BY 2PM BEFORE AN ONSHORE COMPONENT
TO THE WIND RAPIDLY COOLED THEM DOWN...NEVERTHELESS TILLAMOOK BROKE
THEIR OLD RECORD BY 12 DEGREES. TEMPERATURES INLAND ARE STILL
CLIMBING THOUGH ARE EXPECTED TO HALT WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF
HOURS. SUPRISINGLY...NOT TOO FAR AWAY...NEWPORT REMAINED IN THE
MARINE LAYER AND ONLY WAS ABLE TO MUSTER A 68 F HIGH TEMPERATURE.
THUS FAR...THE HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDS BROKEN ON JULY 10 2007 ARE:
OLD RECORD/OLD YEAR BROKEN.......NEW RECORD
LOCATION JUL 10TH
ASTORIA.............. 77/1990............... 92
EUGENE............... 98/2002............... 101
PORTLAND AIRPORT..... 98/2002............... 102
PORTLAND DOWNTOWN.... 100/2002............... 100 (TIED)
TILLAMOOK............ 88/1951............... 100
TROUTDALE............ 97/1985............... 102
VANCOUVER............ 103/1926............... 104
More . . .
Off topic here - I recently purchased a new vehicle and just wanted to pass along my experience with you. I can tell you where not to purchase a new vehicle from :
VANCOUVER/FORD HYUNDAI in Vancouver, Washington.
I can tell you where to go for a fair and honest deal and an excellent buying experience:
BOB HALL AUTO GROUP in Yakima, Washington. I purchased a new Hyundai Veracruz from their dealership, Hyundai of Yakima. It was perhaps the best buying experience I have ever had and one that I drove away with without feeling ripped off! If you are in the market for a new or used vehicle, contact Lori Mitch at 509-249-8999. Lori and Sales manager Mike were outstanding and offered the greatest customer service I have ever experienced. It was worth the 200 mile trip.
What was wrong with our local dealer here in Vancouver? Well, was was right? Nothing. I was lied to, coerced into providing unnecessary information, a waste of my time and schedule, and the poorest customer service I have ever experienced. Very poor customer service and dishonest management in my humble opinion. I was a long time customer of Vancouver Ford/Hyundai but now I would not recommend that dealership to anyone. Buyer Beware! I wrote a letter to the president of the dealership and as of today, have not even had a reply. An email went off Sunday night to Hyundai America with details.
UPDATE: The owner of VF called me and of course had the usual excuses and I was offered nothing for my trouble. I guess I will mark it up to experience. In fairness, I have had no bad dealings with their service department, only the sales department. I have to decide whether I will use their service department or not after this episode. I certainly won't be standing on street corners and holding a Vancouver Ford sign!
BTW- I am very pleased with my new Veracruz, it is the best vehicle Hyundai has made to date. Comfortable, luxurious ride.
-- posted by Pat Timm @ 8:55 PM,
Summer is Certainly With Us!
Monday, July 09, 2007NOWCAST - It is going to get really hot the next couple of days that's for sure. 100 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday. Overnight lows Tuesday night and Wednesday night will be very warm as well between 65 and 70 degrees. There is a chance of thunderstorms later in the week. But still no big threat of widespread rains. It could be a tinder box for fires this week with dry east winds. Wildfires are already burning out of control in SE Oregon. Be careful. Even the coast will be hot the next couple of days before low clouds begin to hug the coastline.
Here are some rainfall reports from your friends and neighbors around the region for June. Vancouver Pearson field measured 1.40 inches and I recorded 1.61inches here in north Salmon Creek;
If you would like to see some recent photos of Noctilucent clouds, (according to George Taylor, "also known as Polar mesospheric clouds, are very high, bright cloudlike phenomena visible in a deep twilight, mostly in higher latitudes. The name means night shining in Latin.") Go to this link.
Raindrops and berries are among summer's blessings - Folks near Vancouver BC are enjoying the fruits of the summer. Read this link
I did my part in going green- I purchased a push reel mower, cordless edger and blower to cut and trim my small patch of lawn. No gas fumes, no no loud noise, and some exercise to boot! I have done this now for three weeks and get the strangest looks from my neighbors. One little neighbor boy came by and asked me what that lawn mower was! He asked me where I put the gasoline in. I explained that there was no gas going in or out of this sweet mower. Maybe from the operator but . . . He had never seen a non-gasoline push mower before. He watched me for the longest time. Ha!
Off topic here - I recently purchased a new vehicle and just wanted to pass along my experience with you. I can tell you where not to purchase a new vehicle from :
VANCOUVER/FORD HYUNDAI in Vancouver, Washington.
I can tell you where to go for a fair and honest deal and an excellent buying experience:
BOB HALL AUTO GROUP in Yakima, Washington. I purchased a new Hyundai Veracruz from their dealership, Hyundai of Yakima. It was perhaps the best buying experience I have ever had and one that I drove away with without feeling ripped off! If you are in the market for a new or used vehicle, contact Lori Mitch at 509-249-8999. Lori and Sales manager Mike were outstanding and offered the greatest customer service I have ever experienced. It was worth the 200 mile trip.
What was wrong with our local dealer here in Vancouver? Well, was was right? Nothing. I was lied to, coerced into providing unnecessary information, a waste of my time and schedule, and the poorest customer service I have ever experienced. Very poor customer service and dishonest management in my humble opinion. I was a long time customer of Vancouver Ford/Hyundai but now I would not recommend that dealership to anyone. Buyer Beware! I wrote a letter to the president of the dealership and as of today, have not even had a reply. An email went off Sunday night to Hyundai America with details.
UPDATE: The owner of VF called me this afternoon and of course had the usual excuses and I was offered nothing for my trouble. I guess I will mark it up to experience. In fairness, I have had no bad dealings with their service department, only the sales department. I have to decide whether I will use their service department or not after this episode.
BTW- I am very pleased with my new Veracruz, it is the best vehicle Hyundai has made to date. Comfortable, luxurious ride.
Thanks to weather observer Roland Derksen of Vancouver, BC for sending this cartoon in! He also adds this Vancouver, BC weather joke: "What follows two rainy days in Vancouver?
(Answer: Monday!)
This seems familiar doesn't it? I think it applies to Vancouver, USA as well! Thanks Roland!
143 PM PDT MON JUL 9 2007 | ||||||
-- posted by Pat Timm @ 12:01 AM,
