The winter of 07-08 started warm and wet and windy, but
settled down and in general settled in to a pattern a little cooler and drier
than average. A whole month's worth of rainfall fell on December 2-3, with
especially heavy rain and flooding over Southwest Washington--and over five
inches of rain fell at Sea-Tac. Strong winds occurred on the coast. A report
about the storms can be found here:
www.climate.washington.edu/events/dec2007floods/
The remainder of the month December qualified as more
typical December weather--low temperatures in the 30s, highs in the 40s, and
rain on most days. Sea-Tac recorded a little over 2" of snow for the month, but
the lowest readings of the month only fell to 28 degrees (8th and 9th) so there
were no exceptional cold snaps. Sea-Tac finished the month with a total of 9.08"
of rain (more than half fell with the storm of the 2nd and 3rd).
January started off a little warmer than normal and
wet--but then moved to cooler drier weather overall. Over the first two weeks of
the month, rain fell on all but two days--but for the rest of the month there
were ten dry days. Temperatures remained below normal through the dry weather,
as you would expect in the absence of strong onshore flow. Sea-Tac finished the
month a notch below normal for rainfall, and 2.2 degrees below normal for temps.
The first half of February saw typical winter
weather--highs in the 40s lows in the 30s, and a rainy spell the 5th-10th. Then
dry weather occurred the 11th through the 26th (with just a few days with a
trace or hundredth). Temperatures warmed through the end of the month--highs for
the 20th-28th were mostly in the mid and upper 50s. A taste of spring seemed to
be in the air.
There were a few warm days in March as well--the 9th
reached 58 and a high of 60 degrees was recorded on the 10th. However the
weather pattern gradually slid back into a more winter like regime as an
unusually cold upper level trough set up in the NE Pacific. By the last week of
March the snow level was averaging 1500 feet, and snow occasionally fell to near
sea level. High temperatures were about ten degrees below normal for the 25th
through 28th with a couple of record low high temperatures.
Beginning this June, Washington state
will join a growing number of states nationwide involved in the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, or CoCoRaHS
(pronounced Cocoa Rawz). CoCoRaHS is a non-profit, community-based network of
volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and report
precipitation (rain, hail and snow).
What
is CoCoRaHS?
CoCoRaHS
is a supplemental observation network that began in the late 1990s in Fort
Collins, Colorado following a devastating flash flood. CoCoRaHS allows
volunteer precipitation observers to collect and enter their rainfall, snowfall,
hail and snow reports via a web-based system. The data supplement current
observation networks and are displayed on maps that can be accessed by anyone
24/7 on the Web.
Where
do the precipitation reports go? As we all know,
precipitation can and does vary significantly across the complex terrain of
Washington. Soon you will be able to submit your precipitation reports on the
CoCoRaHS web site <www.cocorahs.org>.
The data are then displayed and organized for many end users, including the
National Weather Service where the reports are received automatically.
Will
I receive official training and a rain gage?
An
excellent on-line training module is available on the
CoCoRaHS web site. It will detail proper gage siting techniques as well as
other program information. You will need to provide your own rain gage that you
can purchase through CoCoRaHS for less than $30.
Interested in becoming a CoCoRaHS observer?
Washington state
CoCoRaHS will be managed by the State Climatologist
Office, the UW Atmospheric Sciences Department, and National Weather Service
offices in Spokane,
Seattle, Portland and Pendleton. Although Washington
state will not officially begin collecting and processing reports until June
2008, you can get a head start now by learning more about the program at
www.cocorahs.org and downloading an
application. An on-line version is also
available.
Trivia Question
How
many people have been killed by lightning in Washington state from 1950 to 2006?
0, 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
How
many people have been killed by tornadoes in Washington state from 1950 to 2006?
0, 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Spring Is Here
Spring is upon us and that means the peak of our thunderstorm season is here.
Longer warmer days combined with cool air aloft still moving onshore from the
northeast Pacific Ocean creates periods of unstable air and our seasonal
thunderstorm season. Compared with other areas east of the Rockies,
we do not get many thunderstorms. Yet, even our thunderstorms can and have
produced large hail, damaging winds, and tornados and waterspouts. In fact, an
EF1 tornado touched down in the Vancouver area in January
and was on the ground for several miles with winds close to 100 mph.
Fortunately, no one got hurt, but there was plenty of property damage. Several
weather spotters reported the event as it happened!
Our
active convection season usually begins around March 1st with two
peaks, both during our transitional seasons into and out of winter - fall and
spring. April is usually our peak month for convection. In our history, the
bulk of our tornadoes have occurred in April and May, including the only three
F3 tornadoes ever reported in the state.
Fortunately, most Washington tornadoes are weak F0 or F1 Enhanced Fujita Scale
events, and touch down and back up in up in less than a few minutes. These
kinds of tornadoes are usually not apparent on NWS Doppler weather radar and
when unstable weather conditions are present, often more than one can and do
occur in a day. Skywarn
(TM)
spotter reports of these kinds of events are very
important in the effort to help protect lives and property.
Now
is the time to dust off your spotter field guide and brush up on your convective
weather spotter skills. If you need another field guide. contact Ted at
206-526-6095, and we’ll mail you a copy.
Report tornados, waterspouts, funnel clouds, and rotating wall clouds as soon
as you can, along with where you are and the location and direction of movement
of the event. Remember the distinction between a funnel cloud and the more
common western Washington “scud” cloud? As emphasized in our training class,
look for rotation, ROTATION, ROTATION.
Thunderstorms also can produce strong damaging winds, flash or urban flooding
from heavy rainfall, large hail, and lightning. Lightning is dangerous -
remember your lightning safety rules. Washington averages one lightning related
death every two years, and several injuries each year. If you can hear thunder,
you’re close enough to be struck by lightning!
Report pea-sized or larger hail with any damage if noted. Also report heavy
rainfall of at least one-half inch in an hour or less. If you see flooding of
any kind and/or winds of at least 35 MPH, contact us.
Your
spotter reports are a key element in the effort to protect lives and property.
Keep an eye to the sky when you learn of a threat of thunderstorms via NOAA
Weather Radio, our web site, or from local media. To help raise public
awareness, NWS offices throughout the Pacific NW plan to conduct a Severe
Weather Awareness Week during May 4-10. See www.weather.gov/seattle
in early May
for more information about this awareness week.
Spotter Notes
Thank You For Your Spotter Reports !
The
staff at NWS Seattle wants to thank all of you who provided numerous spotter
reports during this active winter weather season. Your rain gauges and snow
boards distributed at recent weather spotter training sessions got a lot of
use. Your reports included snowfall, heavy rainfall, flooding, landslides,
strong winds, downed trees and power outages. They provided valuable input to
hazardous weather statements as well as information to area emergency management
officials and media. Keep those reports coming!
President Bush Declares Another Presidential Disaster In Washington
Washington Governor Gregoire asked President Bush for federal assistance
following the early December 2007 storm in western Washington. President Bush
agreed, permitting federal dollars to reach state and local authorities to help
recover from these disasters. The storm involved a near full suite of winter
weather hazards – strong damaging winds along the coast with gusts up to 90 mph
for an extended period of time from the night of Dec 2nd through the
afternoon of Dec 3rd, lowland snowfall on Dec 1st that
transitioned to rain on the 2nd and then heavy rainfall through the
afternoon of the 3rd, resulting in flooding and landslides as well as
avalanches in the Cascades. The heaviest rainfall amounts were in the Willapa
Hills and the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas with between 10 and 20 inches of
rain over several days. The storm produced ten fatalities – 5 from avalanches,
2 each from flooding and the wind, and one in a landslide. Insured damages
totaled close to $90 million dollars and public assistance has totaled close to
$85 million thus far.
Pacific NW Weather Workshop
About
150 people attended this year’s Pacific NW Weather Workshop at the NOAA Western
Region Center in Seattle around March 1st. A number of presentations addressed
severe weather events during the past year including the early December 2007
storm and the Vancouver tornado in January of this year. Banquet speaker John
Stimberis of the Washington State Dept of Transportation Avalanche Control Unit
addressed this year’s significant snowfall and avalanches over the Cascade pass
highways, particularly Snoqualmie pass. Several weather spotters were among
those in attendance at the workshop. Next year’s workshop is slated for March
7-8, 2009. See you there!
Pacific NW Weather Scramble Date Set
The date for the golf
outing has been set for Sat Aug 23, again at Ft Lewis Golf Course just off
Interstate-5 at exit 116 south of Tacoma. The event is a fun networking
opportunity for those in the weather community, including weather spotters.
Entries are now available. If interested in an entry, contact Ted Buehner at ted.buehner@noaa.gov
Trivia Question Answer
Lightning – 5 people have been killed by lightning with 46 injuries. Remember
your lightning safety rules!
Tornadoes – 6 people died and more than 200 people were injured in a F3 tornado
that tore through a grocery store, bowling alley and school in Vancouver on Apr
5, 1972. Washington does get tornadoes. The state led the nation in tornado
deaths that year.
National Weather Service Mission: "The
National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather,
hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for
the United States, its territories, adjacent waters
and ocean areas, for the protection of life and
property and the enhancement of the national economy.
NWS data and products form a national information
database and infrastructure which can be used by
other governmental agencies, the private sector,
the public, and the global community."
www.weather.gov 
