Classic Winter Inversion

We have been in an inversion for the last week. Cold air has been trapped down in the valleys under a thick blanket of low clouds and fog. Up above where it is normally colder, it has been sunny and warm. It seems like 1000 feet has been the magic spot. I have been up in the foothills showing real estate and the weather up above 1000 feet has been gloriously sunny and almost warm!

Mild sunshine at 1290 feet near Ireland Road in Camas, WA

The other day it was a cool 31 degrees and overcast with occasional light sleet at my office in East Vancouver. I headed a few miles up into the foothills to show a home and the sun was shining proud with a temperature in the mid-40s.

These inversion events seem to wreak havoc on the local weather forecasts. The local weather forecasters always seem to assume it will washout in a day or so and yet my experience is that it tends to hang around a bit longer. The weather folks have been calling for upper 40s for the last several days and they keep pushing it out further and further. Just keep saying it, eventually it will come.

Well, it has finally come. Temps are starting to push up towards 40 degrees down here and it won't be long before that inversion mixes out. The mercury as I write this, sits at a balmy 38.5 degrees which is the warmest in two weeks. The last time my weather station recorded 40 degrees was at 7pm on December 13th! But in that same window of 15 days it has not dropped below 30 degrees either. Lows in low thirties and highs in the mid thirties for two straight weeks.

The official weather stations at the airport have been seeing temperatures a few degrees warmer than my location and again up above the fog blanket much warmer temps have prevailed.

It looks like December will go down as a chilly month at least at my house, that is.

If you want to get above the dreary winter doldrums, just take a little drive up into the foothills and soak it up my friends; soak it up.

Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays :)

What a nice Christmas Day, cool and wintry but not dangerously so. It's a chilly but comfy 35
degrees this afternoon on Christmas Day. We should stay foggy but dry over the next few days. Temps will stay in the thirties for the most part unless the mighty El Sol manages to bust through the foggy blanket, then 40s will prevail. This time of year that big 'ole' sun can't get much higher than 22-23 degrees above the horizon so she doesn't have the amps to bust through this overcast.

Hey, it's winter, this is better than rain, not quite as desirable as snow, but Christmas is after all a winter holiday and it should be at least a little chilly, and so it is.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a great day :)

A wee bit of snow...

We awoke to a little bit of wintery precipitation this morning. All over the region a very light dusting of snow and in some areas sleet greeted us. I had less than one half inch on the ground and it quickly washed out as the temperature crested the freezing mark. I think we have warmer air aloft and that means this will all likely washout this afternoon.

Some of the weather models are suggesting a white New Year so we will just have to see how that pans out. This is the thirteenth winter I have recorded the weather at my East Vancouver location and snow at the New year seems to be much more likely than a white Christmas. I have recorded snowfall five times the week of the New Year versus just twice the week of Christmas. What a difference a week makes.

Happy Holidays to all of you.

Drip, drip, drip and maybe a flurry...

So we have been cool and foggy with a persistent dripping from the skies above. After the cold snap many are delighted at the lack of freezing temperatures over the last few days.

Some of the computer models are showing some light snow in the forecast for some areas in the valleys this week. but it is not going to stick around if it even falls at all.

With just a few hours over a week till Christmas, the weather seems to be in a typical mid December pattern. Go ahead and soak it up my friends, soak it up... with only 7 shopping days left... you have little choice.

So Long Mister Freeze...

It would seem that our cold snap has expired and now we return to a more typical Northwest pattern for West of the Cascades. Cool and showery. The mercury may plunge a little tonight but since there appears to be warm air aloft (Larch Mountain at the 1150 foot mark is in the 40s) we will mix this all out today or tonight. Freezing rain is still possible in isolated areas but for the most part I think we are in the clear. Well, for ice that is. Showers began at my station today around 3pm.

This cold spell is one of the longest periods of continuously sub-freezing temperatures in a long time. The last time we saw 40 degrees was on December 3rd. The temperature dropped below freezing that night and stayed below freezing until the 10th when the warm rays of El Sol perked us up to 35. it is likely we will see another 40 mark this weekend, maybe even tomorrow. Ah... back to normal.

Here is a chart showing the cold period and associated snowfall. I did not get much snow at all. Most areas south and west of my location got double to triple what I had in terms of snowfall.

As usual get out and soak it up my friends, soak it up.

A little more snow, a little.

Vancouver City Hall Camera pointed over the new waterfront
development site and the Columbia looking towards
Portland, OR

More light snow falling today but the difference this time is the temperature. We are sitting at a much warmer 29 at my station which is 6 degrees warmer than it was last Friday when the snow was falling and blowing about.

Today could be the day we finally break out of the freeze and see temps above 32. Maybe, maybe not. But that event is looming on the near horizon. Sometimes these cold snaps will trap air down in the valley while the pacific brings in warmer air over the top. This is a recipe for freezing rain and that is a recipe for roadway hell.

There hasn't been much in the way of precipitation so if this changes to freezing rain i think the ice accumulation will be light. None-the-less pay attention out there if the snow changes to rain it could be the freezing variety and that means avoid driving.

Stay warm and soak up this winter weather my friends, soak it up.

Bitter Cold prediction not Quite "Bitter"

Many areas in the Northwest experienced near record lows with Eugene posting a frigid -10 this morning which is legit Minnesota cold! The projection for my general area ranged from 2-6 degrees but I only managed to muster a 9.1. That is 1/2 a degree above my personal all time low at this station of 8.7 degrees back in 2009. I awoke to cloud cover this morning and that may have played a role in keeping the mercury from diving down to zero.

The sun is trying to break through the cloud cover as I write this. If the NWS is correct and we get some brisk east wind today we may see wind chill factor well below zero. I will be out an about with clients in the breezy cold today. Brrr.

Bundled up and enjoy our little upper mid-west style experience, the good news is it only last a few days here whereas our friends in Minnesota have to tolerate it for months.

Possibly some snow on the horizon. This cold air can sometimes be stubborn and a new moisture laden system is poised to attack Monday night. We could see some of winter's nasty precipitation on Wednesday, freezing rain. Be careful and go ahead and soak it up, my friends, soak it up! but dress appropriately.

Itty Bitty Snow Fall with Godzilla Size Hype From Local TV

rodsager.com weather station and webcam

So the very first snowfall of the season is underway and it is quite light. This is not the typical wet slushy snow either. Temps are in the low to mid 20's and what is falling is not only sticking but sticking around. However, not much is falling. Accumulations here at my station are quite literally trace amounts. This is the frozen version of a drizzle.

The local TV news coverage is downright embarrassing. They are quite literally acting like a news crew from Los Angeles reporting on snow in Venice Beach. I am quite certain it has NEVER snowed in Venice Beach.

Here in the Portland metropolitan area however, it does snow, every year in fact. We don't get a lot of snow that is true, but we get it every year. Sometimes we get dumped on like Minnesota and sometimes we get barely a trace. But I witnessed child like coverage of a non-event this morning on the news. Nelson Mandela passed away yesterday guys, that's pertinent news. When there is 3-4 inches covering the ground, then make a big deal. But this; are you kidding me?

So flurries are fluttering in a stiff East breeze and our wind chills will be hovering around zero at times in some areas. The snow is falling sideways, brrr. Bundle up and remember the air is dry and it may not feel as cold as it is. Drive with care, we do not treat the roads for snow and ice so even though there is only a little snow, the road will still be treacherous.

The National Weather Service is indicating that the arctic will be calling in reinforcements for the weekend with even lower temps, possibly into the single digits in outlying areas. It is unlikely that the temperature will rise above freezing today so what falls, stays. We may have a newsworthy event by the end of the day so the children in TV news-land will actually have a reason to get excited.

Winter is here, now get outside and soak it up my friends, soak it up... or stay inside by a warm cozy fire and soak that up, what ever floats your boat.

The Sun is Shining Big and Bold but it's Still Cold

December is starting off with another blast of cold, arctic air. This one is supposed to be a bigger and colder event than last month's episode. So far however, it has been a mild cold. Some of you may have seen some flurries yesterday, there was nothing white and fluffy here at my station, however.

Virtually every weather website and service is indicating that a very cold air mass will entrench itself in the area over the next several days. The forecasts for the rest of this week are clear and cold. Most are suggesting a week of snow possibly coming as early as this Thursday. Predicting snow is a dicey proposition west of the Cascades. We have so many geological, topographical and atmospheric variables. The biggest influence is the largest body of water on Earth. The mighty Pacific Ocean sits just 90 miles away and in the winter it acts as a natural heater. Of course it is a weak heater with water temps hovering in the 40s. It still acts as a temperature moderator when cold air is in place. Most of our weather systems come in from the west off the coast and brings with it that oceanic moderation of temperature. Generally it takes either a cold east wind through the gorge or a truly frigid arctic air mass to set us up for anything more than dusting of snow.

National Weather Service Forecast as of this morning

Well, apparently several computer models are suggesting that a snow producing weather Trifecta is building up for next week. Here is a little checklist: High pressure building in the East and set to produce those frigid East winds through the gorge; Check. A cold arctic air mass moving in from the north; Check. A moisture laden storm out in the Pacific heading our way; Check. And as a measure of confidence it has been almost precisely five years since the last major snow event. it seems that the stars are aligned and all the required elements for a significant snow event are brewing. It all comes down to timing and whether or not the good Lord is just yanking our chain... again. So shall we see. I am very confident we will see snow from this event but it may not be the proverbial "Big One" some weather sites are suggesting. Since I seemed to have misplaced my T.A.R.D.I.S., we will just have to wait it out, if you'll pardon the 'Doctor Who' parlance.

So much for the future, the past is so much easier to predict, isn't it? November is in the books and in a word, it was; 'dry'. Just 3.11 inches of that precious water fell from the skies in a month that should see nearly eight at my station. So yes, it was dry. It would have been a warm November as well had it not been for that blast of chilly air that arrived late in the month. It was a beautiful month with nine gorgeous sun filled days.

The stats rolled out like this:

We had 16 days with precipitation of which 6 exceeded a quarter inch and totaling 3.11 inches for the month. The most was .55 inches which occurred on the opening day of the month. It was the precursor for a wet month that never materialized. Nary a snowflake all month but that is not unusual for November. The chart on the right makes it look wetter than it was. Seven of those "rainy" days had less than a tenth of an inch. And then there were those nine glorious days of brilliant sunshine provided by our home star.


Temperatures were slightly chillier on average for the month with my observed daily average low at 36.80 and observed daily average high at 50.09 degrees against my twelve year averages of 38.47 and 50.30. I had 10 days with a low temperature below the freezing mark and not a single time did the mercury push past the 60 degree mark. The warmest temperature was 58.8 on the 11th and the coldest was a tie on back to back days starting on the 21st with a pair of 20.4 degree readings. The warmest overnight low came on the evening of the 7th with a 47.4 degrees. The coldest afternoon high temperature was mild 42 degrees on the 29th.

So we have a few days on tap with the great yellow orb blazing away in the big blue sky before the snow event occurs. So get out there and work on your tan, then get out there and play in the snow, be a little or allot. Go on my friends... Soak it up.