April 2012 Revisited

Here's April 2012, sorted into 3 easy categories, all relating, oddly enough, to Hood River historical averages:

Above average: Temperature
Average or near: Rainfall, wind speed
Below Average: Solar radiation
 
My station's average temperature of 51.7° was warmer than the long term April average of 49.8°, and warmer than the more recent (2001-2011) average of 49.2°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 51.0°.

The maximum temperature (at my station) in April was 86°, and the low temp was 28°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 87° and 28°. The high heat index for the month was 84°, and the low wind chill was 28°.

Solar radiation averaged 412 Ly/day, compared to an average April solar radiation of 438 Ly/day.The heavy rains of March dropped back to normal amounts in April. I had 1.94" at my station, and HOXO officially recorded 1.40", compared to an average of 1.66". The official high rain day was 0.26" on the 15th, while my station recorded 0.36" on the next day. It must have happened right around midnight, to show up on two separate days. Or something.

The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 2.8 mph, compared to an average April wind speed of 3.1 mph. The peak wind gust was 37 mph on the 1st. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.Barometric pressure peaked at 30.47" on the 2nd. Low barometric was 29.34" on the 11th.

There was one local weather record set this month. On the 23rd, the high temperature reached 87°, breaking the old record of 81° in 1977. This was the middle of a 3 day heat wave, the first one of the year.

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 April 2012, 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.

April arrives, and dreams do really come true.  Iz lives on...maybe we all do?  What a wonderful world...  :)

March 2012 Revisited

Compared to Hood River historical averages, here's March 2012, plain and simple:

Above average: Rainfall
Average or near: Solar radiation
Below Average: Temperature, rainfall, snowfall, and wind

If plain and simple is good enough for you (it is for me), then skip down to the video, or go back to whatever web site you were browsing previously. For those who relish the weather data, continue reading.
My station's average temperature of 42.6° was a little cooler than the long term March average of 43.8°, and considerably cooler than the more recent (2001-2011) average of 44.6°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 42.5°, matching my station's average, which is spooky, because this is the second month in a row for a near match. Wooooo...

The maximum temperature (at my station) in March was 64°, and the low temp was 28°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 62° and 28°, another good match. The high heat index for the month was 64°, and the low wind chill was 23°.

Solar radiation averaged 274 Ly/day, compared to an average March solar radiation of 287 Ly/day.It was a very rainy month. Official precipitation totaled 5.87" at HOXO, and 6.27" at my station, compared to an average of 3.17". The official high rain day was 0.97" on the 30th, while my station recorded 1.43" on that day. Not a record, but impressive.

1" of snow fell on the 21st. Average snowfall for March in Hood River is 2.2".

Winds, which were almost exclusively from the west this month, were the lowest average March wind speeds since at least 2001, when I started keeping track of such things. The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 2.2 mph, compared to an average March wind speed of 2.9 mph. The peak wind gust was 33 mph on the 11th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were almost certainly higher.Barometric pressure peaked at 30.47" on the 2nd. Low barometric was 29.34" on the 11th.

There were 3 local weather records set this month. The first was on March 14, when the high temperature only made it up to 37°, crushing the old "low high" record of 45° set in 1984. On the 20th, we received 0.82" of rain, with the old record being 0.54" (1967). The next day, we were blessed with 1" of snow, which squeaked by the previous record of 0.8" (1985). Exciting stuff, eh?
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 March 2012, 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.

Continuing the "Power of Love" theme from last month, here's a tune for those old, ancient folks (like me) who enjoy Leonard Cohen's poems set to music, and cringe when having to listen to anything by Huey Lewis (not like me). I like 'em both, so I guess I'm stuck in the middle again. Anyway, it's Spring, and it's sprung, and we made it through another Winter.

February 2012 Revisited

Compared to historical averages, February 2012 in Hood River was pretty much average in temperature, and a little below average in rain, wind, and sunny days (solar radiation).
My station's average temperature of 39.3° was a little warmer than the long term February average of 38.0°, but almost exactly on the more recent (2001-2011) average of 39.4°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 39.2°, matching my station's average, which is a coincidence I'm always pleased to see, when it happens. Which isn't often.

The maximum temperature (at my station) in February was 57°, and the low temp was 27°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 56° and 26° (there's that coincidence again!). The high heat index for the month was 57°, and the low wind chill was 20°.

Solar radiation (influenced by cloud cover) averaged 165 Ly/day, compared to an average February solar radiation of 185 Ly/day. The maximum solar radiation, 293, occurred on the 24th. The minimum, 52, occurred on the 9th.Official precipitation totaled 2.64" at HOXO, and 3.42" at my station, compared to an average of 3.81". The official high rain day was 0.44" on the 17th, while my station maxed at 0.62" on the 25th.

No measurable snowfall fell. Average snowfall for February in Hood River is 7.3".

West winds predominated this month, which is unusual, but continued the west wind predominance that was noticeable last month also. The 24 hour average wind speed at my (somewhat sheltered) weather station was 2.3 mph, compared to an average February wind speed of 2.2 mph. The peak wind gust was 35 mph on the 21st. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher.Barometric pressure peaked at 30.50" on the 2nd. Low barometric was 29.61" on the 28th.

There were no local weather records set in February.
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 February 2012, 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.

February inevitably brings Valentine's Day, which celebrates the curious "Power of Love".  Curious, because it can make a one man weep, and make another man sing. Not to mention its effects on women. Amazingly, I've also heard that it can sometimes change your heart, into a little white dove! That's totally awesome, and just a tad bit scary, if you ask me.

Speaking of Huey Lewis and The News, I'm writing this February 2012 summary on September 14th, 2012 (yeah, I know, that's really pathetic) and tomorrow, September 15th, they will likely be playing this very song at the local Maryhill Winery venue. Coincidence? Maybe... maybe not...

January 2012 Revisited (finally)

Speaking of "time slipping away", it really does. Especially when you're procrastinating, which is pretty much my normal mode.Anyway, in the spirit of "better late than never", here's January 2012, which turned out to be a really interesting month, if you like devastating, history-making ice storms.

The ice storm, which started on Jan 18, and continued for way too many days, was awesome, in a horribly fascinating weather sort of way. For weather geeks (like me), it was exciting, perhaps even beyond our wildest dreams (clever tie-in to the video below). In most other ways, it sucked big time. Power was out, for some areas more than a week, many trees and branches were downed, and it was definitely the worst ice damage in many decades. I could link to zillions of Google sites, and a whole bunch of YouTube videos, but I won't, because there's literally zillions of them.

However, compared to historical January averages, Hood River was actually warmer than long term averages, but cooler than recent years, and slightly above average in rain, snow, and solar radiation. It was below average in wind, but since nobody in their right mind is wind-sporting on the river in January, that was ok.

My station's average temperature of 36.0° was a lot warmer than the long term January average of 33.6°, but a little cooler than the more recent (2001-2011) average of 36.6°. The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 35.7°.

The maximum temperature (at my station) in January was 53°, and the low temp was 28°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 53° and 31°. The high heat index for the month was 53°, and the low wind chill was 18°.

Solar radiation averaged 110 Ly/day, compared to an average January solar radiation of 85 Ly/day. Overall, it was a bright month, with hardly any inversions. The maximum solar radiation, 222, occurred on the 27th. The minimum, 26, occurred on the 17th.Official precipitation totaled 6.73" at HOXO, and 7.41" at my station, compared to an average of 5.14". The high rain day was 1.63" on the 21st.

We officially accumulated 17.5" of snow. In actuality, it was a mixture of show, ice, and freezing rain, with the maximum falling as 12" on January 19th. Average snowfall for January in Hood River is 14.6".

The 24 hour average wind speed at my somewhat sheltered weather station was 1.3 mph, compared to an average January wind speed of 2.1 mph. The peak wind gust was 34 mph on the 26th. Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were undoubtedly higher.Barometric pressure peaked at 30.68" on the 11th. Low barometric was 29.33" on the 21st.

There were 2 records set in January: On January 18th, we received 12 inches of some sort of combination of snow and ice. The old January record was 7 inches in 1954. On January 19th, we received 1.67" of water-equivalent precipitation, breaking the old record of 1.22" (1950).
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 January 2012, 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.

If you dream of ice storms, this month was yours to dream, wildly...