(Cover image credit of NWS Medford; historic 9-inch June snowfall at Crater Lake Lodge)

 

 

Before diving into the usual topic of this blog (weather), I wanted to acknowledge the obvious:  These are very prophetic times we are living through.  In the past three months, a pandemic virus has shut down most of “normal life” and pushed the economy into a deep recession.  We have seen widespread protests against the quarantine, as well as very bizarre behavior from President Trump (Clorox challenge, anyone?).  

 

Now we have been thrown into a period of truly historic protest and unrest after the killing of George Floyd, a black resident of Minneapolis, by four police officers.  Hundreds of thousands of Americans of all races, in cities and small towns, have taken to the streets to demand justice, better race relations, and aggressive reform of policing procedures.  While early iterations of the protests had fairly heavy violence (some of it likely fueled by unrelated troublemakers), the vast majority of demonstrations have been peaceful. The events that unfolded at the White House in response to these protests, raised fears of rising authoritarianism within the presidency, and some military generals even questioned Trump’s fealty to the U.S. Constitution.

 

Needless to say, I don’t see my normal pre-COVID life returning anytime soon.  I may have to readjust my medium-range plans to accommodate more time for activism of one form or another:  rallying, writing editorials, campaigning for candidates, etc. Hopefully these new demands on my schedule don’t force me to cut back too much on music or weather-related activities.  We shall see.

 

I still plan to write about the economic and political aftermath of COVID-19 soon, though it may also include topics relevant to Black Lives Matter.  It is kind of foolish to separate social justice from economic justice, given how much the two issues interplay in the real world.

 

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Weather time:  June is here! Normally June is considered the beginning of “meteorological summer.”  In most of the Northern Hemisphere, the calendar months of June, July and August tend to be the three warmest months of the year.  Things get a little complicated in the Pacific Northwest, though: July and August are usually our two “core” summer months, while June and September are shoulder months that can feel like either summer or spring/fall.  In fact, west of the Cascade Mountains, an average September has slightly warmer and sunnier days than an average June! But nights are generally cooler in September, the days are much shorter, and the same temps in September feel cooler than they do in June anyway – due to the fact that we’re more adapted to heat at the end of summer than at the beginning.

 

The first half of June is NOT going to feel like summer this year.  Saturday (June 6), we had 1.02″ of rain at PDX, with a high temperature of only 60 degrees (normal is 72).  It was in the low 50s and very humid, by the time of the demonstration in Portland that night. When you’re marching down MLK Boulevard for nearly an hour it doesn’t feel too cold.  But me and my friend definitely had to put our coats back on during the after-rally in Irving Park.

 

 

Then Sunday there was more rain, a funnel cloud in east Portland, and a high of 61.  Also several inches of fresh snow up at Timberline Lodge. Yesterday’s high at PDX was only 63. Then more rain today, albeit of a slightly warmer variety.  We have slipped into a cool and wet “Juneuary” pattern for the time being. Tomorrow and Thursday are much drier, with a somewhat warmer airmass overhead. Portland may actually hit the mid 70s for a couple days:

 

But then by Friday, we’re back into showers and 60s as another disturbance slides up the Oregon coastline!

 

The screaming message is that we’re stuck in a cool and unsettled June pattern until further notice.  I don’t see any sign of warm (80+) conditions on the horizon, nor a prolonged stretch of dry 70s, for the next 8-10 days at least.  Instead, we’re looking at the wettest June since at least 2014, possibly longer. This is excellent news for the drought, which should somewhat weaken its grip over Oregon as we enter the start of summer proper.  

 

Unfortunately, I don’t have access to the WeatherTogether spaghetti charts.  Those are temporarily out of service, until Charlie gets back in town and can reboot them.  Plan on mostly cool and unsettled conditions for the next week and weekend, possibly longer.  

 

Stay safe and enjoy your “rainy day” activities!-Karl