Epic Spring Cloudbursts Today!

Well Miss Spring had a bit of a vernal tissy today with copious sums of rain crashing down upon us throughout the day and a little thunder and hail just to let winter know, she is in control.

Over all the incidents of heavy rain were scattered but holy cow did it come down in some spots today!

The forecast for the next few days is more of the same and again the NWS is optimistic with these forecast temps in the mid to upper fifties. It has been more like upper 40's and low fifties so we shall just have to wait and see if Miss Spring can rip the controls for the atmosphere away from the clutches of Old man Winter once and for all as the month of April looms on the near horizon.

As usual rain or shine, sun or snow, soak it up my friends, soak it up.

Spring Rain Washes Away the Flowers

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Those beautiful flowers are now fluttering in the breeze as the rain has returned and brought with it wind and much needed water. The next few days will see clouds and periods of heavy showers. The NWS is being a bit optimistic with their temperature prediction today's 56 ain't gonna happen it only hit 48 on the old dial today. There is no light at the end of this tunnel... yet. Patience young Padawan, it will come. In the mean time do your best Gene Kelly impersonation and sing in the rain.



Soak it up my friends, soak it up.

70 degrees? Could be...

The great yellow orb has been blessing us with her brilliant presence in the post equinox sky. Spring, oh, glorious spring. Today and tomorrow is expected to yield the warmest temperatures of the season with the National Weather Service anticipating a 70 degree mark tomorrow afternoon. Some showery weather will return to the area later in the week and that precipitation should be welcomed with open arms as the annual rain bucket is still a little dry.

In the mean time, get outside and soak it up my friends, soak it up.

The Eve of the Vernal Equinox has Arrived

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The fickle month of March is nearing its end and fickle it has been. We have soared to the mid sixties and been stuck in the low forties. We have seen low elevation snow and warm rays of sunny goodness. It has been stormy and it has been bright. And now we have arrived. We sit on the precipice of the Vernal Equinox. The eve of spring. Tomorrow at 4:58 AM the planet will be equally divided in day and night straight down the center from the two poles. Today and tomorrow will have nearly identical day and night cycles of 12 hours each everywhere on the globe.

Anchorage and Honolulu will each share a day of twelve hours and a night of the same. But only twice a year does this phenomenon happen. Here in the 'Couv' and in all points north of the equator we shall begin our march toward the summer. Our days shall increase and our nights shall decrease. For those of us above the 45th parallel we begin our race to the Solstice. It is a race we always win over our warmer and more southerly friends. Further and further ahead we run until the 21st of June when the southerners will begin their chase to the Autumnal Equinox.

Here in the Great Northwest we endure the long dark nights and the short gloomy days with that incessant drip, drip, drip from the heavens. But now the those nights will start to shrink and the sun will continue its climb up higher into the sky. More and more El Sol will come out and play. Warmer and warmer we shall become. Tomorrow it is springtime and that of course is a good thing.

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Smile my northern latitude friends, for this is our time to shine. By the solstice in June, Anchorage will have 17 hours and 22 minutes of sunshine while Honolulu will only have 13 hours and 26 minutes. Here in America's Vancouver we will enjoy a nice 15 hours and 43 minutes of sunshine on the summer solstice. It all begins tomorrow at 4:58 AM. Springtime is finally here. Each new day will add a minute or two to a daylight. It just keeps getting better.

Soak it up my friends, soak it up.

Winter is losing its Grip, Spring is in the Air

Yet another fabulous day with El Sol shining proudly in the sky is beginning to materialize. Yesterday, I actually pulled out the trusty lawnmower after its four month slumber in the garage. Winter is losing its grip on us and Spring is truly in the air. That said, old man winter may still get a few swipes in before he gives way to flowers, warm sunshine, and gentle showers.

I have seen snow fall in April, mind you it doesn't stick around but for a few minutes or maybe an hour. But the chill of winter can reach even into the month of May at times. This year has been a strange one however. We had substantially more than average snowfall down near sea-level, but the might Cascade mountains are running quite low on snow. Even today a glance up at the foothills shows nary a sign of the white wintry scenes and only the tippy-top of Silver Star has any snow at all. That is quite unusual indeed.

Maybe we will have an early spring after all? While we wonder about the plight of the near future, I say get out and enjoy this delicious weather; you know... soak it up, my friends, soak it up.

OH Gloriously Warm Rays, Beam Down Your Sunny Goodness

Today was another fantastic March day. Oh how March loves to suck us in with these warm sun filled days. It was a nippy 31 degrees under clear skies and a frosty blanket. Early in March, the good Lord likes to remind us that it is still technically winter.

But this afternoon the mercury soared well into the 60s with my station reporting a balmy 63.9 degrees just a little earlier.

March loves to tease and this March is no different. The forecast from the NWS shows a typical pattern and that this glorious sunshine will go away again yielding to our necessary rain showers.

March is month of sun and rain and sometimes even a little snow. What will this March bring us between now and the Equinox? Yes, the Vernal Equinox is less than 10 days away. The daylight hours stretch on longer and the warmer temps have brought my lawn out of its winter slumber. I need to prep the mower for its first outing of the season. Ah, springtime in the 'Couv' is coming soon. Soak it up my friends, soak it up :)

Rain, Rain, Rain, We need it.

We had a touch of golden sunny goodness yesterday but the last several weeks have been a constant drip of rain. But we do need the rain and so we all need to suck it up and enjoy the moisture. Temps have been in the balmy upper fifties by day and not much cooler by night. Soak it up my friends warm weather will be here soon. Soak it up.

And There It Is :)

There it is; the first 60 degree mark of the season and the first recorded at my station since October 24th, 2013. This was a chilly winter with the exception of the middle of January which was a bit on the warm side. But moments ago the mercury touched sixty degrees for the first time in 130 days.

The sun is out, albeit temporarily, but this is a sign of spring. Remember, march is fickle, very fickle so be sure to... soak it up, my friends, soak it up.

A Fickle February is Done

February 2014 has gone down as a mixed bag of goods. The month started out very chilly with the 6th recording the coldest daytime high reading since January 4th, 2004. The month ended with a downright balmy 58.8 degrees and warm rays of golden sunny goodness beaming down from the heavens.

But March has a different idea for it has always been the fickle month. Arctic air has moved in overhead and that warm 58.8 from yesterday is planted in the past. Highs today and tomorrow will feel more like early January than early March. Snow flurries are in the mix for the next day or so as well. Since it is the first of March let's look at the February stats.

February looked like this:

The second arctic event of the season came in early in the month with cold temps and a significant snow event. I recorded my snowiest February in 13 winters of records at this location. I had 11.1 inches of mostly light, dry and fluffy snow. Enough snow fell in the first 9 days of the month to produce those giant plowed mounds in local parking lots that remained for the rest of the month. This event, like the one in December had more snow on the west side of the county than the east.

The coldest temp of the month was a 19.0 on the 6th and that same afternoon had the coldest daytime high of 22.2. The warmest day was the 28th with a balmy 58.8 under sunny skies and the warmest overnight low was during a blustery and wet event on the night of the 13th at 43.7 degrees. 

The short month of February delivered some much needed precipitation with a total of 6.76 inches of water equivalent precipitation. The snowiest day was the 6th with 5 inches and the wettest day was the 17th with 1.14 inches. 

The average overnight low was a little cooler than normal with 33.75 and the average daytime high was much cooler than normal at 44.19 when days usual average closer to 50 in February. Precipitation was about average for water content  just a touch low but snowfall was well above my 13 year average for February that is only 1.53 inches.

So the five year pattern of big snow events seems to be holding intact. January 2004, December 2008 (4 years 11 months later) and now February 2014 (5 years 2 months later). So all you snow haters can relax until the 2018-2019 winter season ;)

March is often a wild and unpredictable month that can see the first 80 degree mark of the season and also snow showers. So get ready for spring, it's closer than you think and by all means; soak it up my friends, soak it up.