Hood River Weather

December 2011 Revisited

2012-01-13T14:11:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, December 2011 in Hood River was pretty much average in temperature, but pretty much below average in rain, snow, and wind. However, on the bright side (literally), it was sunnier than average.

My station's average temperature of 35.3° was a little cooler than the long term December average of 35.7°, and a little warmer than the more recent (2001-2010) average of 35.1°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 35.0°.

At the risk of saying "my station" a bit too often, the maximum December temperature (at my station) was 56°, and the minimum was 21°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 57° and 21°. The high heat index for the month was 56°, and the low wind chill was 19°.

This year, December was notable for having way more daytime and nighttime clear skies than average, even with inversion conditions that should have dictated more clouds. Solar radiation averaged a blazing 98 Ly/day, compared to an average December solar radiation of 70 Ly/day. The maximum solar radiation, 178, occurred on the 2nd. The minimum, 12, occurred on the 28th.

Official precipitation totaled 4.05" at HOXO, and 4.08" at my station, compared to an average of 5.85". The high rain day was 1.40" on the 28th, as the only extended rain event in December rolled through from Christmas through the end of the month.

December disappointed those of us who wanted some snowfall. No White Christmas, not even close. We managed to squeeze 1.0" of the white stuff out of the sky on Dec 14, and that measurement was probably overly optimistic. Average snowfall for December in Hood River is 8.6".

The 24 hour average wind speed at my somewhat sheltered weather station was 1.2 mph, compared to an average December wind speed of 1.9 mph. The peak wind gust was 31 mph on the 3rd. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher.

Barometric pressure peaked at a head-imploding 30.82" on Dec 1st, as a deep inversion started the month off. Low barometric was 29.65" on the 30th.

There were no local weather records set in December.

These monthly summaries use data from my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for December 2011, click here.

For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at MCAREC, and HOXO, the automated station located right next to MCAREC.

Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping. In this case, slipping from 2011 into 2012.

November 2011 Revisted

2011-12-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, November 2011 in Hood River was cooler, sunnier, drier, and less windy.

My station's average temperature of 40.6° was cooler than the long term November average of 41.5°, and also cooler than the more recent (2001-2010) average of 41.4°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 40.8°.

At my station, the maximum temperature in November was 58°, and the minimum was 27°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 60° and 27°. The high heat index for the month was 58°, and the low wind chill was 27°.

Solar radiation averaged 132 Ly/day, compared to an average November solar radiation of 117 Ly/day. The maximum solar radiation, 178, occurred on the 2nd. The minimum, 26, on the 16th.

Official precipitation totaled 4.49" at HOXO, and 4.80" at my station, compared to an historical average of 5.30". The high rain day was 1.04" on Nov 17th.

The first measurable snow of the season, 2" worth, fell on Nov 16th. That was the only snowfall for the month, compared to an average November snow total of 2.7".

The 24 hour average wind speed at my somewhat sheltered weather station was 1.1 mph, compared to an average November wind speed of 1.9 mph.

The peak wind gust was 30 mph on the 13th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.77", with a low of 29.50".

There was 1 local weather record set in November. The 2 inches of snowfall on Nov 16th broke the old record of 1", set back in 1955.

These monthly summaries use data from my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for November 2011, click here.

For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at MCAREC, and HOXO, the automated station located right next to MCAREC.

The October Mystery Solved!

2011-11-11T11:49:00.000-08:00

Well, sort of. For years now, there has been a puzzling discrepancy between what my weather display software (WeatherView32) displays each October for "Average Monthly Rain to Date", and "Average Water Year Rain to Date". Since the "Water Year" starts each year on October 1st, the two numbers should be identical on each day in October, but they aren't.

I was able to calmly ignore this puzzling discrepancy until it became a slightly annoying discrepancy, after Gary Boggs (waveguru) started to point it out in emails to me, and then it became a really annoying discrepancy, once the weather chat room came into existence, and dozens of concerned citizens started bugging me about it.

So, this October, I decided to try to figure it out, once and for all. And, with the aid of a Excel spreadsheet, it became clear what the display software was doing. Here's the spreadsheet of the first 10 days of October:

WeatherView32 contains a database of records and averages for all days of the year, based on the MCAREC historical records here in Hood River. The above chart shows the precipitation data for the first 10 days of October. In column B, the historical daily averages are shown for each day. Column C totals those up from day to day for the month. Column D is what is displayed as the "Monthly Rain to Date" total on the weather web site graphic, and Column E shows what the "Water Year to Date" total is displayed as.

Note that Column C and D match perfectly, day to day, as they should. However, the total in Column E starts lagging behind, but by a varying amount each day. Notice what that amount is?

Yep, that's right. Column E waits until the NEXT day to increment the yearly total upwards, and therefore always lags behind by one day.

Now, WHY it does that is still a mystery, and will probably remain so, as the author of the WV32 software has not returned my emails. So, you now know as much as I do about this puzzling, annoying discrepancy, so please just live with it, as I had calmly learned to do years ago, until I didn't.

Oh, by the way, if for some strange reason (like, you don't trust me or something, which is understandable) you want to view the whole sordid month of October, here's the full Excel spreadsheet.

October 2011 Revisited

2011-11-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, October 2011 in Hood River was warmer and cloudier, with slightly under average precipitation. Wind speeds were almost exactly average.

My station's average temperature of 53.5° was warmer than the long term October average of 51.2°, and also warmer than the more recent (2001-2010) average of 50.9°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 52.7°.

Hood River had its first frost (32°) on October 25, and the next day the temperature hit 28°, effectively ending the veggie gardening season.

At my station, the maximum October temperature was 70°, and the minimum was 28°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 69° and 28°. The high heat index for the month was 67°, and the low wind chill was 28°.

Solar radiation averaged 207 Ly/day, compared to an average October solar radiation of 246 Ly/day. The maximum solar radiation, 314, occurred on the 17th. The minimum, 55, on the 22nd.

Official precipitation totaled 1.58" at HOXO, and 2.06" at MCAREC, compared to an average of 2.24". My station recorded 1.99"". The high rain day was 0.50" on Oct 10th.

The 24 hour average wind speed at my somewhat sheltered weather station was 2.0 mph, compared to an average October wind speed of 2.1 mph.

The peak wind gust was 24 mph on the 6th and 28th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.47", with a low of 29.46".

There was 1 local weather record set in October. On the 22nd, the low temperature only reached 53°, setting a new "high low" for the date. Previous record: 50° in 2003.

These monthly summaries use data from my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for October 2011, click here.

For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at MCAREC, and HOXO, the automated station located right next to MCAREC.

Speaking of October, this classic tune vaguely relates to Halloween, which is in October. It also vaguely relates to Walla Walla, which is in Washington. Other than that, good luck getting it out of your head. And whatever you do, don't start tapping your feet.

September 2011 Revisited

2011-11-04T12:41:00.001-07:00

Compared to historical averages, September 2011 in Hood River was hotter and drier, with average sunshine and wind speeds.

In a summer that was notable for a lack of heat waves, September finally came to the rescue. Starting with temperatures in the low 80's on Sept 3rd, the heat arrived and stayed until Sept 13th, setting 3 temperature records (see below). Better late than never, and with cooler evening temperatures, the heat was quite tolerable. Although, we have A/C, so your tolerance mileage may have varied.

My station's average temperature of 65.6° was much warmer than the long term September average of 60.0°, and also warmer than the more recent (2001-2010) average of 61.7°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 64.7°.

This was officially the warmest September since 1990, and the 3rd warmest September on record for Hood River. The warmest was 65.4° in 1967, so if you go by my weather station's average, this WAS the warmest September ever.

At my station, the maximum temperature was 98°, and the minimum was 41°. The high heat index for the month was 97°, and the low wind chill was 41°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 96° and 38°.

Solar radiation averaged 421 Ly/day, compared to an average September solar radiation of 422 Ly/day. The maximum solar radiation, 560, occurred on Sept 2nd.

Official precipitation totaled 0.08", compared to an average of 1.02". My station also recorded 0.08". The high rain day was 0.04" on Sept 16th.

The 24 hour average wind speed at my somewhat sheltered weather station was 2.5 mph, compared to an average September wind speed of 2.7 mph.

The peak wind gust was 29 mph on the 13th and 25th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.38", with a low of 29.60".

There were 3 local weather records set in September. On the 7th, the high reached 96°, breaking the old record of 94 in 1944. On the 11th, it cranked up to 96° again, breaking the record of 95° (1990). Then, on the next morning, as the heat wave fizzled out, the low only reached 65°, setting a new "high low" record for the date (old record 62° in 2007).

These monthly summaries use data from my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for September 2011, click here.

For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at MCAREC, and HOXO, the automated station located right next to MCAREC.

Coming up in November to a planet near you. The Mars Curiosity rover mission.

August 2011 Revisited

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, August 2011 in Hood River was hotter, sunnier, and windier.

My station's average temperature of 70.1° was way warmer than the long term August average of 66.6° (yikes...there's that number again...), and also warmer than the more recent (2001-2010) average of 68.7°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 69.1°.

In case you're wondering (and even if you aren't), this was the warmest August since 2004. It really didn't feel like an especially warm August, but things warmed up in the 2nd half of the month, and night time lows stayed unusually warm.

At my station, the maximum temperature was 95°, and the minimum was 47°. Official Hood River highs and lows were 93° and 44°. The high heat index for the month was 93°, and the low wind chill was 47°.

Solar radiation averaged 598 Ly/day, compared to an average August solar radiation of 568 Ly/day. The maximum solar radiation, 661, occurred on August 1st.

Official precipitation totaled 0.05", compared to an average of 0.37". My station recorded 0.06". The high rain day (in fact, the ONLY rain day) was the 26th.

The 24 hour average wind speed at my somewhat sheltered weather station was 5.0 mph, compared to an average August wind speed of 3.7 mph. This was, believe it or not, the windiest August since I started keeping wind records in 2001.

The peak wind gust was 30 mph on the 13th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.13", with a low of 29.74".

There was 1 local weather record set in August. On August 25th, it didn't hardly cool off at night, and the temperature only dropped to 67° at HOXO (70° at my station), breaking the previous "high low" record for the date of 64° in 1958. There were other days in mid to late August that tied or came close to the previous "high low" records, and that helps account for the relatively high overall average temperature for August.

These monthly summaries use data from my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for August 2011, click here.

For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at MCAREC, and HOXO, the automated station located right next to MCAREC.

Summer finally arrives in Hood River. Break out the limes and the coconuts?

July 2011 Revisited

2011-10-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, July 2011 in Hood River was either average in temperature, or slightly cooler, depending on how you look at it. Also, it was cloudier and wetter, with above average winds.

My station's average temperature (67.3°) was exactly the same as the long term July average (yep, 67.3°), but cooler than the more recent (2001-2010) average of 70.5°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 66.2°.

At my station, the maximum temperature was 94°, and the minimum was 47°. Official Hood River highs and lows were 92° and 44°. The high heat index for the month was 90°, and the low wind chill was 47°.

Solar radiation averaged 613 Ly/day, compared to an average July solar radiation of 668 Ly/day. The maximum solar radiation, 741, occurred on July 8th.

Official precipitation totaled 0.34", compared to an average of 0.22". My station recorded 0.33". The high rain day was the 25th, when 0.12" of rain fell.

The 24 hour average wind speed at my somewhat sheltered weather station was 4.4 mph, compared to an average wind speed of 4.1 mph for the month. The peak wind gust was 29 mph on the 7th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.17", with a low of 29.65".

There was 1 local weather record set in July. On July 25th, 0.12" of rain fell, breaking the old record for the date of 0.03" (1983). At 0.03", this was clearly a record just waiting to be broken.

These monthly summaries use data from my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for July 2011, click here.

For official Hood River data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at MCAREC, and HOXO, the automated station located right next to MCAREC.

As an aside, but definitely related to weather, the Columbia River ran very high and fast this April thru most of the summer, due to large Spring snowpacks. Graphs of flows and stuff from USGS are here. And below, a historical video look at the mighty Columbia, produced back in 1947, but still fascinating. Thanks Dan in the weather chat room for the original link.

June 2011 Revisited

2011-10-02T15:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know... I've been avoiding my blogging responsibilities (whatever those are). Here it is October 2nd, and I'm just now grudgingly posting the "June 2011 Revisited" blog. My excuse, and the one my legal team (if I had one) told me to use, is that I took some time off to "get my mind right". It didn't work, my mind still isn't quite right. But, with the cooler, more indoor-type months upon us now, I decided to at least catch up on the "Monthly Revisited" postings.

Here's my real excuse: it takes several excruciating hours of compiling data from various sources to do these summaries, and I often run into the same dilemma. Which is: MCAREC holds and maintains the official NOAA database for Hood River. It's what I base my determinations on, of when a new record is set. However, their data is very slow to become available. Plus, they take their readings at 8 am, and temperature and rainfall amounts get attributed to that day, rather than the correct way of attributing precipitation and high temperature to the previous day.

As a result, this past June my frustration level with that reached a new peak, when the heavy thunderstorm rain that we received on June 5th, actually got attributed to June 6th by MCAREC on their official monthly report. I know, it's kind of a minor thing in The Big Picture, but month after month, year after year of wondering what data to report in these monthly summaries, and when records are set, finally got to me, and I gave up and took the summer off from writing the damn things.

But, I'm back, mentally refreshed, ready to play, so put me in, Coach.

I still don't really know how to resolve the MCAREC dilemma, but next time it bothers me, I'm gonna have a couple of cold ones, take a deep breath, and... have a couple more cold ones.

So, without further ado, here's June 2011 Revisited:

Compared to historical averages, June 2011 in Hood River was average in temperature, wetter, with slightly above average winds.

My station's average temperature this June of 62.0° was slightly warmer than long term averages (61.8°), but cooler than the recent (2001-2010) average of 63.0°. The official average temperature in Hood River was 61.1°.

At my station, the maximum temperature was 88°, and the minimum was 41°. Official Hood River highs and lows were 85° and 39°. The high heat index for the month was 87°, and the low wind chill was 41°.

Solar radiation picked up a bit from earlier this Spring, averaging 603 Ly/day, compared to an average June solar radiation of 618 Ly/day. The maximum solar radiation, 782, occurred on June 15th. By the way, the maximum daily solar radiation on record (785) in recent history in Hood River was on June 15, 2005. Since length of day is the predominate factor in solar radiation (cloud cover is the other), the high usually occurs in June. But not always; if June is really cloudy, the yearly high can occur in early July.

Official precipitation totaled 1.24", compared to an average June of 0.76". My station recorded 1.10". Most of the rain fell on June 5/6, during the awesome thunderstorm featured in a previous post.

The 24 hour average wind speed at my somewhat sheltered weather station was 4.4 mph, compared to an average June wind speed of 4.1 mph. The peak wind gust was 30 mph on the 14th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.23", with a low of 29.60".

There was 1 local weather record set in June, during the aforementioned awesome thunderstorm. On June 6th, 0.98" of rain fell, breaking the old record for the date of 0.43" (1993).

These monthly summaries use data from my weather station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for June 2011, click here.

For official HR data, and historical averages/records, the data comes from both the manually read NOAA station at MCAREC, and HOXO, the automated station located right next to MCAREC.

May 2011 Revisited

2011-06-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, May 2011 in Hood River was way colder, way cloudier, and way wetter, with above average winds.

May continued the increasingly annoying pattern of disappointing, disgusting, and downright despicable weather this Spring. Day after day, week after week, month after month of cold, cloudy, wet, hope-destroying weather. Am I bitter? Yes, but I'll get over it, and then I'll be complaining about the way too hot, way too dry, and way too windy Summer weather.

Anyway, the average temperature this May of 52.9° was colder than long term averages (56.2°), and even more colder than the recent (2001-2010) average of 57.4°. We can, however, take a small amount of perverse satisfaction in that it wasn't quite as cold as last May. And we can only hope this isn't some sort of diabolical pattern emerging for Spring in the NW.

Speaking of cold, here's Mark Nelsen, from Portland's Ch12, with his May summary. Note that the darkest blue areas, setting more local records in the US than any other area, are right in our area!

Here in Hood River, the maximum temperature was 74°, and the minimum was 32°. The high heat index for the month was 72°, and the low wind chill was 32°.

Going along with the continued cloudy trend this Spring, solar radiation averaged only 487 Ly/day, which was pretty dimly lit compared to an average April solar radiation of 546 Ly/day.

Official precipitation totaled 3.12", compared to an average May of 1.15". My station recorded 3.41". The all time record for May rainfall in Hood River is 3.34" (2005), which means I had a record monthly rainfall at my house, but alas, not an official record for HR. Sigh... the story of my life...

It rained on 11 of the 30 days in the month, which is, if you're counting, a third of the time. The maximum daily rainfall (1.55") occurred on May 15th.

The 24 hour average wind speed for May at my somewhat sheltered weather station was 3.9 mph, compared to the historical average of 3.6 mph. The peak wind gust was 35 mph on May 14th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.47", with a low of 29.53".

There were 3 local weather records in May. On May 15th, MCAREC received 1.55" of rain, blasting by the old record of 0.64 set in 2001. On May 28th, the high temperature only reached 56°, breaking the old "low high" record of 57° in 2006. And, on May 31st, 0.95" of rain, which surpassed the old record of 0.75" in 1993.

These monthly summaries use the official NOAA data from MCAREC when available. Here's their data for May 2011. Some data isn't available there, so that comes from my station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for May 2011, click here.

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on one's beliefs), the Rapture didn't occur on May 21 as predicted. Not to worry though, the next ETA is October 21.

Thunderstorm!

2011-06-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

On June 5th, as the first heat wave of the year (80+ degrees for 2 days) was winding down, an upper level low off the California coast began spinning moisture up in our direction.

And then, against all normal odds, at approximately 7:30 pm, a thunderstorm of epic proportions (for Hood River) moved in overhead, and remained parked here for an amazing 90 minutes of awesome lightning, a number of almost instantaneous thunderclaps, and torrential downpours.

My weather station recorded 1.01 inches during the event, most of it happening in the first 30 minutes or so. At one point, I recorded a rainfall rate of 5.76"/hour, which is the highest rate I've seen since I've been paying attention to such stuff. It remains to be seen what MCAREC, the official NOAA station in Hood River received, but their automated station nearby registered 0.98". The previous record rainfall for June 5th in HR was 0.48" in 1993.

Ok, so this was probably just a 3 or so on a scale of 1-10 for typical Midwest t-storms, but still... for Hood River, which has this uncanny ability to divert thunderstorms around so they don't happen here, it was totally awesome.

Gary Boggs captured a couple of videos here and here, and below is a video from the Hood River News on the event. If I find more photos/videos, I'll post 'em.

April 2011 Revisited

2011-05-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, April 2011 in Hood River was colder, cloudier, and wetter, with about average winds.

All in all, April was a lot like March. Snow piled up in the mountains, rain piled up in the lowlands, and complaints piled up amongst those of us who, quite frankly, would really like an occasional warm, dry spell this time of the year.

The average temperature of 46.2° was colder than long term averages (49.8°), and also colder than the more recent (2001-2010) average of 49.6°. Interestingly, Springs here have been cooler than the long term averages for the past 4 years. The maximum temperature was 66°, and the minimum was 29°. The high heat index for the month was 65°, and the low wind chill was 29°.

Going along with the continued cloudy trend this Spring, solar radiation averaged 419 Ly/day, compared to an average April of 439 Ly/day.

Official precipitation totaled 3.88", compared to an April average of 1.64". My station recorded 5.13". It rained on 16 of the 30 days in the month, which, if one does the math, is... half of the time. The maximum daily rainfall (1.12") occurred mostly on April 4th, but gets associated with April 5th, because that's the way these things are done. Don't ask me why.

The 24 hour average wind speed for April at my somewhat sheltered weather station was 3.2 mph, compared to the historical average of 3.1 mph. The peak wind gust was 29 mph on April 1st. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.44", with a low of 29.59".

There were 3 local weather records in April, all related to rain. On April 5th, MCAREC received 1.12" of rain, blasting by the old record of 0.78 set in 2009. On April 16th, rain totaled 0.81, breaking the old record of 0.49" in 1996. And on April 26th, 0.52" of rain, which surpassed the old record of 0.43" in 1978.

These monthly summaries use the official NOAA data from MCAREC when available. Some data isn't available there, so that comes from my station located near May and Rand Streets in Hood River. To view my weather station's data for April 2011, click here.

One cold, wet month leads to another. Hopefully, a fix is coming.

March 2011 Revisited

2011-04-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, March 2011 in Hood River was colder, cloudier, and wetter, with slightly below average winds.

The month came in like a lion, and pretty much went out the same way. We couldn't reach a high temperature of 60° to save our lives. First it snowed, then it rained and rained, and it generally stayed cool and cloudy far more than it should have. And to top it off, my weather station went tits up (so to speak), and was out of commission for 8 days.

As a result, it's occurred to me that the data I list here each month really should all come from HOXO or MCAREC whenever possible, as they are the official weather data keepers for Hood River. If they don't have the data available, I'll use my station's data, and revise it when the official data is available. To view my station's data for March 2011, click here.

The average temperature of 42.3° was cooler than long term averages (43.8°), and also cooler than the more recent (2001-2010) average of 44.6°. The maximum temp was 57°, and the minimum was 27°. The high heat index for the month was 60°, and the low wind chill was 29°.

Did I mention that it was a cloudy month? Solar radiation averaged 218 Ly/day, compared to an average of 294 Ly/day. In fact, this was the least sunny March since 2000, which is as far back as I've bothered to look.

Precipitation totaled 5.96", almost double the March average of 3.12". It rained on 26 of the 31 days in the month, which was ridiculous. The maximum daily rainfall (1.57") occurred on March 1st. Also on that date, we had 7" of snow (the total for the month), with an average March having 2.2" of snow.

The 24 hour average wind speed for March was 2.6 mph, compared to the historical average of 2.9 mph. The peak wind gust was 30 mph on March 30. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.29", with a low of 29.45".

There were 2 local weather records in March. Oddly enough, one record on the first day of the month, and one record on the last day of the month. Kind of like bookends or something. On 3/1, the rain/melted snow totaled 1.57", blasting by the old record of 1.06" set in 1955. On 3/31, the low temperature of 50° set a new "high low" record for the date (old record 48° in 2003).

A very cool time lapse video of auroras.

February 2011 Revisited

2011-03-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, February in Hood River was cooler, less sunny, and average in both precipitation and wind.

February was one of those months that started off one way, and ended up the opposite. In this case, it started out unseasonably warm and dry, setting records, almost Spring-like. That got everybody's hopes up, including plants that started blooming weeks before they normally would. And, of course, that set the stage for how the month ended up: arctic air moved in, setting record lows, with some snow and heavy rain to top it all off.

Overall, the average temperature of 37.5° was slightly cooler than long term averages (38.0°), and also cooler than the more recent (2001-2010) average of 39.8°.

Solar radiation at HOXO averaged 172 Ly/day, compared to an average February of 187 Ly/day.

Precipitation totaled 3.64" for the month, which was pretty darn close to average (3.84"). We had 4.5" of snow for the month, less than the long term average of 7.3".

The 24 hour average wind speed for February was 1.7 mph, compared to the historical average of 1.8 mph. The high wind gust at my station was 33 mph on Feb 22.

The high heat index for the month was 57°, and the low wind chill was 6°. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.78", with a low of 29.52.

It was a busy month for setting local weather records: 6 total. On 2/5, the low of 46° set a new "high low" (previous 43° in 1961). The next day, the low of 48° set another high low (previous 45° in 1961). These were, as mentioned above, during the Warm Part of February.

Then, on 2/25, the Cold Part of February kicked in, setting a "low high" record of 27° (previous 31° in 1962). This was followed on 2/26 by TWO temperature records on one day: the low of 8° (previous record 11° in 1962), and the "low high" of 31° (previous 35° in 1993).

Finally, on 2/28, the official rain total of 0.99" barely squeaked by the old record of 0.98" set in 2009. My station had 1.42", for what that's worth.

The tabular data below is from my home weather station. To view its February 2011 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2001 to 2010 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	57	7	37.5	38.0
Wind (mph)	33		1.8	1.7
Rainfall (in)	1.42		3.64 (total)	3.84

Ready for Spring? All you have to do is dream...

January 2011 Revisited

2011-02-12T13:31:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, January in Hood River was sunnier, warmer, drier, and average in wind.

"Sunnier"? WTF? Where did that additional adjective in my summary sentence come from? Well, as an indication of just how crazy I am, I've starting to track "solar radiation" for Hood River, as measured at the HOXO station. Solar radiation can function as a gauge of the relative amount of sunshine vs clouds, and is measured in Langley units (Ly) And since I sometimes wonder if any particular month was cloudier than average, this is a way to put some data behind it. So, I can wonder about other things instead, like: why do I even bother? :)

For January, the solar radiation averaged 96 Ly/day, compared to an average January of 84 Ly/day. By comparison, January of last year was considerably lower at 72 Ly, which was due to a LOT of inversion clouds that month. We were quite fortunate this January, as cloudy inversions didn't happen very frequently, and when they did, the sun managed to mostly burn through by afternoons.

Temperature-wise, the average temperature of 38.7° was way warmer than long term averages (33.5°), and also warmer than the more recent (2001-2010) average of 36.7°.

January precipitation (3.69") was below average (5.13"). The month started out dry, and pretty much stayed dry. Except for a week in the middle of the month, when arctic air moved in, it snowed, then freezing rain, then a Pineapple Express moved through, it rained, the snow melted, and the rivers rose. For details, refer to the "Flood On The Hood" post below.

It wasn't an especially snowy January. We had 5" of snow for the month, less than the long term average of 14.6".

The 24 hour average wind speed for January was 1.7 mph, compared to a historical average of... wow... exactly 1.7 mph! The high wind gust at my station was 38 mph on Jan 17th.

The high heat index for the month was 57°, and the low wind chill was 18°. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.67", with a low of 29.81".

There were 2 local weather records set in February. On 1/14, the "high low" of 46° broke the old record of 42 (1982). And then, as the Pineapple Express roared through, HOXO received 1.12" of rain, which broke the old record of 1.07" (1953).

The tabular data below is from my home weather station. To view its January 2011 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2001 to 2010 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	57	18	38.7	33.5
Wind (mph)	38		1.7	1.7
Rainfall (in)	1.01		3.69 (total)	5.13

❤ Valentine's Day and American Heart Month, both in February. Coincidence? I think not. ❤

Flood On The Hood!

2011-01-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, January 15, a warm moisture-laden Pineapple Express took direct aim at the Pacific Northwest. Freezing levels skyrocketed, moving high above the ski areas, and 5-6 inches of orographically (I love that word) enhanced rain fell on Mt Hood over the weekend. Timberline Lodge recorded the most, with a bit over 9" rain. Hood River itself received about 1.5" of rain during that time.

As a result, the flow and level of the Hood river started rising dramatically, and kept rising until it topped out Sunday afternoon at 12.9 feet on the Tucker Bridge gauge. Peak flow was estimated to be 13,500 cfs. That was just barely into the flood stage, but still way impressive. This was the highest flow on the Hood since Nov 2006. For a list of peak flows dating back to 1898, click here.

This was almost certainly the most photographed and videotaped flood on the Hood ever. I've assembled some links to videos and pictures below, and will add more as I find them. Let me know if I've missed any.

Gary Boggs (waveguru) won the honors of having the first video posted on YouTube (the video above), followed by this video, both taken near the old Copper Dam site.

Dan Kleinsmith posted this video and photo, also taken near the Copper Dam site.

OleFOgey took this video of river action at various locations in the upper valley.

The view at Tollbridge Road, posted by dherneisen.

Upstream from the railroad bridge, Temira's video.

Near the mouth of the Hood, Mike S. captured the river at the railroad bridge.

And the winner for the best overall video collage of the event, this from Hood River News/Adam Lapierre.

On the other side of the mountain, the Sandy river raged, isolating some homeowners and doing a considerable amount of damage. Professional quality video.

December 2010 Revisited

2011-01-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, December in Hood River was warmer, wetter, and less windy.

At my weather station, the average temperature of 36.2° was warmer than long term averages (35.7°), and also warmer than the more recent (2000-2009) average of 35.6°.

The high heat index for the month was 51°, and the low wind chill was 20°. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.40", with a low of 29.22".

December's precipitation (6.91") was above average (5.83"). The month started out dry, but turned quite wet from 12/8 to 12/14, as a moisture-laden atmospheric river took direct aim at the Pacific Northwest. 75% of the monthly precipitation fell in that time frame. That was followed by 3 days of snow, during which a total of 10 inches of snow fell. All in all, we had 11" of snow for the month, higher that the long term snow average of 8.7".

Given that this was a strong, well established La Nina winter, with the jet stream fire hose pointed firmly at us, things took an odd turn halfway though the month. The jet stream moved south big time, drenching California with record rains and snowfall. Our precipitation fell off dramatically for the rest of the month. It turns out this may have been due to a shorter term climate cycle called the Arctic Oscillation, which turned strongly negative, and pushed the jet stream further south.

I happened to be on vacation in southern California around Christmas, and had great fun watching the flash floods move through Palm Springs.

Meanwhile, back in Hood River, the 24 hour avg wind speed for December was 0.9 mph, compared to a historical average of 1.5 mph. The high wind gust at my station was 34 mph on Dec 29th.

There was 1 local weather record set in December. On 12/12, at the peak of the Pineapple Express, we received 1.61" of rain, which broke the old record of 1.55" (1946).

The tabular data below is from my home weather station. To view its December 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2009 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	51	22	36.2	35.7
Wind (mph)	34		0.9	1.5
Rainfall (in)	1.45		6.91 (total)	5.83

California... a nice place to have grown up, and to visit, but luckily, I didn't get stuck there again.

2010 Weather Summary

2011-01-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

For some unknown reason, I did a yearly weather summary last January. For the same unknown reason, it only seems fitting that I should continue the tradition this January. Maybe some January I'll remember the reason, and hopefully it will be so trivial that I can ignore it from then on.

But, I can't ignore it now, so here goes. 2010 in a nutshell:

2010 in Hood River was warmer than long term averages, but cooler than recent (2001-2009) averages. Precipitation was above average, and wind speed was somewhat below average.

The average temperature for 2010 was 51.9 degrees, which oddly enough was the exact average temperature for the previous year, 2009. This was 1.3 degrees warmer than long term averages, but 0.4 degrees cooler than recent averages. I thought it was going to be a cooler average temperature than it was, given that this was "The Year Without Much Of A Summer". But, that's yearly averages for ya.

We received 34.41" of precipitation, which was 3.86" above average. A total of 20" of snow fell, well below the average of 36".

The 24 hour average wind speed for the year was 2.4 mph, which is lower than the 2001-2009 average of 2.9 mph. In fact, overall, this was the least windy year since 2001. Now, I know that wind sports enthusiasts, who remember the summer of 2010 as a Most Excellent One for wind, are probably saying "Dude, you're totally crazy". I won't dignify that remark with a response, other than to say "Oh yeah?? Hey, it takes one to know one!"

But, back to the yearly wind average, the higher wind speeds in the summer months were averaged down by the lower wind speeds the other months of the year.

Click here for all of my weather station's 2010 data on Weather Underground, with nice 12-month graphs and all 365 days of action packed weather-type data.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	100.7	14.0	51.9	50.6
Wind (mph)	38		2.4	2.9
Rainfall (in)	1.61		34.41	30.55
Barometric (in Hg)	30.66	29.04

Just another manic New Year... I was just in the middle of a dream...

Once In A Lifetime

2010-12-19T18:13:00.000-08:00

Actually, way less often than that.

That's how often we have a full moon, total lunar eclipse, and a winter solstice, all on the same date. According to SpaceWeather.com: "there is only one previous instance, since the year 1 AD, of an eclipse matching the same calendar date as the solstice, and that was on Dec 21, 1638. Fortunately we won't have to wait 372 years for the next one...that will be on Dec. 21, 2094."

And two days from now, December 21st, 2010, it all comes together once again, for a celestial show that will probably be obscured by clouds here in Hood River. However, that doesn't stop this extremely rare event from happening in our lifetimes, even if the visual part is behind clouds. We'll just have to use our vivid imaginations, watch it live or recorded on the internet, or check out Shadow And Substance, which does an excellent job of animating these sorts of cool happenings in the sky.

But really, the best part of this event: It's the gift that keeps on giving. From Dec 22nd on, the daylight hours start to get longer and longer.

So, Merry Christmas to y'all, and to all, a shorter night!

(unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case, never mind about the shorter nights)

Florida?? Merry Christmas from Hawaii, courtesy of Jimmy Buffett

November 2010 Revisited

2010-12-01T12:34:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, November in Hood River was pretty much average in temperature, less wet, and less windy.

At my weather station, the average temperature of 41.5° was exactly the same as long term averages (41.5°), but cooler than more recent (2000-2009) averages of 42.0°. We had warmer than average temperatures from 11/1 to 11/7, then a dip below normal, then a rise above normal until the 22rd, and then... an Arctic Blast. The first "below 32°" temperature (23°) was recorded at my house on 11/22, and the peppers and tomatoes haven't been the same since. That made for a very late first freeze at Hood River city elevation, as it's usually about a month earlier.

The high heat index for the month was 65°, and the low wind chill was 12°. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.66", with a low of 29.49".

Even though the monthly precipitation (4.77") was below average (5.31"), it was interesting precipitation. The month started out with rain on the 1st, followed by more rain on the 5th thru 11th, followed by more rain on the 15th thru 19th, and then... 2" of snow on the 23rd as the arctic air settled in. Followed by 2" of snow on the 27th, and topped off with 5 inches of snow and sleet on the 30th. This made for a 9" snow month, higher that the long term average of 2.7".

All in all, an early start to the snow season, and especially welcome up on the ski slopes.

The 24 hour avg wind speed was 1.4 mph against a historical average of 1.6 mph. The high wind gust at my station was 30 mph on Nov 16th.

There were 3 local weather records set in November. On 11/2, the high temperature of 67° broke the old record of 65 (1965). On 11/14, a new "high low" record was set; 50° (previous record 46° in 1999). And if that wasn't enough, the following day set another "high low" record of 54° (previous record 48° in 1999).

The tabular data below is from my home weather station. To view its November 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2009 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	68	14	41.5	41.5
Wind (mph)	30		1.4	1.6
Rainfall (in)	0.98		4.77 (total)	5.31

A barely related footnote: As we enter the winter months, there's a tendency (at least on my part) to sleep more. And, I'm apparently in good company. Lions, for example, are sleeping tonight. I sure hope they are.

Or, if you prefer, the version by The Tokens, the best known version in the long history of this song. God bless and preserve Africa's beauty and wildlife! Or... maybe that's our job. Anyway, it's home; it's where we all started.

October 2010 Revisited

2010-11-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, October in Hood River was warmer, wetter, and calmer. Exactly the same as September, only different.

At my weather station, the average temperature of 52.7° was warmer than long term averages (1897 to present) of 51.2°, and warmer than the shorter term (2001-2009) average of 52.1°. We made it through the month without a hard frost here at Hood River city elevation. Higher elevations weren't so lucky, and froze out around the 17th.

The high heat index for the month was 74°, and the low wind chill was 32°. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.44, with a low of 29.37.

October's rain total was above average at 2.97"; most of it falling in the last third of the month. At my station, the high daily rainfall was 1.08" on the 24th.

The 24 hour avg wind speed was 1.5 mph, lower than the average October wind speed of 2.0 mph.

There were no local weather records set in October.

The tabular data below is from my home weather station. To view its October 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2009 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speeds at my station are considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	76	32	52.7	51.2
Wind (mph)	26		1.5	2.0
Rainfall (in)	1.08		2.97 (total)	2.25

September 2010 Revisited

2010-10-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, September in Hood River was warmer, a little wetter, and calmer.

At my weather station, the average temperature of 62.8° was way warmer than long term averages (1897 to present) of 60.0°, but was almost right on the shorter term (2001-2009) average of 63.0°.

The high heat index for the month was 88°, and the low wind chill was 42°. Barometric pressure peaked at 30.20, with a low of 29.71.

September's rain total was just slightly above average; most of it falling between the 15th to the 20th. The high daily rainfall was 0.48" on the 17th.

The 24 hour avg wind speed was 2.2 mph, considerably lower than the average September (3.2 mph). In fact, this was the least windy September going back to at least 2001, when my wind data starts. Still, there were enough days with good westerlies that it was another great month in the Gorge for wind sports, making this one excellent summer for those activities.

September was also an excellent month for blowing away official local weather records. A total of 4 records were set: On the 17th, the "high low" temperature of 60° surpassed the old record of 58° (1943) Also on that day, we received 0.46" rain (old record 0.21" in 1997). On the 27th, the high low of 57° broke the previous record of 56° (1939), and was followed the next day by yet another high low record of 56° (old record 55 in 1942).

The tabular data below is from my home weather station. To view its September 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2009 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speeds at my station are considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	90	42	62.8	60.0
Wind (mph)	27		2.2	3.2
Rainfall (in)	0.48		1.08 (total)	1.01

Happy Equilux

2010-09-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

Yep. "Equilux". Even though it sounds like a brand of vacuum cleaner, or perhaps an advanced light bulb, it isn't.

An equilux is the day on which there's exactly (or almost exactly) 12 hours between sunrise and sunset. Equilux's occur once in the Spring (a few days before the Vernal Equinox), and once in the Fall (a few days after the Autumnal Equinox).

The exact dates of the equilux vary by latitude; for Hood River, the autumnal equilux is today. There are a number of online sunrise/sunset calculators. Probably the most official one is at the US Navy site, but the one here is quicker.

Up until recently (yesterday), I thought that the "12 hour equal day/night" thing happened exactly on the Spring and Fall equinoxes. After all, equinox means "equal night". But apparently, that's a blatant lie passed down through the ages by gullible people (me). In conclusion, all is not as it seems, buyer beware, caveat emptor, and so forth.

Furthermore, while the equilux is an actual date, an equinox isn't. It's a moment in time. Specifically, the moment at which the center of the Sun’s disk crosses the celestial equator, which is the projection of the Earth’s equator out into space; all explained in more detail here.

Meanwhile, speaking of projections out into space...

August 2010 Revisited

2010-09-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, August in Hood River was pretty much like July in Hood River. Warmer than long term averages, but cooler than recent years. It was drier than average, with (surprisingly) average August wind speeds.

At my weather station, the average temperature of 68.9° was warmer than long term averages (1897 to present) of 66.6°, but cooler than more recent (2000-2009) averages of 70.0°. I'm surprised by my station's average temp for August, as it seemed cooler than that. Tom's Westside station, which is only a few miles away, was 1.3° degrees cooler than mine for the month. However, Nick's Underwood station's average was only 0.2° cooler than mine, so who knows. Darn micro-climates around here...

There was a 5 day "heat wave" starting on the 13th, peaking at 101° on the 16th, and a very brief hot spell on the 24/25th, with a high of 97. The high heat index for the month was 98°, and the low wind chill was 46°.

Rain finally arrived on August 30th and 31st, breaking a 71 day dry spell. See the two previous posts for all the lurid details.

The 24 hour avg wind speed was 4.4 mph, which was exactly average for August at my station. Like the temperature average for the month, this average wind speed doesn't jive with what I expected the numbers to show, as it seemed pretty darn windy in August. However, other personal weather stations around the area showed even a lower 24 hour average wind speed, so I guess mine is valid. I think that maybe it was just that the wind hardly ever let up throughout the month, but didn't make for higher 24 hour averages. In any event, July and August were great months in the Gorge for wind sports enthusiasts!

There was 1 official local weather record set in August. On the 6th, the "high low" temperature of 67° surpassed the old record of 66° (2000).

The tabular data below is from my home weather station. To view its August 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2009 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speeds at my station are considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	101	46	68.9	67.3
Wind (mph)	34		4.4	4.4
Rainfall (in)	0.07		0.10 (total)	0.37

Even though August wasn't remarkably cool, at least at my station, the 2010 June through August summer period was definitely on the bluish side.

I Was Wrong... OK??

2010-09-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

In the previous post, regarding this summer's dry spell being perhaps some sort of record, I lied. I didn't know I was lying at the time, but that doesn't make it right, and I'm disgusted with myself, which is pretty much normal.

I finally found a way (and the time) to look back through HOXO's daily summer precipitation records, which go back to 1987. And, much to my dismay, I found a longer dry spell.

It turns out that our 71 day dry spell this summer actually tied for 2nd longest, since there was also a 71 day run back in 1994. The longest dry spell here was 85 days in 2000 (June 15 thru Sept 7).

Therefore, I apologize profusely, and I'm really, really sorry (that I got caught), and I'll try to do better next time. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me. My legal team (if I had one) said I should just come right out and say this, and that's the only reason I'm doing this humiliating post.

So yeah, go ahead and enjoy your gleeful moments of schadenfreude, and I hope you're happy.

And, now that I know that 85 days is the apparent record, I'm happy too. :)

Goals

2010-08-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

From what I've heard, it's important to set goals in life. So this year, I set the ambitious goal of being so lazy that I would only publish one blog post a month. And up until now, I've single mindedly stuck with it, ruthlessly pushing aside any thought of doing more than "Monthly Revisited's". In fact, I've almost exceeded my goal, by barely even getting those done.

But, as so often happens with goals, life has different plans.

And what broke my resolve was this summer's 71 day dry spell, which ended yesterday. It started June 20th, after a cold and rainy first half of June, and went on and on and on and on and so forth until I got really sick of keeping track of the number of days and then, thankfully, we had 0.09" of rain yesterday.

Since I use this blog as a sort of memory-jogging device, I figured I'd better do a post about the dry spell. Especially since it might be one of the longest dry spells on record for Hood River. I say "might", because my daily records don't go back any further than 2000, and I don't have access to MCAREC's more official (and much longer term) daily records. But I can say that 71 days is the longest here since 2000, and exceeded last year's dry spell of 66 days.

For the video that I've gotten in the habit of including with these blog posts, I was trying to think of songs specifically about "long dry spells ending". The first one that came to mind was the Eurythmic's classic "Here Comes The Rain Again". However, as I watched the video, I remembered that I really don't like that song all that much. Maybe it's the key of B-minor, changing to B-suspended, maybe it's the melancholy aspect of unrequited love. Maybe it's the fact that she wants this guy to "talk to her, like lovers do". Probably about "feelings". Yuck yuck yuck. I cringe just thinking about it. ;)

Anyway, I decided to do a Google search on "songs about rain", and here's what I came up with: a song about songs about rain!

Now, if only someone would do a song about THIS song, about songs that are about songs about rain...

July 2010 Revisited

2010-08-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, July in Hood River was either warmer or cooler (depending on long term vs short term averages), drier, and slightly windier.

At my weather station, the average temperature of 69.3° was warmer than long term averages (67.3°), but cooler than more recent (2000-2009) averages of 71.7°, making it the coolest July at my weather station since 2001. The high heat index for the month was 97°, and the low wind chill was 46°.

There were brief hot spells around the 8th and 24th, but other than that, no major heat waves.

There was no measurable rainfall, which isn't unusual for July in Hood River.

The 24 hour avg wind speed was 5.1 mph against an average of 5.0 mph. This broke the long stretch of lower average wind speeds that had held for the previous 10 months. July was windy, for sure, but then July is, on average, the windiest month in Hood River.

There was 1 local weather record set in July. On July 10th, the "high low" temperature of 68° surpassed the old record of 66° (1985).

The tabular data below is from my home weather station. To view its July 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2009 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	100	46	69.3	67.3
Wind (mph)	38		5.1	5.0
Rainfall (in)	0.00		0.00 (total)	0.22

A gorgeous Gorge sunset, shot by local videographer Tyler Shortt

June 2010 Revisited

2010-07-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, June in Hood River was colder and wetter, with lower than average winds.

June easily earned the title of "Junuary", indicating that it was, technically speaking, cold. At my weather station, the average temperature of 61.3° was cooler than long term averages (61.9°), and much cooler than more recent (2000-2009) averages of 64.2°, making it the coldest June at my weather station since I started keeping track in 2000.

At HOXO, the most official Hood River station, June's average temperature was 60.7°. Oddly enough, using HOXO's data, June 2008 (which also earned the title of Junuary) was actually colder, at 60.1°. And that June was not the coldest June ever in Hood River. For example, June 1976, the month and year I moved to Hood River, the avg temperature was 58.1°. Coincidence? I think not. By the way, if you're interested, here's Hood River's official monthly temperatures, going all the way back to 1893, before thermometers were invented, when temperatures were officially measured by counting the number of cricket chirps per minute.

There was a total of 2.50" of precipitation, compared to an average June total of 0.74". Incredibly, this too wasn't a monthly record for June. That distinction belongs to June 1937, in which 4.17" of rain fell.

The 24 hour avg wind speed was 4.1 mph against an average of 4.8 mph, continuing the increasingly interesting trend of lower average wind speeds for the last 10 months. I don't know what to make of this trend, other than maybe the wind is just getting tired. Or maybe my anemometer is screwed up.

There were 3 local weather records set in June. On June 2nd, we officially received 0.70" of rain (old record: 0.24" in 1966), and on June 4th, 0.67" (old record: 0.42" in 1977). And then, as if to put an exclamation point on a ridiculously chilly month, a "low high" temperature record of 59° was set on June 16th (old record: 60° in 1946).

The tabular data below is from my home weather station. To view its June 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2009 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	86	43	61.3	56.2
Wind (mph)	33		4.1	4.8
Rainfall (in)	0.76		2.50 (total)	0.74

Forget Junuary. It's Endless Summer now. :)

May 2010 Revisited

2010-06-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, May in Hood River was way cooler, wetter, and just-below-average windy.

The average temperature of 52.6° was cooler than long term averages (56.2°), and and lot cooler than more recent (2000-2009) averages of 58.5° . There was 2.16" of precipitation, double the average May total of 1.06". The 24 hour avg wind speed was slightly lower than average (3.6 mph vs 3.9 mph), continuing the trend of lower average wind speeds for the past 9 months.

May started off cool, followed by a brief warm spell in the middle (5 days, with a max of 80°), and cooled off again after that. Rain was scattered throughout the month, with an impressive rainstorm of 0.93" on the 3rd.

There were no local weather records set in May. However, we did have some really good downpours. The instantaneous rain rate of 3.49"/hour on May 19th was about as high as I can remember, and my memory goes back a long ways. Several months, at least.

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its May 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2009 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	80	36	52.6	56.2
Wind (mph)	33		3.6	3.9
Rainfall (in)	0.93		2.16 (total)	1.06

Summer in Hood River? Soon. Heaven in Hood River? Here and now.

April 2010 Revisited

2010-05-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, April in Hood River was cooler, way wetter, and pretty much average for wind.

April reversed the "warmer than average" trend of January through March of this year. April's average temperature (49.3°) was cooler than long term averages (49.8°), and cooler than more recent averages of 50.4° (2000-2009). This was the 2nd coolest April this century, with April 2008 being the coolest at 46.8°.

There was 3.32" of precipitation, compared to an average April total of 1.64". This was great news for skiers and those who depend on summer water supplies (everybody).

The average wind speed was slightly below average (2.9 mph vs 3.1 mph), continuing the trend of lower average wind speeds for the past 8 months.

There was one local weather record set in April. On 4/2, Hood River officially received 0.68" of rain. This broke the previous record of 0.59" in 1958.

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its April 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2009 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	75	30	49.3	49.8
Wind (mph)	33		2.9	3.1
Rainfall (in)	0.82		3.32 (total)	1.64

March 2010 Revisited

2010-04-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, March in Hood River was warmer, wetter, and less windy.

The average temperature (45.0°) was warmer than long term averages (44.2°), but slightly cooler than more recent averages of 45.3° (2000-2009). There was 3.56" of precipitation, compared to an average March total of 3.13". The monthly average wind speed was below average (1.9 mph vs 2.7 mph), continuing the trend of lower average wind speeds for the past 7 months.

There was one local weather record set in March. On March 29th, the heavens opened up, and we received 1.31" of rain. This more than doubled the previous 3/29 record of 0.62" in 1974, and made a big dent in our rain year deficit.

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its March 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2009 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	66	28	45.0	44.2
Wind (mph)	33		1.9	2.7
Rainfall (in)	1.31		3.56 (total)	3.13

February 2010 Revisited

2010-03-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, February in Hood River was warmer, drier, and remarkably non-windy.

The average temperature (42.0°) was warmer than long term averages (38.4°), and warmer than more recent averages of 39.6° (2000-2009). There was 3.30" of precipitation, compared to an average February total of 3.65". The 24 hour avg wind speed was way lower than average (0.4 mph vs 1.8 mph), continuing the trend of lower average wind speeds for the past 6 months.

Like January, February started out unseasonably warm, and stayed that way until Feb 17, when modified arctic air moved in, with lows reaching into the mid to low 20's. This was almost certainly caused by my ridiculously early planting of sugar snap peas a few days prior. I'm sorry. Luckily, the peas survived, and emerged (looking somewhat pissed off) on March 6th.

Otherwise, February was mostly gray, with either inversions or storm clouds blocking the sun. There were, however, several sunny days, which explains the early pea plantings.

There were no local weather records set in February.

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its February 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2009 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	61	24	42.0	38.4
Wind (mph)	18		0.4	1.8
Rainfall (in)	0.69		3.30 (total)	3.65

Don Williams, one of my favorite country singers/songwriters, singing one of my favorite country songs. In this video, he's either wasted, or seriously tired. In any event, great song.

January 2010 Revisited

2010-02-06T15:18:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, January in Hood River was way warmer, with less precipitation, and not nearly as windy.

The average temperature (39.4°) was much warmer than long term averages (33.5°), and warmer than more recent averages of 36.4° (2000-2008). There was 3.67" of precipitation, compared to an average January total of 5.12". The 24 hour avg wind speed was way lower than average (0.7 mph vs 1.8 mph), continuing the trend of lower average wind speeds for the past 5 months.

January started out unseasonably warm, and never looked back. Every single day had a warmer than average low temperature, and 22 out of 31 days had warmer than average high temperatures. Grey skies were the norm, mostly from inversions, but also from minor brushes with storms. Most of the precipitation that would normally have hit us went south into California. Split jet stream flows; typical El Nino stuff. There was also an unusually long stretch of low barometric pressure from Jan 17th to 22nd, culminating in a low of 29.04" Hg. Not a record, but unusual none the less.

As warm as it was, this was not the warmest January on record, or even in recent years. 2006 averaged 39.6°, and 2003 hit 40.6°. The warmest January on record in Hood River was 44.3° in 1953.

There were no local weather records set in January.

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its January 2010 monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	54	30	39.4	33.5
Wind (mph)	24		0.7	1.8
Rainfall (in)	1.09		3.67 (total)	5.12

If Earth had rings like Saturn... heavenly voices included.

2009 Revisited

2010-01-17T12:15:00.000-08:00

For those of you (approximate count: zero) insisting that I post 2009's yearly averages and totals, here ya go:

At my station in Hood River, 2009 was warmer than long term averages, but cooler than earlier this decade. Precipitation was above average, and wind speed was slightly below average.

The average temperature for the year was 51.9 degrees, 0.7 degrees warmer than long term averages. On the other hand, it was 0.6 degrees cooler than more recent (2001-2008) averages. During that recent time period, using my station's data, 2003 was the warmest year at 53.8 degrees. 2003 was one warm puppy of a year.

Precipitation was 0.90" above average. Average wind speed (round the clock average) for the year was 2.8 mph, slightly below average. Note the usual disclaimer about wind speed being lower at our station; but the comparison to the 2003-2008 average is valid, since those are all from my station's data.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	107.4	4.8	51.9	50.7
Wind (mph)	37		2.8	3.0
Rainfall (in)	3.09		30.93	30.03
Barometric (in Hg)	30.84	29.33

December 2009 Revisited

2010-01-04T09:07:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, December in Hood River was way colder, with less precipitation, and not so windy.

The average temperature (30.9°) was much colder than long term averages (36.1°), and ditto for more recent averages of 36.2° (2000-2008). There was 3.51" of precipitation, compared to an average December total of 4.84". The wind speed was considerably lower than average (1.2 mph vs 1.6 mph), consistent with the lower average wind speeds for the past 4 months.

December started out with normal seasonal temperatures. But then, on Dec 6th, a cold, dry arctic air mass descended upon us, and didn't moderate above freezing until Dec 13th. During that time, the temperature dropped to 5°, and we had a minimum dew point of -9°. Wind chills were brutal. Don't ask me exactly how brutal, because my stupid database doesn't maintain that data.

As we transitioned out of the arctic air, freezing rain hit the western Gorge, and I84 was closed overnight Dec 12-13. Lots of precipitation arrived between Dec 14th and 22nd. A couple of days of minor snow/ice/slush in our area, then just rain, then dry. Piles of snow in parking lots and yards persisted through Christmas, so technically, it was a White Christmas. Or not.

I won't even mention the inversion event between Dec 24th and Dec 29, because I hate inversions, and mentioning it would give it more attention that it deserves.

Precipitation returned on Dec 29th, culminating in a record 6" snowfall on Dec 31, breaking the previous record of 3.5" in 1931. All in all, a fitting weather climax to 2009 and the "aught" years!

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its December monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	48	5	30.9	36.1
Wind (mph)	26		1.2	1.6
Rainfall (in)	0.97		3.51 (total)	5.81

Thank goodness for strong magnetic fields!

November 2009 Revisited

2009-12-11T18:02:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, November in Hood River was warmer, normal in precipitation, and less windy.

The average temperature (42.1°) was warmer than long term averages (41.5°), but only slightly warmer than more recent averages of 42.0° (2000-2008). There was 4.86" of precipitation, compared to an average November precipitation of 4.84". The wind speed was considerably lower than average (0.9 mph vs 1.7 mph), consistent with the lower average wind speed for the past 3 months. As with October, this was the least windy November since at least 2002.

There were no official Hood River weather records set in November.

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	60	30	42.1	41.5
Wind (mph)	33		0.9	1.7
Rainfall (in)	0.84		4.86 (total)	4.84

Goodbye Autumn... Hello Winter...

October 2009 Revisited

2009-11-02T15:26:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, October in Hood River was cooler, a little drier, and less windy.

The average temperature (50.5°) was 0.8 degrees cooler than long term averages, and 1.8 degrees cooler than more recent averages (2000-2008). This reversed the previous 3 month's pattern of warmer than average temperatures. In this century, only 2002 and 2007 were slightly cooler at 50.4°. There was 2.23" of rain, compared to an average October precipitation of 2.38". The wind speed was considerably lower than average. This was the least windy October since at least 2002.

October was especially notable for having an early frost, and an extremely early snowfall (see previous blog post). But the snow melted fast, and didn't count as an official MCAREC Hood River record. Still, it was a lot of fun to watch, and it was the earliest snowfall in Hood River in my memory, which goes back to 1976. Assuming my memory is correct, which isn't a given.

There was 1 officially confirmed local weather record set in October. On the 13th, the high temperature only reached 40°, breaking the previous "low high" of 49° set in 1966.

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	69	27	50.5	51.3
Wind (mph)	31		1.3	2.1
Rainfall (in)	0.56		2.23 (total)	2.38

Global Warming... Yeah, Right

2009-10-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

I keep hoping that climate change will extend the growing season in Hood River. My hopes keep getting dashed. The first frost of the season (at city elevation) arrived Oct 11, and it came with a record-setting vengeance. The previous Oct 11th record low of 28° (1980) was easily brushed aside by the 25° low measured at MCAREC's HOXO station.

But, as fun as THAT was, it was just the prelude... and, the setup. Two days later, on Oct 13, a Pineapple Express began to move in over the top of the cold air. This produced what may have been the earliest recorded measurable snowfall in Hood River! The previous earliest snow date for Hood River was Oct 29, 1935.

We'll have to wait for MCAREC's official data on this, but I'm estimating up to 0.5 inches of snow built up in areas around town. It melted fast, which may affect whether it was "measurable" or not, but in any event, it was awesomely cool to see snowfall this early in the season.

But wait! There's more! The high temperature that day only reached 40°! That totally demolished the previous "low high" record of 49° (1966).

Thus, October 13, 2009, might well have been a rare "three-fer" in the world of Hood River weather records. Earliest measureable snowfall, most snowfall on any Oct 13, and the record "low high" for the date.

So I think I'll wait at least one more year to plant citrus trees here. But... if we had some global warming...

Thanks to Dave from the weather chat room for the link to this catchy little tune.

September 2009 Revisited

2009-10-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, September in Hood River was warmer, drier, and less windy.

The temperature was 3.5 degrees warmer than long term averages, and 1.1 degrees warmer than more recent averages (2000-2008). This was the warmest September since 2003. There was 0.70" of rain, compared to an average September precipitation of 0.92". The wind speed was considerably lower than average. This was the least windy September since 2002.

September continued the warm, dry trend of June, July, and August. Otherwise, the month was pretty nondescript. There were welcome light rains around the 5th and 29th; nothing spectacular, just enough to settle the dust.

We wrapped up the water year (which runs Oct 1 thru the following Sep 30) with a surplus. The average yearly rain in Hood River is 29.92", give or take 0.50" depending on the database referenced. My station received 32.67", while the more official HOXO station received 33.33".

There was 1 local weather record set in September. On the 14th, the low temperature of 61° broke the previous "high low" record of 60° set in 2007.

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	94	40	64.0	60.5
Wind (mph)	33		2.6	3.4
Rainfall (in)	0.20		0.70 (total)	0.92

Full Harvest Moon... time to celebrate!

In The Arms Of The Angel

2009-09-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

We had to say goodbye today to one of our best-ever cats. During 21 years of faithful companionship, from the day he showed up unannounced as a kitten on our deck in 1988, to the present day, Fluffy was a bundle of sweet cat-ness and a joy to have around.

He loved to: eat, sleep, sunbathe, play with us and the other cats inside and outside, chase and retrieve cat toys, wallow in catnip (above), and lay in laps (especially the ladies laps... my lap was usually his reluctant second choice). And, for the last couple of years, he had taken to sleeping cuddled up next to me at night, often gently grabbing my arm and and laying his head on it as he slept. That was killer. That I'm REALLY going to miss...

But, at the end, as arthritis, frailty, failing coordination, and generally failing health got progressively worse, it became painfully clear that it was time to let him go. 21 cat years, after all, is something like 100+ human years; and he deserved and received a mercifully peaceful passing.

Rest in peace, old friend. Thanks for all the good times. Sweet dreams...

Another One Bites The Dust

2009-09-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

We set a new Hood River "high low" record on September 14. The low temperature at MCAREC's HOXO automated weather station only got down to 60.73° (I wish they could be more precise). That squeaked by the old record of 60° set in 2007. Clearly, global warming has us firmly in its grasp.

On another, not totally unrelated, subject: I am thinking of creating a site visitor survey (not a poll) as to whether or not I should create a "Hood River non-weather-related-controversial and/or bipartisan subjects" chat room. My dilemma is, about the time I think I really should separate that stuff out, it dies down to a reasonably entertaining roar. Anyway, stay tuned...

August 2009 Revisited

2009-09-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, August in Hood River was warmer, drier, and windier.

The temperature was 3.9 degrees warmer than long term averages, and 0.6 degrees warmer than more recent averages (2000-2008). There was 0.12" of rain, compared to an average August precipitation of 0.37". The wind speed was higher than average.

August continued the warm, dry trend of June and July. The first 3 days were above 90°, winding down from the intense heat wave of late July. From there, temperatures dipped considerably below normal for a couple of weeks. On August 11th, rain came (briefly) back after a 66 day dry spell. Starting August 17, a short 3 day heat wave sent the temperature soaring to 104° (at my station). Then, a cool down, followed by a one day blast of 98° on Aug 27. Wind sports enthusiasts had an excellent month, with winds on the river officially reaching "nuclear" levels on quite a few days.

There were 2 local weather records set in August. On the 12th, we received 0.04" of rain, and on the 19th, the official high temperature reached 101°.

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	104	46	70.5	66.6
Wind (mph)	33		5.0	4.3
Rainfall (in)	0.09		0.12 (total)	0.37

112 Years Ago

2009-08-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to let you know (and to make sure I don't forget) that we broke a 112 year old high temperature record for any Aug 19 in Hood River. Yesterday's official high of 101° broke the old record of 99°, set in... get this... 1897.

(I vaguely remember that year, and if memory serves, I didn't have A/C at the time. It sucked.)

The past 3 days were a more typical heat wave around here; characterized by a heat low that moves day by day from PDX, to HR, and then to TD and points east. A taste of extreme heat; breaking just in time as the west wind returns and brings relief.

Summer Rain

2009-08-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

It's not unusual for summer in the Hood to be dry. July thru August, and sometimes all the way into mid-October, we can go for long stretches without a drop of rain.

But June, an often wet month, well known for swelling local cherries to bursting with untimely downpours, turned off the rain on June 6th.

And it left the tap off until August 11... when 0.03" of delicious, glorious warm rain fell on our heat-wave parched landscape, relieving a 66 day long dry spell. Sweet...

Even sweeter, a record amount of rain was recorded the next day, August 12. Odd that a mere 0.04 inches of rain would break a record (0.03") that dated all the way back to 1922, but hey, if you're gonna try to break a rain record, this is the time of the year to do it.

July 2009 Revisited

2009-08-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, July in Hood River was way warmer, totally dry, and less windy.

The temperature was a sizzling 6.7 degrees warmer than long term averages, and 2.4 degrees warmer than more recent averages (2000-2008). This was the warmest July at my weather station since I started keeping reliable records in 2000. There was no measurable precipitation, compared to a July normal precip of 0.23". The wind speed was considerably lower than average.

Following a warm, dry June, July continued the trend. The first 4 days were above 90, with a 98 degree high on the 2nd. Another brief hot spell in the middle of the month, followed by a quick dip to low 70's highs, and then... and then....The Mother Of All Heat Waves arrived. I pretty much described it in the previous blog post, but let me just restate: It was too hot. It was too humid. It was too long.

Oddly enough though, there were only 2 official local temperature records set in July. See the previous blog post for details. It certainly seemed like there were more records than that during the extended heat wave, but maybe that was just my brain frying...

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	107	48	73.8	67.1
Wind (mph)	34		4.1	5.2
Rainfall (in)	0.00		0.00 (total)	0.23

In The Summertime

2009-07-31T14:34:00.000-07:00

So, in the cold, gray, inversiony days of winter, you wanted summer to get here, right? Warm, gloriously sunny days? Catching some rays while enjoying outdoor activities? Maybe even a nice little heat wave for the icing on the cake?

OK, we've had all that, including the heat wave, and the icing on the summer cake melted away days ago. We are currently in one of the most persistent and humid heat waves to hit the Pacific Northwest in a long, long time.

Temperatures hit the low 90's on July 25th, and haven't looked back since. At my weather station, the last 4 consecutive days have exceeded 100 degrees, maxing out at 107 on Tuesday July 28th. Today's temperature has moderated a bit under the influence of west winds and a touch of marine air, but temperatures are expected to go up again over the weekend.

And, since (apparently) one of the reasons I was put here on Earth is to point out when Hood River weather records are broken (or, in this case, tied), here goes:

Tuesday, July 28, the high temperature of 104 broke the old record of 103 (2005).

Wednesday, July 29, the "high low" temperature of 69 tied the record set in 1998.

Friday, July 31, the "high low" temperature of 69 broke the old record of 65 in 2000.

As I've mentioned previously, these records are based not on my own station's data, which would have produced more records, but on the MCAREC automated surrogate station HOXO. I'd like to use MCAREC's data directly, since the historical database comes from there, but the data is not easy to come by on a timely basis. Not their fault; software and other issues currently hinder timely online availability of data. I appreciate "doc" in the chat room bringing me up to speed on where that stands, and the fact that MCAREC is managed by NOAA and HOXO is managed by BLM. But, according to NOAA, the two stations' data correlate nicely, so for now I'll use the automated station. And the folks at MCAREC can correct me if necessary.

Stay cool, the best you can. And enjoy all the good things summer has to offer!

June 2009 Revisited

2009-07-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical averages, June in Hood River was warmer, drier, and slightly windier.

The temperature was 3.9 degrees warmer than long term averages, and 1.8 degrees warmer than more recent averages (2000-2008). This was the warmest June since 2003. Precipitation was only 0.10" against a long term average of 0.80". The wind speed was slightly higher than average.

This was definitely not a repeat of last year's chilly "June-uary", which was 5 degrees cooler than this June. All in all, it was a very pleasant month, if a bit on the dry side. We were taunted and teased by approaching thunderstorms several times, but the storm cells had this annoying habit of missing us and heading for points south, north and west. Anywhere but here. :(

There was 1 local weather record set in June. The low temperature of 61 degrees on the 18th exceeded the old "high low" record for the date (60 degrees in 1961)

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	90	43	65.8	61.9
Wind (mph)	30		4.9	4.7
Rainfall (in)	0.10		0.05 (total)	0.80

Summer Solstice

2009-06-20T09:37:00.000-07:00

Is it long enough for you? The length of daylight, that is? If not, too bad, because it doesn't get any better than this! (at our latitude, anyway).

Summer solstice. The tilt of the earth on its axis, combined with its yearly orbit around the sun, puts the sun (and its astronomical companion, the ecliptic) as far north in our sky as it gets.

I like solstices and equinoxes. There's something about being reminded that we are on this relatively small blue planet, tilted, rotating, and orbiting with clockwork precision around our star. Nicely predictable, in an often unpredictable human world.

Wishing you all a fantastic summer!

Record High Low

2009-06-18T19:37:00.000-07:00

Finally, a good reason to do another blog post. Yesterday's low temperature of 61 degrees broke the old "high low" record (for any June 17th) of 60 degrees (1961). This June has been a warmer, drier version of a typical Hood River June, and way different than last year's cold "June-uary.

Came across this video from "Wierd Al" Yankovic. His tribute to The Doors, featuring original Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek. Wierd Al does an excellent Jim Morrison...

May 2009 Revisted

2009-06-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical data, May in Hood River was wetter, warmer, and less windy.

The temperature was 2.9 degrees warmer than long term averages, and 0.9 degrees warmer than more recent averages (2000-2008). Precipitation totaled 3.17" against a long term average of 1.08". The average wind speed was the lowest for any May since 2000. I am using my own station's wind speed data, and it only goes back that far.

Just for kicks, let's divide this May into two halves. Let's call them the "1st Half" and the "2nd Half". In the 1st half, rain predominated. Man, did it ever predominate... Records were broken. Yearly rain year totals were exceeded. Mountain snow packs, which were already at high levels, were packed even deeper.

In the 2nd half, the rain stopped and the warm spells began. On May 28th, we hit 92 degrees, the first 90+ degree day of the year.

There were 2 local weather records set in May, both of them daily rainfall records (see 2 blog posts below this one).

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	92	36	59.3	56.4
Wind (mph)	30		3.2	4.0
Rainfall (in)	0.62		3.17 (total)	1.08

Perspective

2009-05-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

Rowena Crest Viewpoint. A beautiful, spectacular spot, 800 feet above the river, easily accessible on my daily commute from Hood River to The Dalles. Looking upriver at the Columbia as it enters the eastern Gorge: a landscape defined and shaped by geology that predates humans by millions of years, and which will be here for millennia to come.

Formed by massive lava flows millions of years ago, and subsequently carved out over multiple ice ages by incredible floods (at max, 200 feet higher than this viewpoint!), this view of the Columbia River Gorge is inspiring. I make a point of stopping here often throughout the seasons, reflecting on the passing of time, the inevitable changes that time brings, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, sometimes in between, but always what we need to experience at the time. And, by far the best part: the incredible blessing of just... being here now...

Back To Back

2009-05-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

Two consecutive rainfall records for Hood River this week. On May 6th, we received 0.45", breaking the previous record of 0.22" (2002). The next day, May 7th, 0.46" against the old record of 0.26" (1933).

The rain put us almost 4 inches above normal for this point in the rain year. This assures that this will be an above average rain year (Oct 1 thru Sept 30), as our normal rain year averages 30.03", and we are now at 30.78".

Lots of numbers. But also lots of snowpack: almost twice the normal amount (water-equivalent) for our neck o' the woods. This is great news for summer water supplies.

Biofuels

2009-05-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

This week's weather site poll asks how often (if at all) you use biofuels for your vehicles. This poll was suggested by Jerry, a local orchardist who has been using biofuels for quite a while. To quote:

"We've been using B-99, 99% American made biodiesel for 6-years. A 67% reduction in exhaust pipe emissions, bio-degradable, non-toxic, and just much easier to work around in the orchard. Also, for $200/each, we've converted all three of our gas engine vehicles to run on E-85, 85% American made ethanol. Again, a 50% reduction of exhaust pipe emission, American made, helping us reduce our dependency on foreign oil."

"Many of the newer vehicles are flex fuel cars and most people don't even know they can run E-85. It's renewable, sustainable and made in America. Bio-diesel can be used in any 1990 or newer diesel powered vehicle with no conversion."

"E-85 is available at Pacific Pride in Bingen for $1.60/gal. this week (they also have B-20). Carson Oil Company in Hood River owns Pacific Biofuels and delivers any blend of biodiesel or ethanol. Let's see how many people in Hood River are helping the environment by using biofuels....not the perfect answer, but it's available, and everyone, with a little effort, can take advantage of the benefits today."

Thanks for the suggestion and info, Jerry. I'm all for alternatives to fossil fuels, and some biofuels are pretty much carbon neutral. Obviously, as we've seen in the past few years, ethanol from food crops presents some real problems, and in some cases takes more energy to make than it produces. Cellulosic ethanol makes a lot more sense, if the technology can be made to work in an environmentally and economic fashion.

Even more promising are biofuels made from non-food crops such as jatropha and algae, that require far fewer inputs of energy and fertilizer.

An unfortunate result of the recent supply/demand slide in oil prices has been less of an economic incentive for biofuels. I think government support into research/development of non-food sources would be an appropriate use of, well, money that we don't have. But, likely a much better long term investment than spending that same non-existent money on inappropriate corporate bailouts.

April 2009 Revisited

2009-05-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical data, April in Hood River was average, average, average. So average, in fact, that it stands out as unusually average.

The temperature was 0.1 degrees warmer than long term averages, but 0.5 degrees cooler than more recent averages (2000-2008). Precipitation totaled 1.66" against a long term average of 1.63". The wind speed? ... that's right, you guessed it....

Have I mentioned how average April was? In between the normal cool, wet spells, we had a couple of normal heat waves centered around the 6th and 20th, hitting our first 80+ degree day on the 20th. Very nice. (And very average).

There were no local weather records set in April.

The data below is from my home weather station. To view its monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	85	28	50.0	49.9
Wind (mph)	31		3.0	3.1
Rainfall (in)	0.49		1.66 (total)	1.63

Persistence

2009-04-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hmm.... 18 days since my last post here. That's a new procrastination record for me as far as blogging goes. But, I do like records, even if I have to set them myself.

See, as I've mentioned before, I started this blog 2 years ago in an attempt to add some interactivity between myself and visitors to the Hood River Weather site. The result? Not so much. But, ever since adding the chat window in December 2008, and then (reluctantly at first) joining Facebook, I've had interactivity up the wazoo. And, let me tell you, interactivity up the wazoo can be very distracting.

So, the initial reason for doing this blog has pretty much disappeared. Facebook and Twitter are available for photos, status reports, groups, and much more. In fact, blogs may well be on their way out, replaced by social networking and microblogging (140 characters or less!). Which is about the length of my attention span anymore.

But, for several reasons I am still drawn to posting in this blog. First, I enjoy writing, and need the practice. There's something very satisfying about thinking a subject through and crafting a semi-coherent essay. Not that I do a good job at it, but, like I said, practice, practice, practice.

Second, although very few comments come in here, I am aware that at least a couple of dozen people read this, so that's enough to get my ego stroked and I really should give them something new to read occasionally. As if anyone really needs yet another thing to read...

The third reason is "persistence". On a personal level, the more one persistently exercises their will power (sit down and write a blog post, damn it!), the stronger that ability becomes. (but don't get me going on whether we humans actually HAVE free will, that's another blog post).

However, on a non-personal level, "persistence" implies that information stays available for an extended time. So when I do a "March Revisited" blog post, it's here. It stays here. It's searchable. Same thing with weather records, events, links, anything I find interesting and want to share and/or remember. In a chat room, and on Twitter/Facebook, information fades away quickly. (at least, we can only hope it does)

But the best reason for continuing this blog? I get to ramble on without interruption about all sorts of crap! And it's persistent!

Persistence of Vision

(hint: you don't need to view it full screen, you don't need to wait until instructed to look away, and just look at another part of the screen for the effect. And there's music.)

Over 3 Million Served

2009-04-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to brag (well, not too much), but the Hood River Weather site has reached 3 million views. I celebrated the 2 million mark here, about 1.5 years ago. The million view rate is accelerating, which is exciting to me, but then, it really doesn't take much to excite me.

But I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you, the site visitors, who apparently find the site useful and/or interesting. Or whatever it is that keeps you coming back. You guys make it all worthwhile! Thanks for visiting.

March Revisited

2009-04-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

Compared to historical data, March in Hood River was way colder, wetter, and slightly windier than average. To view my weather station's monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The persistent inversion conditions of January and February were replaced in March by persistent cold, wet weather systems. Huge monthly snow amounts in the mountains have set us up for continued excellent skiing and (hopefully) abundant summer water supplies.

The average temperature in March was 2.8 degrees colder than long term averages, and 4.4 degrees colder than more recent averages (2000-2008). So far this year, only January has been warmer than normal. And, if NOAA's Climate Prediction Center has anything to say about it, April will continue the cooler trend.

There were no local weather records set in March.

The data below is from my home weather station. The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	57	25	41.4	44.2
Wind (mph)	33		3.0	2.7
Rainfall (in)	0.83		5.67 (total)	3.13

Sunny days ahead. Let the sun shine in!

Everything Old Is Vernal Again

2009-03-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

Ahh, Spring. Probably my favorite turning of the seasons. Daylight hours are starting to win out over nightdark hours. It's getting slowly warmer, and the biosphere is beginning to rejoice in a burst of growth and activity. Rebirth and renewal are the blessed order of the day.

I've tossed the term "vernal equinox" around previously in blog posts each Spring, but the word "vernal" has always thrown me. "Autumnal" equinox, well, it's pretty obvious what that means. But "vernal"? So today I looked it up. The definition that seems to fit the best is "fresh, vigorous, new". A perfect description of Spring!

Like last Spring, this year's winter weather in the Pacific Northwest is dragging its feet, kicking and screaming into Spring, with cooler temperatures and rain. But that's ok. The mountain snowpack is in good shape, the vegetation is waking up in an orderly fashion (not too early), and the garden soil is ready and willing. It's all good. Enjoy.

Flashback: Piano lessons, age 10. This one was fun to play, if a bit over the top. I really should do a keyboard synth version, with hard driving rhythm section. Hopefully Felix Mendellson would approve.

Walking On Sunshine

2009-03-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to a forecast of two more sunny days ahead. There was something else I woke up to also, but I'll get to that later. This will be a three day run of sunshine; which I think is the longest sunny stretch in town all winter. Temperatures aren't especially warm though; highs in the 40 to 50 range. Still, it's sunshine. Beautiful, glorious, life-giving sunshine.

With daylight savings time now in effect, there's time after work to get out and walk, bike, garden (or whatever you like to do outside) and soak up some rays.

In fact, it's after work right now, and I just got back from walking The Stairs in downtown Hood River. Good workout, those stairs... a perfect example of the principle that "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".

If I continue this exercise (and assuming it doesn't kill me) I will be the owner of legs of steel, with the rest of me made of some other, more rubber-like substance.

So what is it about sunshine that lifts people's spirits? Is it vitamin D? Fluctuations in the levels of melatonin produced by the pineal gland? Other hormones kicking in? One thing's for sure, though: Don't it feel good?

I also woke up to a song stuck in my head, and I thought I would share.

February Revisited

2009-03-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical data, February in Hood River was colder, drier, and less windy than average. To view my weather station's monthly summary and graphs at Weather Underground, click here.

The average temperature was 1.1 degrees colder than long term averages, and 2.6 degrees colder than more recent averages (2000-2008). Wind speeds were low, due to persistent inversion conditions.

In fact, if I had to sum up February in three words, they would be: "Persistent Inversion Conditions". However, as is typical during inversions, there was an abundance of sunny weather at higher elevations and at the Mt Hood ski areas.

There was one weather record set in February. On the 27th, the official rain total of 0.98" broke the old record (for that date) of 0.95" (1976).

The data below is from my home weather station. The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from my station's 2000 to 2008 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at this station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	54	26	37.3	38.4
Wind (mph)	34		0.9	1.6
Rainfall (in)	1.27		3.04 (total)	3.65

Record Rain

2009-02-26T17:51:00.000-08:00

After a torrid pace of 13 blog posts in January, I've fallen off the blogging wagon this month. There just hasn't been much to write about weather-wise (or otherwise, for that matter).

So, just when I was thinking I'd never blog again, the inspiration literally fell out of the sky yesterday in the form of a record amount of rain in Hood River for any February 25. My station recorded 1.27", MCAREC, the "most official" keeper of HR records, recorded 0.98", and the previous record was 0.95" in 1976. I defer to MCAREC on these things, since their database (which inexplicably is always a couple of years behind) is the one my weather software uses.

As much as I enjoy experiencing a local weather record being eclipsed, what I really appreciated about this storm was that it almost certainly banished The Inversion (aka The Thing That Lives In The Gorge) from the Gorge for the season. Whereas last year's winter came and went with almost no inversion events, this year "IT" came back with a vengeance in January and February. Fortunately, inversion events from March on are virtually unheard of, as warmer temperatures and westerly patterns take hold.

To celebrate the turning of the seasons, and because (by this time of the year) I am desperate to get my hands in the soil, I planted the first vege crop a couple of days ago: Sugar Sprint peas, an early sweet edible pod variety. Since the soil temperature is low (currently 44 degrees), germination would take forever, so I pre-spout the peas until the roots are about 1/4" long, and then plant about an inch deep. And next, in a few more days, the first radish seeds get planted. Life is good.

The icing on the cake this morning (snow)

Inside The Meltdown

2009-02-19T17:20:00.000-08:00

This week, PBS aired a new episode of Frontline entitled "Inside The Meltdown", chronicling the financial and economic events of this past Fall, and the events that lead up to the meltdown.

A lot of people, myself included, had started to feel pretty concerned about the housing, credit, and stock market booms a couple of years ago, and figured something bad was going to come of all this at some point.

But I doubt that many of us who were concerned understood just how extremely over leveraged the global financial system had become, based on financial instruments such as Mortgage Backed Securities, Credit Default Swaps, and other mathematical derivatives that not even their creators fully understood. I know I didn't; I had heard of those things, and that they were potentially dangerous, but... bring down the whole world economy? I did a few blog posts on the subject last Fall as things were unfolding and I was trying to make some sense out of it.

If you missed the broadcast, it's available online. I recommend it highly, since the meltdown and the ongoing attempts to stabilize things (and the future consequences of these steps) will reverberate through the rest of our lives.

(Sorry to drag the economy into my blog again, but there's just not much happening in local weather, and I had to write something that was longer than one or two sentences, just for practice! Plus, it's a great Frontline show)

Planetarium Software

2009-02-09T08:40:00.000-08:00

I woke up earlier than I had to this morning, in an futile attempt to view a penumbral lunar eclipse. At the last minute, clouds moved in, making it a somewhat disappointing total lunar eclipse (by clouds).

However, in the process of researching the event, I came across two fascinating (and useful) astronomy resources. First, a site called Shadow and Substance, which highlights upcoming eclipse events (and more). And, from there, a free open source Planetarium program called Stellarium that blows away other programs I've seen, including commercial ones.

Stellarium has lots of options, a little overwhelming at first, but well worth the effort to setup. If you want to set Hood River as your default location, our latitude (in digital format) is 45.706 N, and longitude is 121.519 W. More or less. You can get closer to your actual location by searching on the internet.

January Revisited

2009-02-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical data, January in Hood River was warmer, wetter, and windier than average.

The average temperature was 2.8 degrees warmer than long term averages, but only 0.3 degrees warmer than more recent averages (2000-2007). Wind speeds were twice the average, largely due to some strong Chinook winds in the first third of the month.

January was a study in contrasts. The month immediately started off with a warm and wet pineapple express, setting rainfall records. On the 14th, a classic Gorge Inversion set in, and lasted at least 9 days, way too long. The rest of the month was a mix of rain, a little snow... more gray, and some sun.

There were 3 official records surpassed in January. On New Year's Day, the rain total of 3.24" easily broke the old record (for that date) of 1.60" (1997), and the daily record for ANY day in January (previously 2.48" Jan 6, 1948). And, on January 18, at the peak of the inversion event, the barometric pressure reached 30.84. The previous high at our station was 30.83 (2004).

The data below is from our home weather station. The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from our own station's 2000 to 2007 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at our station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	58	14	36.7	33.9
Wind (mph)	37		3.0	1.6
Rainfall (in)	3.24		6.03 (total)	5.20

Looking Up

2009-01-29T17:37:00.000-08:00

13 million years ago, a nearby elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy collided, merging in a slow majestic dance of destruction and rebirth. At the center of the collision, a super massive black hole formed. Energetic photons, from infrared to ultraviolet, began moving out in all directions, including ours.

Meanwhile, the same 13 million years ago, back on Earth, there were no humans yet. There were, however, primates that would eventually branch off to other primates which would eventually branch off to us.

And we, being intelligent, tool-using primates, would eventually build optics and telescopes and computers that extend our human senses out into the Universe.

Fast forward to the present time. Our technologically extended vision is now receiving the 13 million year old photons from what we call the Centaurus A galaxy (our nearest giant galaxy). And here's what our technologically enhanced eyes see now:

As super massive black holes draw matter in, they often form twin jets streaming out from each pole, blasting the surrounding space with unimaginable streams of matter and energy.

So when we look up at such things, we are looking back in time, back long before we and our amazing tools even existed. To be here now, and to be able to capture those ancient wave particles of light, photons that during their journey encompassed all of human history and a whole lot more, well, "awesome" doesn't even come close. And perhaps this is one of the biggest reasons why astronomy, cosmology, and all things skyward hold such an interest for me (and maybe some of you too?)

Goodbye Gray?

2009-01-24T14:46:00.000-08:00

Maybe. We appear to be moving out of one of the longest classic Hood River inversion events in memory. And hey, my memory of such things goes back at least a year or two. 9 consecutive days of gray, boring Nothingness here at the city elevation. Escape was possible by heading to Mt Hood or braving near hurricane force winds through the Gorge to Portland, but for various reasons I couldn't escape this time.

It wasn't a total loss though. At my weather station, we set a high pressure record. January 18, the peak of the inversion, the baro hit 30.84", which surpassed the previous high of 30.83" on January 5, 2004. My station data goes back to 2000, making this a record for this century so far.

So today, it's been snowing lightly, with possibly more snow tomorrow.

At least, with this snow, things are turning a whiter shade of pale (if this doesn't date me, nothing will).

Yet Another Meteor

2009-01-21T17:15:00.000-08:00

Another relatively small rock from space plunges into Earth's atmosphere; another video cam captures it:

Too bad the dinosaurs didn't have video cams. The asteroid that impacted 65 million years ago on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula would have been awesome posted on YouTube.

Wait... maybe they did have video cams, and we just haven't found them yet...

Misc Stuff

2009-01-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

Some misc stuff that doesn't really warrant a new post, but combined... well, maybe still not warranted, but here it is:

First, at the extreme upper left of blogs hosted on Google's Blogger, there's a search box that searches the entire history of that blog for any search word or phrase. I am probably the only person that never realized what that search box was for. I had thought it was a global "search the whole world of blogs" thing.

I've wasted way too much time in the past trying to find that elusive post in my blog on records, inversions, astronomy pics, garden stuff, etc. This is probably only of interest to me (regarding my blog), but it also applies to all Blogger blogs. And maybe some other blog hosting services also.

One word of advice: don't search this blog for "records". You'll regret it.

Second, Temira has succeeded in getting the PayPal "donate" button working on her local wind and recreation forecast site. If you appreciate and use the excellent service she has been providing there, and are able to do so, toss some spare change in her direction.

Third, speaking of PayPal donation buttons, I now have one on my weather site. I've removed the ads there, which I've been somewhat conflicted about for a while. I still might bring them back, especially if I can keep them mostly local.

I do have a specific goal for donations received: My current polling software subscription expires in a couple of months. I'm not really happy with it, and won't renew. I would like to use a more sophisticated survey service such as SurveyMonkey, or PollDaddy. However, the yearly Pro services are more than I can justify spending. So, if enough folks throw a litle coin at this, I'll feel better about trying it.

How's that for blackmail? Really, this is just an experiment, which as a techno person I love to perform. Regardless of the outcome. And, if anyone knows of any less expensive GOOD polling/survey services, let me know.

And So It Starts

2009-01-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

Despite the amazing variety of weather so far this winter, up until now we haven't had what I consider the "classic" Gorge inversion event. This is the only type of weather in Hood River that I really really dislike. Day after day after boring day of gray nothingness overhead, draining all color from the world. Nothing but gray everywhere. In fact, more shades of gray than one would think possible. Cold daily temperatures that might vary 3 degrees in 24 hours (if we're lucky).

The only escape (and an ultimately necessary one) is up in elevation through the cloud layer, or west, where the east wind usually blesses Portland with sunshine and a substantial wind chill.

No need to go into the how or why of extended inversion events; that's been done quite well by others. Temira has an article on inversions from the local perspective, Cliff Mass has written Inversion 101, a more general primer on the subject, and Mark Nelsen has insightful inversion posts on his weather blog.

So far, this inversion event (only 2 days old so far) has featured some remarkable temperature variations as one goes up in elevation. Low 30's in town, mid to upper 50's in the Parkdale/Upper Valley area, and amazing multiple temperature layers at the ski resorts, from base to top. Springtime ski conditions in January!

Current predictions are for this inversion to last maybe a week, and then... either more inversion, arctic air, snow.... take your pick. Extreme winter weather typically ends by mid February, as do inversions, so we've got about 4 more weeks of one of the most interesting winters here in memory.

This time lapse Gorge video might not be exactly an inversion event (one seen from above?), but you get the idea. Beautiful above, downright evil below...

Don't Try This At Home

2009-01-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

I was just advised of the most awesome base jumping/wingsuit video I've ever had the gut wrenching pleasure of watching. Thanks, good buddy JB in Roseburg!

Important note: always wear the proper PPE for all your outdoor activities.

Click here for a bigger screen version. Do it.

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

2008 Revisited

2009-01-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

I just finished crunching the numbers for the entire calendar year of 2008 (for our weather station).

2008 was warmer than long term, but cooler than recent years. Precipitation was lower, and wind speed was average.

The average temperature was 51.7 degrees F, 1.0 degree warmer than long term averages. On the other hand, it was 0.9 degrees cooler than more recent (2001-2007) averages. In that recent time period, 2003 has been the warmest year at 53.8 degrees F.

Precipitation was 2.57 inches below average. Average wind speed (round the clock average) for the year was 3.0 mph, matching the 2003-2007 average of 3.0 mph. Note the usual disclaimer about wind speed being lower at our station; but the comparison to the 2003-2007 average is valid, since those are all from our station's data.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	107.7	9.2	51.7	50.7
Wind (mph)	37		3.0	3.0
Rainfall (in)	1.44		27.46	30.03
Barometric (in Hg)	30.67	28.91

Never Mind

2009-01-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

Regarding the previous post, scratch that. Indecision and inertia (and a brief flash of common sense) has won out. If it's not broke (too badly), don't fix it.

Plus, forcing the majority of the tolerant, kind, and long-suffering Hood River Weather visitors to change your links would be downright inconsiderate of me.

Plus, Temira has mentioned the chat window in her forecast blog and provided the link, and I sure don't want to get on HER bad side... :)

To those visitors that for whatever reason(s) prefer the original non-chat version of the site, I certainly respect that. Simply click here and bookmark that as your entry point. And the chat window has it's own separate web page here, which is good if you don't want to have your reading or typing interrupted by the weather site auto-refresh every 15 minutes.

So, once again, "it seems the more things don't change, the more they stay the same". How true. I'm not sure if Yogi Berra (or George W. for that matter) said that, but they should have.

One of the many rainbows over Hood River yesterday

Changes

2009-01-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

I've had 27 responses to my survey regarding the location of the chat window on the Hood River Weather site. Thanks everybody for your input, it was very much appreciated.

58% wanted it to stay exactly where it was. The rest, all over the field.

My conclusion? The current location of the chat window is definitely a distraction and a tripping point for those not interested in chat. And, as the weather gets more boring, the discussions will probably move further away from weather, which is fine with me, but maybe not so much for others.

So here's the changes coming up. Since I'm all about options, the main entry site (weather.htm) will NOT have the chat window, but a link to it. I'll also provide an identical site with the chat window in the current position. The chat window has its own site, which is here. Myself, I have mostly moved to that separate site for chat, since it isn't affected by the auto-refresh of the main weather site.

In other words, the Hood River Weather site will be an opt-in site regarding chat, rather than an opt-out.

These changes will occur in the next 48 hours. Once done, bookmark the site you prefer, and I'll see you there one way or another.

Click Here

2009-01-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

I was just advised of this link. Trader Joe's location request form. For a long time now, I've been hoping TJ's would locate a store here in the Columbia River Gorge.

Thanks for the link, Chris.

Jan 10 update: It has been suggested that a location in The Dalles might be preferable, and I agree.

Extreme Weather: A Theory

2009-01-07T06:07:00.000-08:00

The past 4 weeks have brought some of the most extreme and variable winter weather I can ever remember Hood River having. Arctic air, record snow depths, huge icicles, black ice, freezing rain, slush, mountain rain, sudden warming by westerly winds, spring-like days, heavy rain, and flooding. I've almost certainly left some things out.

There's plenty of theories and models attempting to explain the extreme weather this winter. I've really enjoyed the excellent links and discussions in the new Hood River Weather "Live Chat" window. Not having a strong background in weather modeling, I've learned a lot, and have had fun doing it. But, come on. All this talk of models and ENSO and ocean temperatures and ocean conveyor belts is, quite frankly, crazy talk.

I have developed my own (more sane) theory as to why our mild weather turned to extreme weather when it did. It's consistent with my observations, elegant in its simplicity, and, (due to Occam's Razor) almost certainly correct. I see the pattern clearly, and it's a perfect fit.

On Dec 13, 2008, at approximately 16:30, I created the chat room, inserted it into the site code, and turned it on. Within hours, the weather patterns started to change. Arctic air moved in. Snow. Ice. A weather pattern shift of monstrous proportions!

I am now almost certain that, by plugging in the chat room, I inadvertently opened a window into the "Extreme Weather Dimension" (EWD). And, at that moment, the "Extreme Weather Dimension Monster" (EWDM) stepped through into our world. Ever since, it (the EWDM) has been wreaking havoc on our weather.

Now... whether this was due to cosmic strings oscillating off-key, or multiple strings colliding in the d-dimension of space/time, well, I just couldn't tell you. But that's not important. It happened, and I take full responsibility for my tragic miscalculations.

It's clear to me now what I must do next. I've seen the movies. I must somehow dive into the chat room, thereby entering the EWD. I'll do this at a time when there is no one else in there; your safety is of upmost concern. Once in, I must taunt the EWD Monster (who is wreaking havoc on our weather); enraging it sufficiently so that it storms back into the EWD, where I will be ready and waiting...

Oh yes, I will be ready for it. While I engage it in battle, at the proper moment I will pull the plug on the chat room (EWD). Victory! I have lured the enraged EWDM back into the EWD and our weather can return to a normal winter pattern! I have rectified my sins! I have... oh shit...

I have trapped myself in the EWD with the enraged EWDM, and I have closed the portal.

Ok, I've got some work to do on the details. I'll let you know how things develop. In any event, enjoy the more normal winter weather coming up.

Changes ahead for the HR Weather live chat room. Stay tuned...

The EWD Monster in a more restful mood... but getting slightly irritated...

December Revisited

2009-01-05T15:10:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, December in Hood River was much colder, with average wind speed and rainfall equivalent (rain plus melted snow).

The average temperature was 3.4 degrees colder than long term averages, and 4.0 degrees colder than more recent averages (2000-2007). Wind speeds were average, with SSE winds predominating. Note that the calculation for wind direction is notoriously skewed, especially when the winds come from every which direction during the month.

The first half of the month was pretty boring, weather-wise. There was a high wind gust of 34 mph on Dec 12, as weather patterns started to shift. The second half: not nearly so boring (to put it mildly). Arctic air moved in Dec 14, followed by weeks of snow and ice. See previous posts for some of the more lurid details.

The variety of weather was also unusually capricious. Relatively warm westerly chinook winds raised morning temperatures dramatically on a couple of occasions, only to plunge back down later. On Dec 31, we registered a chinook gust of 33, while Tom's westside weather station had a gust of 50 mph!

There was at least one official record set in December. That occurred on Dec 1, where the high of 57 surpassed the previous record (56 in 1939). Now snowfall, that's a different story. Since there was snow on the ground from Dec 15 thru the end of the month, and it was snowing/compacting/snowing more/compacting more all the time, I don't have any official daily snowfall amounts from MCAREC for that time period. Hopefully we will at some point. But I am pretty sure that new "snow depth" records were set from 12/18 through at least 12/28. This was the most amount of snow on the ground since 1980, and probably surpassed 1980 in number of days of record snow depth.

The data below is from our home weather station. The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from our own station's 2000 to 2007 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at our station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	57	9	32.7	36.1
Wind (mph)	34		1.7	1.6
Rainfall (in)	0.98		5.57 (total)	5.81

New Year, New Record

2009-01-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

If you've followed this blog for awhile, you know that I'm all over the local weather records. Record rain, snow, temperatures (highs, lows, high lows, low highs). It's an obsession of sorts. Relatively harmless, but an obsession none the less.

And my obsession was deeply satisfied yesterday when we officially received 3.12" of rain equivalent precipitation (melted snow and rain), shattering both the local daily record for Jan 1 of 1.60" (1997), and the daily record for ANY day in January (previously 2.48" Jan 6 1948).

Except for some localized flooding and mudslides, it was a moment in weather history to be savored. You were there. Me too.

Happy New Year!

Hey... Who Turned The Lights On?

2008-12-30T15:12:00.000-08:00

That would be me. 2 years ago, when I started this blog, I figured it would be cool (or at least consistent) to have the same color scheme as the main weather site. The resulting blog color scheme was certainly consistent, but not very cool as far as readability goes.

Lately I've been feeling like I needed a flashlight to read the white text on the black background. I figured if I was having trouble with it, why would anyone else even bother to suffer through it? So this should reduce the suffering somewhat.

Now, all you have suffer through is the content.

BTW, the color scheme for the weather site is remaining the same. For now. So keep your flashlights handy.

Record Snow Depths?

2008-12-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

Well I guess so... The 2 week arctic air/snow event (that we are still struggling to pull out of) has apparently shattered Hood River historical snow depth records for at least 11 consecutive days.

According to my reckoning (and a yardstick embedded into the snow on the deck), we surpassed the snow depth records starting 12/18, and that continued through 12/28. At our house, the yardstick maxed out at 31 inches on Christmas Day. Note to self: Think twice about wishing for a White Christmas in the future.

By the way, the deepest officially recorded snow depth for Hood River was 47 inches on Jan 9, 1980.

Transitions

2008-12-26T18:22:00.000-08:00

Transition: a passage from one steady state to a new steady state, sometimes disruptively.

We are currently experiencing a weather transition in Hood River, and not a moment too soon. After 2 weeks of arctic air sitting over us and producing prodigious amounts of snowfall, we are transitioning to warmer air. This arctic blast has lasted almost twice as long as is typical here, and has resulted in record amounts of snow pack on the ground in Hood River for the second half of December.

Arctic blasts aren't unusual here; most winters we have at least one. This one stands out in its duration, intensity, and amount of snowfall. Not to mention, icicles. Amazing icicles, extending in some cases from roof top to ground. Icicles that reflect and refract light in dancing patterns and colors. Nature's natural lead crystals. Icicles that potentially can pull gutters down to the ground and create ice dams that leak water into houses. Beauty and destruction, all in one neat package.

Traditionally, we usually transition from an arctic blast with sleet and freezing rain. It looks like we might possibly avoid that this time. Fingers are crossed. And, with this much snow on the ground, fingers are especially crossed that flooding can be avoided in the next week.

Ignore the house number. It's Photoshopped and means nothing whatsoever...

Excuses

2008-12-22T10:58:00.000-08:00

OK, I've neglected this blog long enough. It's just that I've been a little distracted lately. I have no one to blame but myself. No excuses. But here's my excuses anyway:

For years I'd been looking for ways to make the Hood River Weather site more user-interactive. I really wanted to inform visitors of changes or problems with the site, and compare notes and observations on current weather.

So 2 years ago I started this blog (first posting is here). Interactivity at last! But it turns out that not all that many people read blogs, and even fewer people make comments. So it was mostly just me blabbering on about weather, astronomy/cosmology, gardening, web links that were probably only interesting to me, world events that pissed me off, etc. Even though not many comments came in, the blog turned out to be a fun exercise in writing, which I had enjoyed years ago but stopped doing.

Fast forward to Saturday, Dec 13, 2008. Browsing through some of the local blogs I follow, I scroll down through local photographer Blaine Franger's blog, admiring his excellent photos as always. And then: THERE... IT...IS. A chat program that is a quantum leap better than any chat service I had seen previously! I hauled ass over to Cbox, registered, installed chat windows on this blog and on the main weather site, and sat back, expecting a few comments to come trickling in daily.

This was one day before a huge mass of arctic air arrived in the Pacific Northwest, leading to a series of heavy snow/cold weather events that continues to the present time. A weather geek's weather dream come true. Suddenly, I was up to my neck in site interactivity, and have been a tad bit distracted ever since.

But it's all good. The people making comments are (so far) a relatively well-behaved group, and I'm slowly backing off the feeling that as administrator I have to check it every 15 minutes or so. And during slow weather, if there's only a few or no posts, that's cool with me. At least the channels of communication are open.

So, for kicks, I did a poll on the site, asking if people thought adding the chat window was a good idea:

46% thought it was a good idea (and would probably participate)

30% thought it was a good idea (but probably wouldn't participate)

24% thought I had probably made a terrible, terrible mistake.

I suspect the biggest problem is that it's a potential distraction/tripping point for viewers looking for weather information located farther down the site. So I've come up with some future options for the chat window, which you can vote on here. I'm way open to suggestions. Oh, by the way, for those who are turned off by the chat window, I've put up a non-chat version of the site.

Enough already. I gotta go check the chat window. It's been at least 15 minutes...

Wecome To The Arctic

2008-12-16T17:39:00.001-08:00

Arctic air, that is. This temporary incursion of arctic air presents a tremendous opportunity to experience living in a place that has really cold winters. But only for a week or so! Perfect!

We had 5 inches of snow Sunday (which may be a local record), a cold inversion Monday, and beautifully clear sunny weather today. High temp today 23, low 9, minimum wind chill 0 (zero). Tomorrow, snow moves back in, along with another big storm this weekend as the arctic air starts to moderate. This is interesting weather, and I like interesting weather.

Fortunately, arctic blasts here rarely last longer than a week. They usually end on a very messy precipitation event, but they usually end in a timely fashon.

And this one had a perfect setup, at least for garden plants: There were (and still are) several inches of snow on the ground before the really cold temperatures set in, giving plants and the soil a comfy insulating blanket.

Here's a zoomed in and very fuzzy view of Mt Adams from the deck this evening. I gotta trim those branches (except that they belong to a neighbor a block away):

I'll have another post shortly regarding my thoughts on the Hood River Weather site's new addition: the live chat window.

Earliest Sunset

2008-12-08T07:24:00.000-08:00

Today's sunset in Hood River, at 4:21 pm, is the earliest sunset of the year. Actually, the sun sets at 4:21 each day from now until Dec 14, at which time it starts to set later and later. Yea!

This isn't quite the shortest day of the year, which occurs on the Winter Solstice (Dec 21, 2008).

And it certainly isn't the latest sunrise, which is 7:46 am from Dec 28 to Jan 8, at which point the sun starts rising earlier and earlier. Yea again!

Sunrise and sunset times are dependent on latitude, so these times only apply to locations at Hood River's latitude of 45.7 North. For other locations, check this out.

Warm Morning

2008-12-07T10:38:00.000-08:00

This morning's low of 46 was warmer than the previous "high low" record of 44 degrees set in 1938. I'm not sure if that will hold, since cooler temperatures will probably follow this weak storm front after it moves out later today.

No snow at the Oregon ski resorts. Long range forecasts indicate the possibility of arctic air moving in next weekend and perhaps precipitation (snow!) after that. I certainly hope so. 'Tis the season, after all.

A couple of notes about the Hood River Weather site. In the true spirit of Christmas, I've added an affiliate Amazon.com gadget showing the "Deal of the Day" and other deals nearly impossible for any sane person to pass up. But, do feel free to pass them up, regardless of your sanity.

The weather site has not yet made me independently wealthy. In the interest of full disclosure, the Yahoo ad just below the Amazon ad actually brings in about $100 a year. Not enough to quit my day job, but then the site is more a fun hobby than anything else.

Also, I've added a link to Mark Nelsen's "Fox 12 Weather Blog" in the Weather Links area. I've been following Mark's blog for a while and am impressed with the weather model discussions. Mark also has a personal weather site full of interesting NW weather links.

Just in case you aren't hearing enough holiday music yet, here's my favorite Christmas song. Well, not specifically Christmas, but definitely winter wonderland related. This is the Eurythmics version of the tune:

November Revisited

2008-12-02T17:38:00.000-08:00

Compared to historical averages, November in Hood River was much warmer, with average wind speed and rainfall.

The average temperature was 3.8 degrees warmer than long term averages, and 3.7 degrees warmer than more recent averages (2000-2007). Wind speeds were average, with southerly winds predominating.

The first third of the month was rainy, and the rest of the month not so much, ending 0.21 inches above average.

There were 2 records set in November at the official Hood River Agrimet station. Both occurred on November 12. The rainfall of 1.05" surpassed the previous record of 1.03" (1966), and the low temperature of 53 set a new "high low" for the date (previously 48 degrees in 1999).

The data below is from our home weather station. The "historical average" numbers for temperature and rainfall are from the Hood River MCAREC data. Historical wind average is from our own station's 2000 to 2007 data. Note that average wind speeds include all 24 hours of the day and night, which is why they are way lower than daytime peak winds. In addition, the wind speed at our station is considerably lower than on the Columbia River.

	High	Low	Average	Historical Average
Temperature (F)	65	28	45.3	41.5
Wind (mph)	36		1.6	1.7
Rainfall (in)	1.21		5.05 (total)	4.84

Warm Spell

2008-12-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

After flirting with a chilly, boring inversion event Thanksgiving week, the weather took a turn for the better (as in "warmer") the past few days.

On Saturday, the high temp at our station hit 59 degrees, tying the record high set in 1995.

And today, as a warm storm front moves into Oregon, the temperature has reached 57, surpassing the historic record of 56 degrees (1939).

We've dropped behind normal precipitation amounts for the current rain year. No snow at the ski resorts, either. We can make that up pretty fast, but time's a wasting. I've done my part by changing the top banner at the Hood River Weather site to a snowy wintry theme. That should do it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

Not a whole lot happening on the HR weather scene lately. High pressure has been diverting storms north and south for the most part, and that will continue for the next week.

We did receive a little more rain (0.18") than expected from today's weak front. Another shot of precipitation might roll in on Thanksgiving, but after that... dry...

I've lived in Hood River 32 years now. For the earlier part of that time, it seemed like it would very often snow here on Thanksgiving. Not so much anymore. But I'm hoping that my saying this will shift the odds towards snow.

And from the "wow, I sure wish I'd seen that" category: Five days ago over Alberta, Canada, a desk-sized meteor plunged into Earth's atmosphere, captured on a police car dash cam:

Start Wearing Purple

2008-11-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

Maybe this, or something similar, has happened to you. You check your email. There's a link in one that looks interesting, so you click it.

Hours later, you find yourself at a web site far far away from where you started.

So yesterday, I glanced at the email that I get monthly from Atom.com: "New Featured Videos". Here's one: "Impersonator does George Bush Exit Interviews". What the heck. It might be funny. I need a laugh, and lame duck presidents are cool, in their own way. Click.

It's an entertaining impersonation of President Bush. But what really caught my eye (and ears) was the short Yahoo ad that proceeded the videos. People in an elevator. One starts singing a very catchy tune. Others join in, fun is had by all, and the commercial ends.

It was a very catchy tune. So I did a Google search on the song, which was "Start Wearing Purple". Click.

Hours later, after much web research and much clicking, I now know more about the Eastern European/New York musical genre called gypsy punk than I ever imagined possible. That certainly wasn't in my plans for the evening, but that's the thing about plans.

The purple part of the song title is up for grabs: is it the color favored by gypsies? Royalty? Gays? Conservatives? Liberals? It's a mystery, along with why Yahoo chose the tune for an ad (except that it's so darn catchy).

I've embedded the video of the song below. It's by the performance group Gogol Bordello. The catchy tune part starts at 30 seconds or so. Please note that there is actually very little wearing of purple. Or anything else, for that matter. Apparently, gypsies have a lot of fun.

And, accordions are involved.

Don't Breathe Advisory

2008-11-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

As I rounded the corner from Rowena to The Dalles on my morning commute today, I was apparently teleported to the Los Angeles air basin. Or at least that's what the sky looked like. Visibility appeared to be less than 5 miles, pretty unusual for around here.

The National Weather Service isn't too impressed with the air quality either. An Air Stagnation Advisory is in effect for the Gorge and Eastern Oregon. The advisory expires at noon tomorrow (if we don't expire first), as a Pacific weather system moves in to hopefully stir things up.

But, by all means, keep burning those piles of leaves and brush!

View this morning looking west towards The Dalles

A Ray Of Hope

2008-11-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but today the Iraq government has taken encouraging steps towards mandating total US troop withdrawal by 2011. And, the Bush administration is apparently OK with that, after being against timetables for withdrawal. Thanks, Mr President. Being willing to change one's mind when circumstances warrant is a sign of maturity.

I'm pretty sure Rush won't approve of this weak-spined flip-flopping though, but as far as Rush is concerned, Obama is already President and is directly responsible for this recession (depression?) plus every other bad thing in the world. Maybe the entire Universe. At least the heat is off the Clinton administration. Oh wait... the current Obama administration IS the Clinton administration. Funny stuff.