September 2012 Revisited

September 2012, compared to historical averages:

Above average: Temperature, solar radiation, wind
Average or near: Pretty much nothing
Below Average: Rain
 
September was exactly like August, only different.  Again, my station's average temperature of 64.9° was WAY warmer than the long term September average of 60.3°, and considerably warmer than the more recent (2001-2011) average of 62.0°.  The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 63.1°.

The maximum temperature (at my station) was 91°, and the low temp was 39°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 90° and 38°.  The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 87°, and the low wind chill was 39°.

Solar radiation averaged 452 Ly/day, compared to an average September solar radiation of 422 Ly/day. 

Following the trend in August, it was another very dry month.  I had 0.01" for a monthly precip total at my station, and so did HOXO.   However, the manually read station at MCAREC, didn't get any precip at all. 

On average, Hood River receives 1.01" of rain in September.  I was thinking maybe that no rain, or at the most 0.01", was a record for any September, but I was wrong.  It's actually happened a few times before, but that doesn't make it right, or even hardly acceptable.
 
The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 3.1 mph, compared to an average September wind speed of 2.6 mph. The peak wind gust was 32 mph.   Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.

Barometric pressure peaked at 30.38", and the low barometric was 29.80".

There were no local weather records set this month.

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 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 I were to choose just one word to describe this September, it would be "wildfires, and smoke".   Above is an interesting time-lapse looking from Hood River over to White Salmon, where the "Highway 141" fire was burning.  Further North, the "Cascade Creek" fire raged at the foot of Mt Adams.  And then, to give folks on the Hood River side of the Columbia River something to get excited about, there was the "MP 66" fire just east of Hood River.

Luckily, none of those fires resulted in loss of life, or major injury, or much damage to any structures, thanks to the much appreciated efforts of hundreds of firefighters, and others.

Also luckily, the weather (specifically the wind) played an important part in the fire control, since it changed direction from west to east, back to west, to east, to west, to east....over and over again.   The down side was that this made the smoke build up over the Mid-Columbia region (and beyond), making for quite a few days of low air quality, and low visibility.

August 2012 Revisited

August 2012, compared to historical averages:

Above average: Temperature
Average or near: Solar radiation
Below Average: Rain, wind
 
In August, my station's average temperature of 71.5° was WAY warmer than the long term August average of 66.7°, and considerably warmer than the more recent (2001-2011) average of 68.8°.  The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 70.1°.

This made for the warmest August at my weather station since before 2001, and the warmest official August in HR since 2004.   Hot stuff, after a series of summers with mostly lower than average temperatures.

The maximum temperature (at my station) was 104°, and the low temp was 46°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 102° and 41°.  The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 102°, and the low wind chill was 46°.

Solar radiation averaged 573 Ly/day, compared to an average August solar radiation of 571 Ly/day.  Almost exactly average.

It was, as August's often are, a very dry month.  I had 0.02" for a monthly precip total at my station, and HOXO officially recorded:  Nothing.  An average August historically receives 0.36", but the last time we had any officially recorded rain in August was back in 2008.

The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 4.2 mph, compared to an average August wind speed of 3.8 mph. The peak wind gust was 29 mph.   Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.  

Barometric pressure peaked at 30.16", and the low barometric was 29.69".

There was one local weather record set this month. On the 6th, the low temperature only dropped to 68°, breaking the old "high low" record of 67° set in 2010.

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 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.

August 2012 was special, astronomically speaking, due to the Full Moon occurring twice within the month.  Sadly, these Blue Moons aren't actually blue, which would be really special.   And they're not all that unusual either, but the next one won't happen until July 2015. 

July 2012 Revisited

Here's July 2012, compared to historical averages:

Above average: Rain, wind
Average or near: Temperature
Below Average: Solar radiation
 
In July, my station's average temperature of 69.4° was considerably warmer than the long term July average of 67.3°, but cooler than the more recent (2001-2011) average of 70.2°.  The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 68.7°.  Because of the discrpency between long term and short term averages, I'm calling this July: Average temperature.  You can call it something different if you would like.  In any event, it was really nice to finally have Summer arrive again.

The maximum temperature (at my station) was 88°, and the low temp was 45°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 93° and 42°.  The high heat index (at my station) for the month was 92°, and the low wind chill was 45°.

Solar radiation averaged 632 Ly/day, compared to an average July solar radiation of 663 Ly/day.   I think this was probably influenced by the couple of thunderstorms we had, and generally a little more cloudy conditions overall.

Regarding those thunderstorms, I had 0.83" for a monthly precip total at my station, and HOXO officially recorded 0.89", compared to an historical average of 0.22".  The official high rain day at HOXO was 0.40" on the 24th, which is odd, because my station didn't record anything that day.   I have no way to explain that, other than that's what thunderstorms sometimes do:  they can be very localized.   Or something.

Average wind speeds were way above average; in fact, the highest July on average since 2001, and probably even earlier.   The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 5.6 mph, compared to an average July wind speed of 4.1 mph. The peak wind gust was 32 mph.   Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.  

Barometric pressure peaked at 30.21", and the low barometric was 29.68".

There was one local weather record set this month. On the 19th, Hood River officially received 0.39" of rain, breaking the old record of 0.20" in 1987.  The reason?  Thunderstorms.   Which we've been having a little more often in the summer, but not often enough for my liking (my apologies to the wildfire fighters).

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 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.

Not only was the West rowdy (see previous blog post); it was Wild.  And to tame that Wilderness, railroads (and steam engines) were involved.   Check out the "Age of Steam" week from the Historic Hood River photo blog, for some local Hood River historical context.

June 2012 Revisited

Here's June 2012, plain and simple:

Above average: Rain
Average or near: Wind
Below Average: Temperature, solar radiation
 
June played out in a (not too unusual) June-uary fashion:  Cool, cloudy, and wet.  My station's average temperature of 61.1° was a little cooler than the long term June average of 61.8°, and even cooler than the more recent (2001-2011) average of 62.9°.  The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 60.2°.  June was, as I mentioned, cool.

The maximum temperature (at my station) was 85°, and the low temp was 43°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 87° and 42°. The high heat index for the month was 85°, and the low wind chill was 43°.

Solar radiation averaged 525 Ly/day, way below an average June solar radiation of 617 Ly/day.   Did I mention that this June was very cloudy?

Precipitation was more than twice the average for June.  I had 1.67" at my station, and HOXO officially recorded 1.66", compared to an historical average of 0.77".  Have I mentioned that this June was quite wet?   The official high rain day was 0.66" on the 4th, while my station recorded 0.61" on that day.

Winds were pretty much average.   The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 4.2 mph, compared to an average June wind speed of 4.1 mph. The peak wind gust was 29 mph.  Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.  

Barometric pressure peaked at 30.22" on the 10th, and the low barometric was 29.63" on the 23rd.

There was one local weather record set this month. On the 23rd, Hood River officially received 0.39" of rain,  breaking the old record of 0.25" in 1969.  Obviously, some records are easier to break than others.

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 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.

From last month's mellow John Denver country tune, to this month's somewhat rowdy (get it?) country tune.  A real crowd pleaser, after a somewhat shaky start.

May 2012 Revisited

Here's May 2012, summarized into 3 simple categories, all compared to Hood River historical averages:

Above average: Rain, wind speed
Average or near: Temperature, solar radiation
Below Average: Nothing
 
My station's average temperature of 56.8° was a little warmer than the long term May average of 56.2°, but a little cooler than the more recent (2001-2011) average of 57.1°.  So, I'm calling it, on average, a wash.  The official average temperature in Hood River, recorded at HOXO, was 56.1°.

The maximum temperature (at my station) was a blazing 94° (which was very unusual for May, but very welcome), and the low temp was 35°. Official Hood River highs and lows (at HOXO) were 92° and 33°. The high heat index for the month was 89°, and the low wind chill was 35°.

Solar radiation averaged 542 Ly/day, compared to an average May solar radiation of 543 Ly/day, about as average as one can get. 

Precipitation was a little above average.  I had 1.47" at my station, and HOXO officially recorded 1.17", compared to an historical average of 1.08". The official high rain day was 0.71" on the 3rd, while my station recorded 0.70" on that day.  Good match, which is pretty much coincidental.

Winds picked up, as they often do in May.   The 24 hour average wind speed at my weather station was 4.2 mph, compared to an average May wind speed of 3.6 mph. The peak wind gust was 34 mph.   Wind speeds at other less sheltered locations, such as the Columbia River, were, of course, higher.  

Barometric pressure peaked at 30.50" on the 5th, and low barometric was 29.68", just 2 days earlier.  Barometric whiplash!

There was one local weather record set this month. On the 15th, the low temperature only dipped to 59°,  breaking the old record "high low" of 56° in 2005.   That was at the end of a couple days of very warm temperatures, as these sort of high low records usually are.

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 May 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.

Not sure what country roads have to do with May, but there's probably a connection somewhere, and besides, it's a catchy tune by a talented singer/songwriter who, like last month's talented singer, is no longer with us.  Except in spirit, which counts for a lot.