Good Monday afternoon! Dreary conditions were widespread today. Clouds dominated the skies and some spotty areas of fog lingered into the afternoon. Temperatures reached the lower and middle 50s by the afternoon. Unfortunately, these conditions are going to continue for the next couple of days. Waking up tomorrow, temperatures will still be in the low […]Happy Sunday! It has been a soggy and dreary one out there today. But hopefully that made for a good day to relax and get ready for the week ahead! South of I-20 may see a thunderstorm or two in the mix as we head into the nighttime hours. The rain will continue overnight but […]
: . , Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 29, 2023 Why Does High Pressure Produce Low Clouds in the Pacific Northwest . Plus , the Latest Forecast My new podcast answers a question several have asked : nbsp Why Does High Pressure Produce Low Clouds over the Northwest Such a situation occurred this week , as illustrated by the satellite image on Tuesday afternoon below . nbsp Puget Sound was socked in , as was the Willamette Valley . nbsp Low clouds are also evident . offshore High pressure promotes low clouds in several ways . all explained in the . podcast My podcast also provides the weather forecast for this week : nbsp a pretty benign . situation Most notable will be the cool morning temperaturesGood Saturday to you! Temperatures will be warmer in the mid 40s tonight. A wet pattern starts tomorrow with widespread rain for the majority of the day. Areas north of I-20 will experience some wet weather waking up tomorrow. If you’re south of I-20, you can expect rain in your neck of the woods by […]Happy Friday, you have made it to the weekend! We have had a beautiful day today with a few high clouds in the sky. Clouds remain scattered overnight tonight. It will be quite cold and frosty overnight, with temperatures dipping down to that freezing mark. Tomorrow looks like it’s going to be the best day […]
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 26, 2023 Near-Record High Atmospheric Pressure Followed by the Big Chill If you feel some pressure in your forehead today , there may be a . cause Right now , the Northwest is experiencing unusually high atmospheric . pressure In fact , the third highest pressure in the past 25 years , hitting around 1042 hPa , something shown by the plot of pressures at SeaTac below the dashed red line shows the highest pressure observed yesterday This uber-high pressure has been suppressing water levels , resulting in the high tides at Seattle being far less than would have occurred under normal pressure see below , red is observed , blue is predicted Later tonight and tomorrowGood Thursday afternoon! Our local weather has remained cool today, with temperatures reaching the upper 40s to lower 50s this afternoon. A light west breeze will go calm tonight, setting the stage for a widespread frost and light freeze. Temperatures will fall into the 25 to 30 degree range overnight. Skies will remain sunny on […]Good Wednesday afternoon! Today has been a cool and breezy day today, with many areas remaining in the 40s. The low clouds have made for a very gloomy afternoon. Skies will remain mostly cloudy tonight, as temperatures slowly drop into the 30s. We can expect a partly to occasionally mostly cloudy sky on Thursday. A […]
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 24, 2023 Cold and Some Lowland Snow Arriving This Weekend We have roughly another month remaining of meteorological winter , and mother nature will not be letting us transition to spring without another taste of cold and snow . nbsp The cold is for sure , including a hard freeze over the . region The snow forecast is less confident--but it does look like either the Washington or Oregon western lowlands will see the flakes--the question is which . one The movement of cold air into the Northwest has another implication : nbsp substantial additional precipitation for a sodden . California The Cold For Wednesday and Thursday , a high-pressure ridge will dominate the
Hello everyone! I wanted to take a quick moment to introduce myself. My name is Harmony Guercio and I’m a sophomore here at WKU studying to become a Meteorologist. I’ve wanted to be a Meteorologist as long as I can … Continue reading →Good Tuesday evening! We are watching heavy rain and storms slowly approach Alabama from the west. Rain will become widespread tonight, with gusty winds of 30 to 40mph developing. Severe weather is not expected locally, but rain and windy conditions could lead to isolated falling trees and power outages. Skies will remain mostly cloudy on […]Good Monday afternoon! Today has been a nice winter day across the region, with ample sunshine and seasonal temperatures. Once the sun sets, temperatures will fall quickly! Look for a low in the 29 to 31 degree range, with many areas dealing with a widespread frost. Clouds will increase on Tuesday, with rather breezy conditions […]
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 22, 2023 Atmospheric Pressure Explains a Wimpy King Tide Plus Cold Air Ahead In my podcast today , I spend the second segment talking in depth about atmospheric pressure . nbsp That information is particularly important this week : nbsp A very large astronomical King Tide will be reduced considerably by much higher than normal atmospheric . pressure Normal pressure at sea level is approximately 1013 hPa hPa is the metric unit of pressure This week the pressure is forecast to be around 1030-1035 hPa see forecast below Such high pressure will reduce the high tide by roughly 7 inches . nbsp As you can see below , the water level predictions blue lines areGood Sunday afternoon! Gloomy conditions were stagnant all over Western Alabama today. A cool and cloudy day is not going to give way to a clearer overnight. Low temperatures tonight and into the start of your work week will drop into the mid to upper 30s, making for a chilly start. Clouds begin to clear […]Happy Saturday! We saw some sun early today before skies changed to a overcast scene by the afternoon. Rain showers will continue to push through overnight tonight and into tomorrow morning. Showers will mostly stop by daybreak with a few lingering showers hanging around until the noon hour. Clouds stick around for tomorrow afternoon where […]
: . . Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 19, 2023 The California Drought is Over . Definitively . After over a month of torrential rain and massive mountain snow , the drought is over in . California Yet with all the liquid bounty , some in the media and elsewhere don't want to give up on it , as noted in the NY Times headline . below And the U.S Drought Monitor has severe drought over much of the . state I believe the evidence for the end of California drought is quite overwhelming . But consider the facts found below and decide for . yourself Reservoirs and Snowpack Let us start with the most critical measure of drought . the total water storage in the reservoirs plus the water that will be
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 17, 2023 A Superfront Will Reach the Northwest Coast on Wednesday Morning Most weather fronts that reach the Northwest coast are generally wimpy . nbsp Only a slight change in temperature , a minor wind shift , and a modest change in humidity . nbsp Quite a contrast to the often strong fronts of the central and eastern . U.S The reason for our generally unexceptional fronts is . two-fold First , the fronts reaching our coast are generally aged , declining occluded fronts , compared to the prime , active fronts of the western Pacific . nbsp Cyclones and fronts are driven by large temperature gradients changes of temperature over distance and a strong jet stream ,: , Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 15, 2023 The Big Dry is Coming , And the Truth About the Pacific Data Void In my new podcast see information below I talk about a major weather transition that will occur over the West Coast , with the development of a huge , persistent ridge of high pressure see upper-level map below for Sunday morning California will have a chance to dry . out And in the second part of the podcast , I talk about the claims of supposed weather data voids over the Pacific . nbsp Such an absence of weather data existed 60 years ago , but no longer . nbsp Today massive satellite , aircraft , and buoy data provide huge amounts of 3D weather data worldwide see examples below and
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 13, 2023 The Northwest's Weather Scorecard at Winter's Halfway Point We are now at roughly the halfway point of Northwest winter , and it is interesting to evaluate where we are . weatherwise In contrast to California , which is experiencing the wettest winter in a generation . if not longer . most of the Northwest has had a muted winter so far , with the December ice storm being the main exception . nbsp Let's start with the temperature over the past 60 days the difference from normal , below The entire region was cooler than normal by 0-4F , but eastern Washington and parts of eastern Oregon were MUCH cooler than normal . by as much as 6-8F . nbsp Not
By Sheldon Kusselson and Dan Bikos Advected Layer Precipitable Water (ALPW) Loop
: : Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 11, 2023 Stunning Imagery : A Huge Cyclone and an Atmospheric River Sometimes you see meteorological imagery and just say . wow Today a huge low center extends over much of the northeast Pacific , while an impressive plume of moisture--an atmospheric river-- stretches southwest-northeast towards the California . coast The infrared satellite image this morning shows the situation , with the white areas indicating higher . clouds Want to be impressed even more Here is the water-vapor satellite image at the same time , viewing the emission of water vapor to space . nbsp Scary for northern California For reference , here is the sea-level pressure analysis at the: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 10, 2023 La Nina's Days Are Numbered La Nina , the periodic occurrence of unusually cool surface waters over the central and eastern tropical Pacific , has a substantial but variable impact on Northwest . weather Generally , La Nina brings wetter than normal and cooler than normal conditions to the Northwest , often with a healthy local snowpack . nbsp Central and southern CA are often . dry But this year La Nina appears to be following a different playbook , with Calfornia being pummelled with uber-moist storms . nbsp And La Nina is about to weaken rapidly , with changes already occurring beneath the Pacific . surface Here is the latest map of Pacific sea
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 08, 2023 A Monster Low Will Develop on Wednesday I don't know what to call . it The leviathan of lows The Whale Storm The Colossus of the eastern Pacific Whatever you call it , the largest midlatitude cyclone I can ever remember is about the form over the eastern Pacific . nbsp Guinness record keepers should pay . attention Below is the predicted sea level pressure map for Wednesday at 7 AM from the UW modeling . system Just wow . nbsp A deep low-pressure system of enormous dimensions , extending from Alaska to the latitude of Hawaii . nbsp Roughly 2500 miles in . diameter Strong winds will spread over thousands of miles as well see the wind gust forecast below: . Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 07, 2023 The Origins of Atmospheric Rivers and the Latest Forecast . My New Podcast My new podcast talks about the origins and importance of atmospheric rivers . nbsp As I describe , atmospheric rivers are relatively narrow plumes of water vapor that extend out of the tropical and subtropics into the midlatitudes see the example below for Monday morning California gets it again , as an atmospheric river red and white colors of enhanced water vapor hits the Golden . State Atmospheric rivers result from a specific atmospheric configuration with a trough of lower pressure to the north and a ridge of higher pressure to the . south When the plumes of moisture
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 05, 2023 The End of the Current California Drought The multiyear meteorological drought over California is rapidly . ending Considering the enormous precipitation . both rain and snow . during the past month , coupled with the extraordinary precipitation predicted during the next ten days , the precipitation situation over the Golden State has been rapidly and radically altered , with good expectations for a refill of the major reservoirs serving the . state Let me show you the data . and you can . decide Some Perspective As shown in the climatology of annual precipitation shown below , much of California is quite arid , with much of the Central Valley and
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog discusses current weather , weather prediction , climate issues , and current events January 03, 2023 The Beauty of an Explosively Developing Cyclone Offshore As predicted , a midlatitude cyclone is rapidly developing west of our shores , and the satellite imagery is . stunning Consider an infrared satellite image taken around 6 PM by the NOAA GOES-West satellite located 35,000 km above the equator see below Whiter clouds are cooler and higher . nbsp Look close and you can see the swirl of frontal clouds into the . low A close-up view of the low center shows cold air shower clouds the mottled elements to the southwest circling around the low . nbsp see close-up below Even more dramatic perhaps is water vapor satellite imagery that senses water vapor