Once In A Lifetime

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

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. At least, 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

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

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

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

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??

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

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 songs that are about songs about songs that are about rain...

July 2010 Revisited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!