Inversion Aversion

It's baaaaack.... We've been lucky for a week or so, with mostly clear skies or broken clouds overhead. The typical winter inversion fog layer that settles in when high pressure forms over the Pacific NW has been mercifully slow to develop this time around.

Unfortunately, the inversion layer is quite well developed today, and the majority of computer models indicate little change for at least a week and perhaps longer. It's a good time to head west (the Oregon Coast is usually sunny during inversions here), or up in elevation (Mt Hood skiing is above the fog and sunny), or anywhere tropical.

If you can't get away, you can take some comfort that the days are getting longer and Spring is less than 2 months away. Also, the inversion events typically stop occurring by mid February.

Up until this high pressure ridge set in, this had been an unusually wet and stormy winter for an El Nino pattern. Usually El Nino brings our area decreased rain (and increased media talk of impending drought). This year, due to record rains in November and occasional storms in December and early January, we are well above our average yearly precipitation (measured from Oct 1). In addition, mountain snow packs are plentiful, so we shouldn't be hearing about drought anytime soon.