December 2011 Revisited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There were no local weather records set in December.

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

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

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

November 2011 Revisted

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.