Karl's Weather Discussions

Welcome to Summer 2021, or at least the meteorological definition.  There’s a longstanding confusion in the United States, as to which calendar format we should use for  defining seasons.  Several decades ago it was far more common to see the “astronomical” summer used in practice by media and popular culture.  That begins near June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, and ends around September 22.  However in recent years, the meteorological summer- June 1 to August 31 -is gaining more acceptance…

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People across the Pacific Northwest are beginning to get very worried. The spring of 2021 has been the driest on record since March 1 in many places. PDX has received only 2.01″ of rainfall as of May 14.  Normal for the first 2 1/2 months of spring is 7.97″!  Generally spring rain tapers off very gradually between February and June.  But not this year. March was about as dry as a normal June, and April was drier than July or…

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(Cover photo credit: Clifford Paguio Jr.) If you garden or have been outdoors recently, you’re probably aware of what a dry spring it has been in Portland and the northern Willamette Valley. In many years, springtime is a rather mushy and marshy kind of season, with frequent rain keeping the ground muddy and the soil cold – sometimes lasting into May before conditions start to improve. Not this year. Actually, not last year either. Over the past decade (or more…

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(cover photo credit: Grant McFarland) I am not a professional meteorologist, and have never taken an atmospheric science course.  There are times when I wonder what it would be like to have taken that path (sadly, Oregon Ducks have no such option).  Obviously I have immense respect for the many quality mets that the Pacific Northwest has nurtured, both young and old. It’s also been a pleasure to see such a vibrant amateur community, one that takes weather science seriously….

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Those of us who have lived in the Pacific Northwest most or all of our lives, used to see February as the  “beginning of the end” of our normal winter season.  Historically it tends to be the warmest of the three winter months, with December and January trading the gold medal back and forth over the decades.  I definitely recall this phenomenon in my youth, so much so that I came to see mid/late February as the de facto beginning…

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  I hope your 2021 has been happy, safe and fun so far! It’s been a very tough year for all of us. The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed too many lives; and caused too much despair and loneliness to bear. But with vaccines beginning to circulate now, it won’t be many months more before something resembling normal social life resumes. This pandemic has definitely been a deep reminder about what is really important in life. My hope is that whatever…

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Greetings all!  I hope your Thanksgiving was safe and peaceful. For the first time in my life, I didn’t spend the holiday in The Dalles with family due to COVID and their vulnerable immune status. Just stayed in East Portland/West Gresham/Whatever, and had a dinner with my roommate and a very close friend. We’ve had some days in the past week with quite a bit of fog in the lowlands. This photo was taken by Justin Schepige in the King…

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Good evening everyone!  Two days ago, one of our country’s most contentious elections in modern U.S. history, was concluded.  To keep things short, we have a new president on the way- and here’s to hoping that he will usher in at least a little more civil discourse than the outbound president has done. As for yours truly? He plans to celebrate the shift in power by trying durian fruit this Tuesday.  It’s the world’s funkiest fruit- with a foul aroma…

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While the national political weather remains as turbulent as ever (and hurricanes keep pounding the Gulf of Mexico!), Pacific Northwest weather has been quite boring by mid-autumn standards.  We had one minor windstorm last weekend in Portland with gusts up around 40-45 mph.  But there has been little else to talk about. In other words, a perfect opportunity to take my mind off weather and focus on some other life goals.  I have a little bit of past saxophone experience…

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