Today is the Fall Equinox, which means that we are now passing into the “dark half” of the year. Of course, due to seasonal lag it’s not quite the cold half of the year yet; that threshold is still nearly a month away. But normally we start seeing somewhat cooler and wetter conditions arrive around this time. I say “normally” because not all years are normal. In fact we’re expected to see a fairly impressive warm spell beginning this Saturday, continuing…
Last Monday morning, Portland Airport reported 0.01″ of rainfall in the gauge. For practical purposes that amount is meaningless. But for the weather geeks, it means that our long stretch of no measurable precip at PDX since July 6 has come to an end. At 67 days, it is the second longest period on record with no more than a trace of rain: Be careful not to get caught up in “longest dry streak” climatology! Suppose we had exactly 0.02″ of…
September is here! September 1 marks the beginning of meteorological fall in the Northern Hemisphere. Of course, that’s not exactly how Pacific Northwest weather works. In reality, early-mid September often feels like a blend of summer and autumn: days are still warm and sunny, but nights are beginning to get cooler. This morning sure exemplified that narrative: the (not so accurate) app on my phone showed a temperature of 48 degrees this morning in my Orchards neighborhood. Some spots along…