tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57031866109519688302024-02-14T22:45:04.467-08:00Hood River WeatherThe Companion Blog to the Hood River Weather Site
(so it won't get too lonely)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger272125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-14169004745795038822014-07-19T15:08:00.002-07:002015-03-12T19:40:55.674-07:00June 2014 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">June 2014 was: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average in: Temperature, wind<br />Average or near in: Rainfall, solar radiation<br />Below Average in: Nothing</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">June 2014 was windy. And not just windy, but consistently tremendously, stupendously windy. In fact, it was the windiest June since I've been keeping track of wind speeds here at May and Rand, and that goes back to 2001. And from what I've heard from seasoned wind sports folks, this could well have been the windiest June (and the best windsurfing) since 1990, give or take a few years.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 63.8° was warmer than the long term June average of 61.8°, and just a little bit warmer than the more recent (2001-2013) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 63.0°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 63.0°. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 87°, and the low temp was 48°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 87° and 44°. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 620 Ly/day, compared to an average June of 611 Ly/day. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 5.7 mph, compared to an average June wind speed of 4.1 mph. The peak wind gust was 34 mph on the 18th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.20", and the low barometric was 29.74".</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding rainfall, my station received 1.13", while HOXO recorded 0.67". An average June receives 0.77". Since my station's amount was above average, and HOXO's was below average, I'm calling it.... average. And as mentioned in the May Revisited post, there was no measurable rain from May 11th through June 11, making for a 32 day dry spell. It remains to be seen if that will be the longest dry spell this summer... even though it wasn't technically in summer at all...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b> </b> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were no local weather records set in June.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for June 2014, <a href="http://classic.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=6&day=1&year=2014" target="_blank">click here.</a><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=9&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank"> </a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kTpt49GAIWM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">June 2014 contained the only Friday the 13th of 2014. Oddly enough (and this is scary), it fell on the 13th day of the month, which was.... a Friday...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now, I'm not superstitious, but what are the odds of that??</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Anyway, as Stevie Wonder reminds us, in a very musically enthusiastic and danceable manner: "Superstition ain't the way..."</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-54068363587887040242014-07-18T14:26:00.004-07:002014-08-07T19:30:29.768-07:00May 2014 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">May 2014 was: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average in: Temperature, rainfall, wind, solar radiation<br />Average or near in: Nothing<br />Below Average in: Nothing</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">May 2014 was above average, in so many ways. In fact, let me count the ways (there's 4, see above)...</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 60.4° was way warmer than the long term May average of 56.1°, and way warmer than the more recent (2001-2013) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 57.2°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 59.4°. <b>This was the warmest May since 1997.</b> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 88°, and the low temp was 41°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 86° and 40°. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 583 Ly/day, compared to an average May of 542 Ly/day. <b>This was the sunniest May since 2007.</b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 4.1 mph, compared to an average May wind speed of 3.6 mph. The peak wind gust was 32 mph on the 21st. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.39", and the low barometric was 29.68".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding rainfall, my station received 2.18", while HOXO recorded 1.77". An average May receives 1.07". Oddly enough, the rain stopped entirely on May 11th, and the subsequent dry spell (consecutive days without any officially measurable rainfall) lasted 32 days; ending on June 12th. <b>Very unusual to have that long of a dry spell at this time of the year. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b> </b> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There was one local weather record set in May. On the 8th, HOXO received 0.65" of rain, topping the previous May 8th record of 0.40", back in 1962.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for May 2014, <a href="http://classic.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=5&day=1&year=2014" target="_blank">click here.</a><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=9&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank"> </a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/nkcm5cT9gGI" width="640"></iframe>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">May is sort of a teaser month, weather-wise. Temperatures start feeling like maybe there's hope for Summer; but we still have to wait.... just a little while longer...</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And speaking of waiting, this "I Will Wait" rendition from <a href="http://www.2cellos.com/us/home" target="_blank">2CELLOS</a> is yet another one of their aurally and visually awesome productions. Hey, it's not just women who are swooning over these 2 extremely hot guys and their music; I'm mesmerized also (by the music.....just the music...). Amazing that they can make just 2 cellos do all that!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For more of their talented musical creations, check out their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/2CELLOSlive" target="_blank">YouTube channel.</a> </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-75247626574882793462014-07-15T17:40:00.001-07:002014-07-18T13:42:02.921-07:00April 2014 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">April 2014, summed up: </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature, rainfall<br />Average or near: Wind, solar radiation<br />Below Average: Nothing</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After an exciting February and March, April calmed down into a more typical April pattern.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 52.2° was way warmer than the long term April average of 49.7°, and way warmer than the more recent (2001-2013) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 49.6°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 51.6°. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 80°, and the low temp was 33°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 78° and 32°. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 440 Ly/day, compared to an average April of 435 Ly/day. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 3.0 mph, compared to an average April wind speed of 3.2 mph. The peak wind gust was 32 mph on the 11th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.55", and the low barometric was 29.71".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding rainfall, my station received 2.64", while HOXO recorded 2.01". An average April receives 1.66". The abundance of April showers set up the usual May flowers sequence; not to mention, pushing us over the top for water-year precipitation. That was a long time coming this year. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b> </b> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were no local weather records set in April. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for April 2014, <a href="http://classic.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=4&day=1&year=2014" target="_blank">click here.</a><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=9&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank"> </a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/B6w1bVJaMgU" width="640"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">April brought the <a href="http://www.hoodrivernews.com/obituaries/2014/may/27/rick-hulett/" target="_blank">passing</a> of a local music legend, Rick Hulett. Not unexpected, due to his long fight with cancer, which he fought with courage, music, and love, but still a huge loss to the community, and fellow musicians across the country. <a href="http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2014/jun/04/keep-playing-music-stories-and-laughter-usher-rick/" target="_blank">Play on</a>, Rick... </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-60031533861232890252014-06-20T14:50:00.001-07:002015-01-16T19:35:57.881-08:00March 2014 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">March 2014 was exciting, exactly like February, only different: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature, rainfall (total precipitation), snowfall<br />Average or near: Solar radiation<br />Below Average: Wind</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">March came in like the proverbial lion this year. On the 1st of the month, it snowed 1". Not too unusual for early March. More unusual, though, was the 6.5" of snow the next day, which set a new snowfall record for any March 2nd in Hood River. And then... rain, rain, and more rain for nearly the whole month. There were only 9 days in March when it didn't rain, and most of those were during the first week of Spring.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And, as in February, record daily flows were set on the Hood at Tucker Bridge during March. As warmer temperatures prevailed, and the rains continued, 7 consecutive daily flow records were set, <a href="http://hoodriverweather.info/hoodflow.png" target="_blank">from March 5th through the 11th.</a> Nowhere near flood stage, but records none the less. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After a really cold February, March turned warmer than average. My station's average temperature of 45.7° was warmer than the long term March average of 43.8°, and a little warmer than the more recent (2001-2013) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 44.6°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 45.2°. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 66°, and the low temp was 26°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were the same: 66° and 26°. We're in tune, or something, at least for March.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 287 Ly/day, compared to an average March of 286 Ly/day, almost an exact match. A little surprising, due to all the rain (and therefore cloud cover), but apparently cloud cover isn't too unusual for any given March.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 2.0 mph, compared to an average March wind speed of 2.8 mph. The peak wind gust was 31 mph on the 14th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.58", and the low barometric was 29.52".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding rainfall (including melted snowfall), my station received 5.79", while HOXO recorded 5.21". An average March receives 3.17", and, as in February, this went a long way towards moving us closer to water year averages. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding snowfall, we received 7.5" total, whereas an average March receives 2.2". <b>According to <a href="http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/WRCCWrappers.py?sodxtrmts+354003+por+por+snow+msum+5+07+F" target="_blank">MCAREC's official records,</a> this was the most snow received in March since 1962!</b> Hard to believe, but apparently true.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b> </b> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And lastly, regarding local weather records, we set 4 in March. On the 2nd, we received 6.5" of snow, breaking the previous record of 5" in 1962). On the 5th, 0.95" of rain fell (old record 0.74" in 1996). And then, as things warmed up, the low temperatures on the 6th and 9th (44° and 48° respectively) set new "high low" temperature records for those dates (43° in 1997 and 47° in 1983, respectively). </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for March 2014, <a href="http://classic.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&day=1&year=2014&month=3&graphspan=month" target="_blank">click here.</a><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=9&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank"> </a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/C1k8B-qw040" width="640"></iframe>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">March is an amazing month of transition; from Winter darkness into Spring lightness. And as such, it's a very welcome renewal of wonder, hope, and faith in the wisdom of the Universe. In other words, a Ticket to Heaven, which we've all been given, in the Here and Now, if we just take the time to appreciate it, while we can. All the way....to Paradise...</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-74333428729556019612014-06-19T14:34:00.003-07:002019-09-10T21:30:36.690-07:00February 2014 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Ok, so January 2014 was boring. February 2014 was anything but, as Winter roared back onto the scene after a long absence. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Above average: Rainfall (total precipitation), snowfall<br />Average or near: Nothing<br />Below Average: Wind, temperature, solar radiation</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">February started off with a bang, as actual Winter weather finally arrived. On the 1st of the month, 1" of snow broke the long snowless streak, dating back to December 7th. And then, on February 6th, snow arrived big time, with 9" on the 6th, 9" on the 7th, and 6" of snow on the 8th. It then rained almost continually until February 21, at which point the deluge pretty much stopped. All that precipitation brought the Hood basin snow-water equivalent from a low of only 20% of normal, back up into somewhat more normal ranges. Skiers and water managers rejoiced, as did those of us who were near comatose from the boring lack of interesting weather in January.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Speaking of water, record daily flows were set on the Hood at Tucker Bridge on February 12th and 13th due to snow melt and runoff. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Temperature-wise, it was col<span style="font-size: small;">d...<u>very cold</u>... <b> </b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">In fact, this was the coldest February since 1993.</span></b> </span></span>My station's average temperature of 35.7° was much colder than the long term February average of 38.0°, and <u>way</u> colder than the more recent (2001-2013) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">average of 39.6°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 35.3°. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 53°, and the low temp was 12°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 53° and 8°.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Solar radiation averaged 122 Ly/day, compared to an average February of 184 Ly/day, mostly due to the fact that it was cloudy a lot.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 1.6 mph, compared to an average February wind speed of 2.2 mph. The peak wind gust was 30 mph on the 15th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.62", and the low barometric was 29.49".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Regarding rainfall (including melted snowfall), my station received 6.60", while HOXO recorded 5.44". An average <span style="font-size: small;">F</span>ebruary receives 3.84", and this went a long way towards moving us closer to water year averages. <b>This was the wettest February since 2000.</b> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Regarding snowfall, we received 25" total, whereas an average February receives 7.4". <b>This was the most snow received in February since 1990.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><b> </b> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">And lastly, regarding local weather records, we set two in February. On the 6th, the high temperature only reached 18°, setting a new "low high" record (previous record 25° in 1989). On the 7th, the 9" of snowfall broke the old daily record of 6.2" in 1985. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">To view my weather station's data for February 2014, <a href="http://classic.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=2&day=1&year=2014" target="_blank">click here.</a><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=9&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank"> </a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/le6eH-X4ymk" width="480"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">For some reason, every February's "Revisited" video post here for the <a href="http://hoodriverweather.blogspot.com/search?q=february" target="_blank">past few years</a> has had a Valentine's Day theme. Which is odd, because it's probably my least favorite "Holiday". I think the only reason I post relationship-related videos in February is because I can't figure out when else to post them. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Anyway, I suspect that the fact that "Valentines Day" even exists is due to the need to give the economy (especially the candy, flowers, and card sectors) a needed boost after a slow Winter. Call me cynical, or call me... <i>suspicious</i>....</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><i><br /></i></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-59097895218763936062014-05-08T15:57:00.001-07:002015-04-14T20:22:49.268-07:00January 2014 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">January 2014 was much like <a href="http://hoodriverweather.blogspot.com/2013/02/january-2013-revisited.html" target="_blank">January 2013</a>: Boring. In fact, I'm starting to think we should just skip January entirely from here on out, if this boring pattern persists. Here's the boring summary for this January: </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature<br />Average or near: Solar radiation<br />Below Average: Wind, rainfall, snowfall </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We moved back into the very familiar lately "warmer than average" category this month. My station's average temperature of 37.2° was way warmer than the long term January average of 33.6°, and warmer than the more recent (2001-2013) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 36.4°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 36.7°. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 54°, and the low temp was 23°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 54° and 20°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>January continued the <a href="http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2014/01/delving_into_the_ridiculously.php" target="_blank">Ridiculously Resilient Ridge</a> of high pressure
pattern which started in December. </b> This continued the ridiculously low snow pack in the mountains; putting the snow-water equivalent for the Hood basin at around 20% of average. And the ridiculous ridge gave us a ridiculously long Gray Inversion event, lasting 11 days, from 1/18 through 1/28. That was ridiculously insane, and not in a good way.</span></span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In spite of the long inversion, solar radiation averaged 91 Ly/day, compared to an average January of 87 Ly/day.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 1.4 mph, compared to an average January wind speed of 2.0 mph. The peak wind gust was 37 mph on the 11th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.72", and the low barometric was 29.53".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding rainfall, my station received 3.82", while HOXO recorded 3.11". An average January receives 5.10", and <b>our water-year-to-date precipitation continued to slip even further behind than in December.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To accentuate the boring tediousness of the month even more, we received no measurable snowfall, whereas an average January receives 14.6" of snow.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And the icing on the boring cake that was January 2014? Check this out: there were absolutely no weather records set during the month. Is that boring, or what?</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: verdana;">T</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">hese monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for January 2014, <a href="http://classic.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=1&day=1&year=2014" target="_blank">click here.</a><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=9&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank"> </a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C9fw7eOqBSk" width="420"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ok, so it was a boring month, weather-wise. But that didn't stop me from dreaming of sailing away to warmer places. Well done, Brian Wilson and crew.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But there's another, better reason for this classic Beach Boys sailing-related song video. I'm posting this (late, as usual) on May 8th, when the annual <a href="http://www.oregonoffshore.org/" target="_blank">Oregon Offshore Race</a> is going on, and as usual, local favorite <a href="http://www.threefools.org/velocity/Index.htm" target="_blank">"Velocity"</a>, skippered by <a href="http://www.threefools.org/default.htm" target="_blank">local weather enthusiast TomK</a>, is being cheered on. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-69499606525746202482014-02-22T17:20:00.005-08:002021-06-26T09:54:22.565-07:00Hood River Weather Chat Guidelines<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">The Hood River Weather chat room materialized out of nothingness (into something-ness) in December, 2008. From Day One, the participants have been remarkably civil and polite, compared to a lot of other chat forums. That's been very much appreciated, but it's probably useful to post some guidelines as to what the chat room is for, and which topics and/or behavior are off-limits. This is an evolving document, and it's subject to revision and clarification as the need arises. So, here's the guidelines:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">1) The Hood River Weather forum is intended to be a friendly, informational, non-confrontational space where people can discuss weather, recreation, local events, and most other items of local interest, as long as discussions stay civil and respectful. <u>However, subjects such as partisan politics, religion, and anything else that can (or does) turn into an shouting match, are strongly discouraged.</u> <u>Posts that stretch that too much might be deleted and those users might be banned for a period of time.</u></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">2) <u>The weather forum is not a place to personally attack other people in the chat room, or to criticize/attack specific local people, companies, or public/private entities.</u> If you disagree with something, please phrase your comments in such a way as to not be attacking. Simply provide another view, or a constructive suggestion, without criticizing the original comment or person that made the comment. <u>Also, if you have a complaint about a public or private entity or regulation, don't use the chat room for that. Please contact those people directly.</u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">In other words, be kind, considerate, and respectful, as you would like to be treated yourself. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">3) One of the biggest strengths of this forum is the ability to insert informational links. Those doing so are encouraged to provide a few words explaining what the link is for; just providing the link without explanation can result in folks not clicking on it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Along the same lines, it's suggested that comments be succinct and to the point; they are much more likely to be read that way.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">4) <u>During times of interesting weather, especially when hazardous conditions are likely occurring, please keep comments mostly focused on the weather, road reports, and other public safety information.</u> Also, if reporting conditions at your location, please specify the general location. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">5) Thanks for following these guidelines!</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Pk7yqlTMvp8" width="480"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Tending to chat rooms, and herding cats... </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><i><br /></i></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-33233283797701761822014-02-20T14:42:00.002-08:002019-01-28T20:16:10.132-08:00December 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">December 2013 was: </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Above average: Solar radiation<br />Average or near: Wind<br />Below Average: Temperature, rainfall, snowfall </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">December's are usually cold, but this one was COLD. My station's average temperature of 34.3° was colder than the long term December average of 35.7°, and colder than the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">average of 35.4°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 33.7°. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 57°, and the low temp was 1°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 57° and 0°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><b>This December
was notable in that a <a href="http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2014/01/delving_into_the_ridiculously.php" target="_blank">Ridiculously Resilient Ridge</a> of high pressure
planted itself offshore early in the month, and diverted nearly all moisture to the north for the rest of the month. </b>These ridges have been way too common the past
few winters.</span></span> They often result in inversions, and aren't good for increasing much needed snowpack. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Solar radiation averaged 96 Ly/day, compared to an average December of 73 Ly/day.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 1.7 mph, compared to an average December wind speed of 1.8 mph. The peak wind gust was 30 mph on the 21st. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.69", and the low barometric was 29.77".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Regarding rainfall, my station received 3.13", while HOXO recorded 2.98". An average December receives 5.85", and <b>our water-year-to-date precipitation continued to slip even further behind than in November.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Hood River received it's first measurable snowfall of the season on the 6th, when 2.0" fell, in the middle of the Arctic Blast. An average December receives 8.6" of snow.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">There were 2 local weather records set in December. On the 1st, we were deluged with 2.23" of warm rain from the tropics, soundly breaking the old record of 1.07" set in 1942. The warmth and the rain didn't last long though, as the Arctic Blast air moved in, setting a new low temperature record of 4° on Dec 4th. The previous record was 9° in 2009.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";">T</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">hese monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">To view my weather station's data for December 2013, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&day=1&year=2013&month=12&graphspan=month" target="_blank">click here.</a><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=9&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank"> </a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bwy6hJULgm0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">One of the more stressful yet strangely compelling tasks in life is getting ready for Christmas Day. Between the putting up of decorations, sending cards (you still do that?), and trying to figure out who to buy stuff for, and what they might possibly want, it's all enough to drive one to drink, not to mention eat a lot.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">However, there's actually a deeper meaning to Christmas, one that involves actual joy and celebration, as Paul Simon reminds us in this song, as only Paul Simon can do.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">And <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saAkVT_n2Mo" target="_blank">here's</a> a short "making of" video, explaining some of what went into the making of. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><i><br /></i></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-35564245725010596052013-12-28T16:31:00.001-08:002013-12-28T16:31:35.334-08:00November 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">November 2013 was mostly average, except when it wasn't: </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Nothing<br />Average or near: Temperature, wind, solar radiation<br />Below Average: Rainfall, snowfall </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>After a cooler than average October, temperatures got more average in November.</b> In fact, almost exactly average. My station's average temperature of 41.8° was just slightly warmer than the long term November average of 41.5°, and even closer to the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 41.6°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 41.1°. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 64°, and the low temp was 19°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 64° and 17°. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 123 Ly/day, compared to an average November of 117 Ly/day.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 1.5 mph, compared to an average November wind speed of 1.6 mph. The peak wind gust was 32 mph on the 2nd. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.83", and the low barometric was 29.38". <b>The high barometric was tantalizingly close to a record,</b> at least for my station. We get our highest pressure readings during massive <a href="http://shredhood.org/news/resorts/195-a-powerful-inversion-made-for-a-toasty-preview-weekend-at-mt-hood-meadows#!inversion_sisters">winter season inversions,</a> and this was no exception. The highest reading for my station was 30.84" back in January 2009, during another massive temperature inversion.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding rainfall, my station received 3.74", while HOXO only managed 2.84" An average November receives 5.31", and <b>our water-year-to-date precipitation started to slip even further behind than in October.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There was no measurable snowfall in November. An average November receives 2.7" of snow.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were no local weather records set in November. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: verdana;">T</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">hese monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for November 2013, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=11&day=1&year=2013">click here.</a><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=9&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank"> </a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gG1pZstoQE8" width="640"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What made this November really special was that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_%28United_States%29">Thanksgiving</a> and the start of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah">Hanukkah</a> happened on the same day. This apparently hasn't happened since time immoral, or maybe not quite that long, but definitely quite a while. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, I searched around for a video celebrating this blessed coincidence of celebrations, and came up with this one. Hopefully it will help bring people of all cultures and creeds together, or at least offend them equally. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-42789334131560256612013-12-25T17:49:00.002-08:002013-12-27T10:26:59.828-08:00October 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">October 2013 was different, like this: </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Solar radiation<br />Average or near: Nothing<br />Below Average: Temperature, wind, rainfall </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Well, it had to happen sooner or later.</b> After 13th consecutive months of above average temperatures, the streak ended in October. My station's average temperature of 50.0° was cooler than the long term October average of 51.2°, and cooler than the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 51.3°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 49.2°. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 75°, and the low temp was 29°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 74° and 28°. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 269 Ly/day, compared to an average October of 242 Ly/day.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 1.3 mph, compared to an average October wind speed of 2.1 mph. The peak wind gust was 30 mph on the 27th. <b>This was the least windy October since at least 2001.</b> Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.52", and the low barometric was 29.80".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Regarding rainfall, the month started out with a bang, and fizzled out from there.</b> The high daily amount was on October 1st: 0.49" at my station, and 0.53" at HOXO. For the month, my station received 0.98", while HOXO only managed 0.84" An average October receives 2.24", so this was a very dry month.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, even though it was a very dry month, it was a very colorful one. The fantastic Indian Summer weather provided a nice display of Fall foliage, as evidenced <a href="http://oregonfallfoliage.wordpress.com/">here.</a> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were no local weather records set in October. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: verdana;">T</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">hese monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for October 2013, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=10&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank">click here.</a><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=9&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank"> </a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/DtyfiPIHsIg" width="640"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">October... travel season begins to kick into high gear, as many locals decide they would rather be somewhere warmer. I can increasingly relate...</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And speaking of traveling, especially by air, the above video was produced by Virgin America Airlines, apparently as an onboard safety video. Definitely over the top, but pretty entertaining... at least for the first few viewings...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-17374819433053148482013-12-23T17:18:00.001-08:002013-12-23T21:20:33.162-08:00September 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">September 2013, arranged semi-neatly into categories: </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature, rainfall, wind, humidity<br />Average or near: Nothing<br />Below Average: Solar radiation </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 64.3° was way warmer than the long term September average of 60.3°, and warmer than the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 62.3°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 63.0°. This was the 13th consecutive month in Hood River to experience above average temperatures.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 97°, and the low temp was 42°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 96° and 40°. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 360 Ly/day, compared to an average September of 424 Ly/day.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 4.1 mph, compared to an average September wind speed of 3.8 mph. The peak wind gust was 30 mph on the 1st. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.13", and the low barometric was 29.36".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>The most interesting part</b></i> of September's weather was: the rainfall. Most days were dry, but a few days were really wet, as in "record breaking wet". My station received 3.84" for the month, while HOXO reported 3.64" An average September receives 1.01".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>Incredibly, and unfortunately,</b></i> we ended up the month only 0.06" away from setting a new rainfall record for any September in Hood River. The record month was 3.69" in 1982. If it had been my station setting official records, we would have set one. But am I bitter, and filled with resentment?? Nope, no more than usual! :)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>The record breaking wetness</b></i> near the end of the month was brought about by the tattered remnants of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Usagi_%282013%29" target="_blank">Typhoon Usagi</a>, as the tattered remnants made their tattered way across the Pacific, and reached the Pacific Northwest. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>The Hood River News reported </b></i>the event <a href="http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2013/oct/05/september-second-wettest-record/" target="_blank">thusly</a>, which included some rather lame quotes from yours truly. As I astutely noted, "something" combined with "something else" caused the whole exciting weather event, and resulted in records and stuff. Hey, I just report the weather, I don't pretend to understand all the "why's" of it. I leave that for other, <a href="http://thegorgeismygym.com/forecast/" target="_blank">more technically understanding folks.</a> ;)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were 5 local weather records set this month! 3 of them in the temperature category: On 9/3, the low of 62° broke the old "high low" record (61° in 1982). On 9/11, the high of 96° broke the old high temperature record (95° in 1990). And, on 9/15, the low of 62° broke the old "high low" record (60° in 2007).</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The other two records were in the category of rainfall: On 9/28, HOXO recorded 1.28", crushing the previous record (0.75" in 1947). The next day, HOXO recorded 0.88", besting the old record (0.58" in 1962). </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: verdana;">T</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">hese monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for September 2013, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=9&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GYVB0JXlmEY" width="480"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After last month's August Revisted video, which featured "going away" on vacation, this month's video features the "coming back home" part. Classic John Denver, tugging at the heartstrings...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-56543556023984046242013-12-22T09:05:00.000-08:002014-07-30T19:59:14.609-07:00August 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">August 2013 turned out to be:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature, rainfall, wind, humidity<br />Average or near: Nothing<br />Below Average: Solar radiation </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 71.8° was way warmer than the long term August average of 66.7°, and warmer than the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 69.1°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 70.4°. This was the 12th consecutive month in Hood River to experience above average temperatures.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 93°, and the low temp was 53°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 94° and 52°. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 92°, and the low wind chill was 53°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 512 Ly/day, compared to an average August of 571 Ly/day. Meaning it was a little cloudier than average, likely due to thunderstorms, which will be discussed in some detail further down here.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Speaking of thunderstorms, they provided above average rainfall for the month, and set two local precipitation records (see below). My station received 0.57" for the month, while HOXO reported 0.47" An average August receives 0.36". The longest dry spell this summer (43 days) started on June 27th, and ended on August 9th, due to... you guessed it... thunderstorms...</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 4.1 mph, compared to an average August wind speed of 3.8 mph. The peak wind gust was 30 mph on the 1st. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.12", and the low barometric was 29.70".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Now... about those thunderstorms...</i></b> On Friday, August 9th, one of the <a href="http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2013/aug/14/spectacular-storm-breaks-records-and-plans/" target="_blank">most spectacular thunderstorms</a> in memory rolled into town, putting on an amazing show, complete with eerily awesome reddish-orange sunset skies to the west, and a double rainbow to the east. Not to mention, breaking the rainfall record for the date. <a href="http://www.brucesussman.com/extreme-weather/thunderstorms-oregon-lightning/" target="_blank">The storm</a> produced over 2000 lightning strikes around the Mt Hood/Gorge area, and 12,000 strikes throughout Oregon.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>But wait, there's more!</b></i> The next day, August 10th, another T-storm arrived, not quite as impressive as the first, but producing measurable rainfall, which erased the "It never rains on August 10th in Hood River" record.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were 4 local weather records set this month</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">. As mentioned, on the 9th we received 0.08" of rain, breaking the previous record of 0.03", set in 1989. On the 10th, which hadn't ever had rain (at least since 1928), HOXO recorded 0.01", confirming that, yes indeed, sometimes it doesn't take much to set a new weather record.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Two "high low" temperature records were set during August. On the 16th, the low temperature of 64° broke the previous record (63° in 2003), and on the 30th, the low of 63° topped the old record of 60° (1979)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for August 2013, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=8&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jY9xZoKiBgU" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ahh, August: Fond memories of great times spent packing the kids (if I had any) and the dogs (if I had any) into the car for long road trips... If I remember correctly, those were great times, with the greatness mostly revolving around the "getting back home" part.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Anyway, this catchy little tune from the 1983 movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085995/" target="_blank">"Vacation"</a> was written by Lindsey Buckingham (of Fleetwood Mac fame). The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceeiNPv6hrU&noredirect=1" target="_blank">official video</a> for the song is catchy also, but a little too dark and depressing for my liking, kind of like being at work. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-33705513289237122462013-08-28T14:31:00.000-07:002014-06-29T17:12:59.150-07:00July 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">July 2013 stood out, in these mostly above average ways:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Wind, temperature, solar radiation, humidity<br />Average or near: Nothing<br />Below Average: Rainfall </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 72.1° was way warmer than the long term July average of 67.3°, and warmer than the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 70.2°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 71.4°. This was the 11th consecutive month in Hood River to experience above average temperatures.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 94°, and the low temp was 51°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 94° and 47°. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 94°, and the low wind chill was 51°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 691 Ly/day, compared to an average July of 661 Ly/day. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station ended up with absolutely no rainfall for the month, and HOXO also officially recorded absolutely nothing. An average July receives 0.22". </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>July was, to put it mildly, windy.</b> In fact, this was the windiest July since 1989, as measured at HOXO. Those who love the wind were screaming with joy, while those of us who would like an occasional calm day in the summer, were just screaming, but couldn't be heard (because of the wind). Still, it was <a href="http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2013/aug/03/good-wind-good-business/" target="_blank">good for business in Hood River.</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed (for the month) at my weather station was 5.7 mph, compared to an average July wind speed of 4.3 mph. The peak wind gust was 34 mph on the 4th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.13", and the low barometric was 29.74". This was the typical boring July lack of barometric movement, except for the daily diurnal pattern brought about by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_tide" target="_blank">atmospheric tides.</a><br /><br />There were 3 local weather records set this month. They were all "high low" records, and they were all in the first 3 days of the month. On July 1st, </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the low of 66° topped the old record of 65° (1987). On July 2nd, the low of 66° demolished the previous record of 63° (1986). And then, on July 3rd, the low of 67° barely snuck by the old record of 66° (2006).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for July 2013, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=7&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RsY8l0Jg3lY" width="480"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Everyone knows.... it's.... windy ....</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-36130353129924321652013-08-04T16:51:00.002-07:002013-08-04T20:40:27.033-07:00June 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">June 2013 wasn't its typical June-uary self this year:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature, solar radiation<br />Average or near: Nothing<br />Below Average: Wind, rainfall </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 66.0° was warmer than the long term June average of 61.8°, and warmer than the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 62.8°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 65.0°. This was the 10th consecutive month in Hood River to experience above average temperatures.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first major heat wave of the year arrived during the last week of June, first exceeding 90° on the 28th, and then exceeding 100° on the 30th. The heat was accompanied by relatively high relative humidity, which is relatively unusual, for this relative area. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 101°, and the low temp was 47°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 100° and 42°. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 101°, and the low wind chill was 47°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 630 Ly/day, compared to an average June of 609 Ly/day. Less rain, fewer clouds, longer days.... more <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langley_%28unit%29" target="_blank">Langley units!</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding rainfall, the dry spell that characterized the first half of May also characterized the first half of June. My station ended up with 0.59" for the month, and HOXO officially recorded 0.47". An average June receives 0.77". The max daily precipitation was on the 25th, when my station recorded 0.29" and HOXO 0.16". Unfortunately, the rain couldn't have come at a worse time, as the local cherry crop took a big hit.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In thunderstorm news, we actually had one! That was on June 15th, and although it didn't provide hardly any rain locally, it did provide <a href="http://www.hoodrivernews.com/photos/2013/jun/15/20422/" target="_blank">this great photo</a> from Panorama Point.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 3.8 mph, compared to an average June wind speed of 4.1 mph. The peak wind gust was 30 mph on the 9th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (like <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR8" target="_blank">the Waterfront</a>) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.24", and the low barometric was 29.61".<br /><br />There was one local weather record set this month. On the 29th, the low temperature only dropped to 68°, which shattered the previous "high low" record for the date (63° all the way back in 1937).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for June 2013, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=6&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8ZeTlMpnfHk" width="420"></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This June's weather was much nicer than in recent years, and it actually felt like a Summer month (which it sort of is, but it doesn't usually feel like it). So nice, in fact, that it seemed like a dream... </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">An impressive video tribute to the Fleetwood Mac song, created by Oregonian <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/FavoriteTunes2009?feature=watch" target="_blank">Vickie Burns</a> with Northwest pics and smooth transitions. Great job, Vickie. :)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-51794587734524408232013-06-12T15:28:00.001-07:002013-06-13T08:41:02.741-07:00May 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">May 2013 turned out to be:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature, rainfall<br />Average or near: Wind, solar radiation<br />Below Average: Nothing </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My
station's average temperature of 59.4° was way warmer than the long term May average of 56.2°, and way warmer than the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average
of 57.1°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at
HOXO, was 58.6°. This was the 9th consecutive month with above
average temperatures.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 87°, and the low temp was 31°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official
Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 88° and 31°. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index for the month was 86°, and the low wind chill was 31°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 534 Ly/day, compared to an average May of 543 Ly/day.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first half of May started out with a very nice heat wave, which got all the vegetation's hopes up (and ours). It was dry, but that was ok; a nice change from the May's we've had the past few years.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Things changed in the second half of the month. Things cooled down, and the rains returned. My station received 2.23" rain for
the month, but HOXO officially recorded 1.80". An average May
receives 1.08". </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
max daily precipitation was May 29th, when my station recorded 0.82",
and HOXO tallied up 0.58".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 3.5 mph, compared
to an average May wind speed of 3.6 mph. The peak wind gust (at my location) was 29
mph on the 13th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (such as
on the Columbia River) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.51", and the low barometric was 29.65".<br /><br />There
were 5 local weather records set this month! On the mornings of May 7th and 8th, temperatures of 58° set new "high low" records. The previous records were 57° (1992) and 55° (1971). And then, as the heat wave continued, the record "high low" on May 11th was broken again. 58°, compared to the old record of 55° (1987). And then again, on May 12th, another record "high low" was set. On that day, the low temp was 59°, while the previous record was 57° (1993).</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That's only 4 records, so here's the 5th: On May 29th, HOXO received 0.58" of rain, breaking the old record for the date: 0.52", set way back in 1932. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for May 2013, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=5&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-91744497202379284032013-05-31T12:05:00.002-07:002013-05-31T15:21:10.057-07:00April 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">April 2013 was:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature, wind, rainfall (at my station)<br />Average or near: Solar radiation, rainfall (at HOXO)<br />Below Average: Nothing </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 51.6° was warmer than the long term April average of 49.8°, and warmer than the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 49.5°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 50.8°. This was the 8th consecutive month to experience above average temperatures.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 80°, and the low temp was 31°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were also 80° and 31°. Coincidence? I think not; just another confirmation of the old saying that "Great thermometers think alike (except when they don't)."</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 76°, and the low wind chill was 31°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 429 Ly/day, compared to an average April of 435 Ly/day.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding precipitation, April started off with a bang, and then fizzled out in the second half of the month. Still, my station received 2.63" rain for the month, but HOXO officially recorded only 1.62". An average April receives 1.66". So, a bit of a reprieve from this otherwise dry calendar year, but not by much. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The max daily precipitation was April 7th, when my station recorded 0.61" and HOXO tallied up 0.79" (see daily record note below).</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There was no measurable snowfall here at my May and Rand location. Average April snowfall, as historically measured by MCAREC, is 0.1", which is hardly even worth mentioning, but I have to. It's the rules, which I made up myself. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 3.4 mph, compared to an average March wind speed of 3.2 mph. The peak wind gust was 32 mph on the 11th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations (such as on the Columbia River) were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.49", and the low barometric was 29.58".<br /><br />There was one local weather record set this month. On April 7th, HOXO received 0.61" (my station 0.79"), which broke the previous record for the date (0.50" in 1945).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for April 2013, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&day=1&year=2013&month=4&graphspan=month" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lRvhRhWWE44" width="480"></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Whereas April showers tend to bring May flowers, they also bring occasional rainbows (and frogs). Which brings to mind one of my favorite songs about rainbows (and frogs). :)</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-71574180993730678462013-05-17T14:36:00.001-07:002013-05-20T17:34:16.951-07:00March 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">March 2013... Here's how things shaped up (or down):</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature<br />Average or near: Solar radiation<br />Below Average: Wind, rain, snow </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 46.1° was way warmer than the long term March average of 43.8°, and warmer than the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 44.4°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 45.7°. This was the 7th month in a row to have above average temperatures, and also the warmest March since 2007.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 75°, and the low temp was 27°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 74° and 24°. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 72°, and the low wind chill was 27°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 292 Ly/day, compared to an average March of 286 Ly/day. This made it... average...</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding precipitation, my station had 2.32" rain for the month, and HOXO officially recorded 1.87". Since an average March receives 3.17", this was another pretty dry month, the 3rd month in a row to have below average rain. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The max daily precipitation was March 20th, when my station recorded 0.58", and HOXO recorded 0.52".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There was no measurable snowfall here at my May and Rand location. Average March snowfall, as officially (and historically) measured by MCAREC, is 2.2". </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 2.2 mph, compared to an average March wind speed of 2.9 mph. The peak wind gust was 33 mph on the 15th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.46", and the low barometric was 29.59".<br /><br />There were no local weather records set this month. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for March, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&day=1&year=2013&month=3&graphspan=month" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-4580374357415478802013-03-09T20:00:00.004-08:002014-05-21T20:51:29.296-07:00February 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">February 2013 started off exactly like January 2013 (boring), but eventually got interesting. Here's how things averaged out:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature<br />Average or near: Wind, solar radiation<br />Below Average: Rain, snow </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 42.1° was way warmer than the long term February average of 38.0°, and warmer than the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 39.4°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 41.4°.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 58°, and the low temp was 27°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 57° and 26°, another confirmation that either both of our thermometers are accurate, or they're both off. Your guess is as good as mine. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 57°, and the low wind chill was 27°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 193 Ly/day, compared to an average February of 184 Ly/day. A little bit sunnier than average, but not by much.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding precipitation, February was another one of those proverbial "studies in contrasts". The first half of the month was almost totally dry, following the boring dryness of January. Then, on the 21st, the persistent blocking high finally broke down, and the rains returned. My station had 2.01" rain for the month, and HOXO officially recorded 1.50". Since an average February receives 3.81", this was still a very dry month. In fact, up until the 21st, we were looking at tying the record for "least precipitation in February." </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The max daily precipitation was February 28th, when HOXO recorded 0.44", and my station 0.51".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There was no measurable snowfall here at my May and Rand location. Average February snowfall, as officially measured by MCAREC, is 7.3". </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 2.4 mph, compared to an average February wind speed of 2.2 mph. The peak wind gust was 29 mph on the 11th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.53", and the low barometric was 29.75".<br /><br />There were two local weather records set this month, both having to do with waking up to warm mornings. On February 12th, the low temperature of 43° topped the old "high low" record of 41°, set back in 1956. And the very next day, the low temperature of 43° set another "high low" record. Old record 41°, set in 1991. Kind of odd that those two days had the exact same temperature numbers, but that's weather for ya. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for February 2013, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=2&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RKYSHOstkKk" width="480"></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Every year, 'round about February, I start to think "wow, I'm really getting tired of this cold, grey winter weather," and then I start to wonder just how much longer I can take it, before I "snap". Which isn't a pretty sight when it happens, believe me. Regardless, 'round about February every year, "how long" is the question on my lips, which makes for some rather strange looking lips. However, they usually get better looking (relatively speaking) by March.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-84758317961306427242013-02-22T15:09:00.001-08:002013-07-11T20:57:11.218-07:00January 2013 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">January 2013 was (to put it politely), boring. At least here at Hood River city elevation:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature (compared to long term averages)<br />Average or near: Solar radiation<br />Below Average: Wind, rain, snow, temperature (compared to short term averages) </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 34.2° was a little warmer than the long term January average of 33.6°, but cooler than the more recent (2001-2012) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 36.6°. So, sort of in the middle, which is to say: boring. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 33.8°.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 54°, and the low temp was 17°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 53° and 17°, a pretty close match, if I do say so myself. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 54°, and the low wind chill was 17°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 87 Ly/day, compared to an average January of 88 Ly/day. Perfectly average, almost boringly average, although it seemed to me it was grayer than average, thanks to a deep, deep temperature inversion in the middle of the month.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Speaking of the deep, deep inversion in the middle of the month, even <a href="http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2013/01/summer-and-winter-at-same-time.html" target="_blank">Cliff Mass remarked </a>how this one was extraordinary (and boring), with temperatures above the inversion fog layer in the 60's and 70's, and temperatures below the inversion fog layer (here) stuck around 30°, day and night. Luckily, that only lasted 5 boring days, which seemed like at least 10 boring days.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was, to put it mildly, a very dry month, which added to the boring-ness of it all. My station had 1.54" precipitation for the month, and HOXO officially recorded 1.38". This compares (rather poorly) to an average January of 5.14". The max daily precipitation was January 28th, when HOXO recorded 0.40", and my station 0.31".</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Snowfall was nothing to brag about either. We received a measly 2" of snow on January 5th, and that was it. Boring. Average January snowfall, as officially measured by MCAREC, is 14.6". </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 1.5 mph, compared to an average January wind speed of 2.1 mph. The peak wind gust was 29 mph on the 29th, which has a nice ring to it, in an otherwise boring month. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.58", and the low barometric was 29.18".<br /><br />There were no local weather records set this month. And this is (almost) the last time I'll mention "boring" in this post, but believe me, it was.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for January 2013, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=1&day=1&year=2013" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XcATvu5f9vE" width="480"></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm posting this January summary on Feb 22 (hey, that's a definite improvement over the past year!), so what better time for the video of the month to be Valentine's Day themed? Notice how bored the female performers look, kind of all the same, pasty gray-white-ness, as if they weren't getting enough sun? That's what January was like. Pasty, gray, and boring. And not getting enough sun.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Unless you <a href="http://www.skihood.com/" target="_blank">headed for the hills,</a> above the gray, in which case it was a fantastic month. :)</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-17029324420235796242013-02-21T14:18:00.000-08:002013-07-25T20:32:10.313-07:00December 2012 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">December 2012 was:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Rain, snow, temperature<br />Average or near: Solar radiation<br />Below Average: Wind </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 38.2° was warmer than the long term December average of 35.7°, and also warmer than the more recent (2001-2011) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 35.2°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 37.5°.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 53°, and the low temp was 25°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 54° and 26°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 53°, and the low wind chill was 22°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Following in the warm footsteps of November, this wasn't just <i>sort of</i> a warm December; it was the warmest since 2004. Regarding my peppers and tomatoes, I finally gave up on them around the middle of the month, even though they were still sort of alive. I can't remember ever having tomato and pepper plants last that late into the year.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 74 Ly/day, compared to an average December of 73 Ly/day. About as average as one can get.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In precipitation news, my station had 6.75" for the month, and HOXO officially recorded 6.16". An average December gets 5.84", so we ended up above average. The max daily precipitation was December 16th, when HOXO recorded 1.27". That was the result of snow melt from the previous day, and rain on the 16th.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For a month that was pretty darn warm, historically speaking, we ended up with an above average amount of snow, all of it in the second half of the month. We had our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xaTNRqGFwQ" target="_blank">first measurable snowfall</a> for the season, 3.5", on the 15th. That was followed by <a href="http://www.kgw.com/news/Snow-could-cause-hazardous-Gorge-travel-184104091.html" target="_blank">another snowstorm</a> (6") on the 19th. On Christmas Day, yet another 6" of snow, for a gorgeous White Christmas. And to end the month, 0.5" of snow on Dec 31st. Total for the month: 16". Average December snowfall, as officially measured by MCAREC, is 8.6". </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 1.3 mph, compared to an average December wind speed of 1.8 mph. The peak wind gust was 35 mph on the 17th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.58", and the low barometric was 29.18".<br /><br />There were (possibly) two local weather records set this month. On the 19th, I measured 6" of snow, against the old record of 5" (1964). And then, on the 25th, another 6" of snow, with the old record being 5" (1983). MCAREC has yet to update their snow amounts for December, so we might have to wait, perhaps for a very, very long time, to see if those records were actually broken. And don't get me started on how long it takes the good folks at MCAREC to update their data online...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for December 2012, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&day=1&year=2012&month=12&graphspan=month" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ddVZOK_9UUI" width="480"></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A White Christmas... we actually had one this year! Just like the ones we used to know!! For this month's video presentation, there are so many <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=white+christmas&oq=white+c&gs_l=youtube-reduced.1.0.0l4.148931.149755.0.153866.7.7.0.0.0.0.211.955.1j5j1.7.0...0.0...1ac.1.Brj5Z6GYnWc" target="_blank">versions of White Christmas</a> that to pick one is extremely difficult. So extremely difficult, in fact, that I gave up and picked this cute animated one. With <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Drifters" target="_blank">The Drifters</a> providing the musical background, and real cartoon reindeer and a real cartoon Santa providing the on-screen action, this one truly rocks.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-56874359780121065512013-02-04T17:09:00.004-08:002013-02-07T18:46:25.993-08:00November 2012 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">November 2012 can be summed up kind of like this:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature<br />Average or near: Rain<br />Below Average: Snow, wind, solar radiation </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station's average temperature of 44.0° was way warmer than the long term November average of 41.5°, and way warmer than the more recent (2001-2011) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 41.4°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 43.9°.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i></i><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 66°, and the low temp was 31°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 69° and 30°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 65°, and the low wind chill was 31°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This wasn't just <i>sort of</i> a warm November; it was the warmest since 1999! My peppers and tomatoes continued to produce throughout the month, but noticeably less enthusiastically as the month wore on, and the daylight hours dwindled.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And speaking of daylight hours dwindling, solar radiation averaged 96 Ly/day, compared to an average November of 119 Ly/day. Although November was mild, it was a little cloudier than usual.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On to rainfall: my station had 5.61" for the month, and HOXO officially recorded 5.50". An average November gets 5.30", so we ended up near average. The max daily rain was November 19th, when HOXO recorded 1.34", and I recorded 1.19". That occurred in the middle of the first major rainstorm of the season (see video below).</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It didn't snow in November, at least not down at City elevation. Average November snowfall, as officially measured by MCAREC, is 2.7". </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 0.7 mph, pretty wimpy compared to an average November wind speed of 1.7 mph. The peak wind gust was 23 mph. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.47", and the low barometric was 29.53".<br /><br />There was one local weather record set this month. On the 5th, the high temperature reached 69°, which surpassed the old record for the date of 67°, set back in 1975.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for November 2012, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&day=1&year=2012&month=11&graphspan=month" target="_blank">clic</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&day=1&year=2012&month=11&graphspan=month" target="_blank">k here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xlC0wYWM8PA" width="640"></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first Really Big Storm of the season arrived in the Pacific Northwest starting November 17, and actually made the National News. A very powerful Pacific front, so powerful it was being <a href="http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2012/11/superfront-followed-by-big-rain.html" target="_blank">called a Superfront,</a> wound up and slammed into the West Coast. High winds, drenching rains... the typical Superfront type of storm action. We didn't get much here in the Mid-Columbia except for the rain part. But still, it was exciting, and the first really interesting active weather we had seen for quite a while.</span></span>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-33649668460844469192013-02-01T05:50:00.000-08:002013-02-03T20:27:57.138-08:00October 2012 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">October 2012 was:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature, rain<br />Average or near: Solar radiation<br />Below Average: Wind </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In October, my station's average temperature of 53.1° was warmer than the long term October average of 51.2°, and warmer than the more recent (2001-2011) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 51.1°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 51.7°.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i></i><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 83°, and the low temp was 31°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 83° and 28°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 81°, and the low wind chill was 31°.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station at May and Rand had its first frost (31°) on the 6th, but fortunately for the tomatoes and peppers, it wasn't a killing freeze. That didn't happen until the middle of December, which is another story. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 234 Ly/day, compared to an average October solar radiation of 243 Ly/day. Pretty close to average.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">October is traditionally the transitional month for rain around here. Typically, we get little to no rain from about July 5th to about October 15th, and then... the rainy season begins. This year, it began on October 12, and never looked back.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My station had 4.53" for the month, and HOXO officially recorded 3.90". An average October gets 2.24", so we ended up way over average. Which was good, because it extinguished, once and for all, the wildfires mentioned in the previous blog post.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The max rain day was October 15th, when HOXO recorded 0.77", and I got 0.71". </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 1.6 mph, compared to an average October wind speed of 2.2 mph. The peak wind gust was 28 mph. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.43", and the low barometric was 29.59".<br /><br />There were no local weather records set this month.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for October 2012, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=10&day=1&year=2012" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cvQ-IJihrJM" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">October is, among other things, football season. And so is late January, which is when I'm actually posting this, because I have serious procrastination issues when it comes to this blog. So, as much as I would like to claim this belated post is purposefully timed to come out just before SuperBowl 2013.... Yep, it's purposefully timed! (or not) </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-40099561672606429382013-01-30T05:52:00.000-08:002013-01-30T19:51:24.665-08:00September 2012 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">September 2012, compared to historical averages:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature, solar radiation, wind<br />Average or near: Pretty much nothing<br />Below Average: Rain </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">September was exactly like August, only different. Again, my station's average temperature of 64.9° was WAY warmer than the long term September average of 60.3°, and considerably warmer than the more recent (2001-2011) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 62.0°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 63.1°.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i></i><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 91°, and the low temp was 39°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 90° and 38°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 87°, and the low wind chill was 39°.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 452 Ly/day, compared to an average September solar radiation of 422 Ly/day. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Following the trend in August, it was another <i><u>very</u></i> dry month. I had 0.01" for a monthly precip total at my station, and so did HOXO. However, the manually read station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/sites/default/files/september_2012_final.pdf" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, didn't get any precip at all. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On average, Hood River receives 1.01" of rain in September. I was thinking maybe that no rain, or at the most 0.01", was a record for any September, but <a href="http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMONtpre.pl?or4003" target="_blank">I was wrong.</a> It's actually happened a few times before, but that doesn't make it right, or even hardly acceptable.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 3.1 mph, compared to an average September wind speed of 2.6 mph. The peak wind gust was 32 mph. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.38", and the low barometric was 29.80".<br /><br />There were no local weather records set this month.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for September 2012. <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=9&day=1&year=2012" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-Sqc7T_LULg" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If I were to choose just one word to describe this September, it would be "wildfires, and smoke". Above is an interesting time-lapse looking from Hood River over to White Salmon, where the <a href="http://www.inciweb.org/incident/3238/" target="_blank">"Highway 141"</a> fire was burning. Further North, the <a href="http://www.inciweb.org/incident/3249/" target="_blank">"Cascade Creek"</a> fire raged at the foot of Mt Adams. And then, to give folks on the Hood River side of the Columbia River something to get excited about, there was the <a href="http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2012/sep/27/milepost-66-wildfire-update/" target="_blank">"MP 66"</a> fire just east of Hood River. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Luckily, none of those fires resulted in loss of life, or major injury, or much damage to any structures, thanks to the much appreciated efforts of hundreds of firefighters, and others.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Also luckily, the weather (specifically the wind) played an important part in the fire control, since it changed direction from west to east, back to west, to east, to west, to east....over and over again. The down side was that this made the smoke build up over the Mid-Columbia region (and beyond), making for quite a few days of low air quality, and low visibility.</span></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-24232196496500577442013-01-29T06:36:00.000-08:002013-07-11T21:35:03.754-07:00August 2012 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">August 2012, compared to historical averages:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Temperature<br />Average or near: Solar radiation<br />Below Average: Rain, wind </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In August, my station's average temperature of 71.5° was WAY warmer than the long term August average of 66.7°, and considerably warmer than the more recent (2001-2011) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 68.8°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 70.1°.</span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This made for the warmest August at my weather station since before 2001, and the warmest official August in HR since 2004. Hot stuff, after a series of summers with mostly lower than average temperatures. </span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i></i><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 104°, and the low temp was 46°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 102° and 41°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 102°, and the low wind chill was 46°.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 573 Ly/day, compared to an average August solar radiation of 571 Ly/day. Almost exactly average.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was, as August's often are, a very dry month. I had 0.02" for a monthly precip total at my station, and HOXO officially recorded: <u>Nothing</u>. An average August historically receives 0.36", but the last time we had any officially recorded rain in August was back in 2008. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 4.2 mph, compared to an average August wind speed of 3.8 mph. The peak wind gust was 29 mph. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.16", and the low barometric was 29.69".<br /><br />There was one local weather record set this month. On the 6th, the low temperature only dropped to 68°, breaking the old "high low" record of 67° set in 2010. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for August 2012, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=8&day=1&year=2012" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NuCZDanw3aE" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">August 2012 was special, astronomically speaking, due to the Full Moon occurring twice within the month. Sadly, these <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_moon" target="_blank">Blue Moons</a> aren't actually blue, which would be <u>really</u> special. And they're not all that unusual either, but the next one won't happen until July 2015. </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703186610951968830.post-77435471023600589252013-01-28T05:51:00.000-08:002013-01-28T19:50:38.229-08:00July 2012 Revisited<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here's July 2012, compared to historical averages:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above average: Rain, wind<br />Average or near: Temperature<br />Below Average: Solar radiation </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In July, my station's average temperature of 69.4° was considerably warmer than the long term July average of 67.3°, but cooler than the more recent (2001-2011) </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">average of 70.2°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 68.7°. Because of the discrpency between long term and short term averages, I'm calling this July: Average temperature. You can call it something different if you would like. In any event, it was really nice to finally have Summer arrive again.<br /><br />The maximum temperature (at my station) was 88°, and the low temp was 45°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 93° and 42°. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 92°, and the low wind chill was 45°.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Solar radiation averaged 632 Ly/day, compared to an average July solar radiation of 663 Ly/day. I think this was probably influenced by the couple of thunderstorms we had, and generally a little more cloudy conditions overall.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Regarding those thunderstorms, I had 0.83" for a monthly precip total at my station, and HOXO officially recorded 0.89", compared to an historical average of 0.22". The official high rain day at HOXO was 0.40" on the 24th, which is odd, because my station didn't record anything that day. I have no way to explain that, other than that's what thunderstorms sometimes do: they can be very localized. Or something.<br /><br />Average wind speeds were way above average; in fact, the highest July on average since 2001, and probably even earlier. The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 5.6 mph, compared to an average July wind speed of 4.1 mph. The peak wind gust was 32 mph. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Barometric pressure peaked at 30.21", and the low barometric was 29.68".<br /><br />There was one local weather record set this month. On the 19th, Hood River officially received 0.39" of rain, breaking the old record of 0.20" in 1987. The reason? Thunderstorms. Which we've been having a little more often in the summer, but not often enough for my liking (my apologies to the wildfire fighters).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These monthly summaries use data from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To view my weather station's data for July 2012, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORHOODR1&graphspan=month&month=7&day=1&year=2012" target="_blank">click here.</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/dept/mcarec/agrimet" target="_blank">MCAREC</a>, and <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/hoxoda.html" target="_blank">HOXO,</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">the automated station located right next to MCAREC.</span></span><br />
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GS5JOAdZH18" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not only was the West rowdy (see previous blog post); it was Wild. And to tame that Wilderness, railroads (and steam engines) were involved. Check out the <a href="http://historichoodriver.com/index.php?showimage=538" target="_blank">"Age of Steam"</a> week from the <a href="http://historichoodriver.com/" target="_blank">Historic Hood River</a> photo blog, for some local Hood River historical context.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0