November 2011 Revisted

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!

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.

October 2011 Revisited

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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...