A cool and wet September and a new Fall

Hello October! It really is Autumn now, seriously it's getting chilly. The Fall season of 2019 decided to make an early appearance this year with a wet and frankly cool September. Temps were well under average by day and due largely to extension cloud cover a bit above average by night. I don't know if this is a harbinger of what's to come this winter season but if it is, get your waterproof gear and some heavy sweaters it's gonna be nippy.

September was mild and daytime highs were well below the average with 69.85° against the 'normal' 73.63°. Overnight lows stayed a bit warm with several cloudy night trapping that warmer daytime air at the surface. The month averaged 54.77° overnight about 3 over. September managed to come and go without a single day in the 90s. The warmest day was the 5th with an 85.8° mark. Humidity was higher than typical and that really felt like a 90 plus day. That was also one of five days at or above 80° all of which occurred in the first half of the month. The latter half of September is generally the start of the 'Autumn slide' in temps and that was the case this year as well. The warmest overnight low came on the morning of the 1st with a rather balmy 64.6°.

But September wasn't about warmth this go round. In fact I had a few record cold temps for my locale. More than half the days failed to breech the 70° ceiling, two days failed to make 60° and the 29th topped out at a Thanksgiving-ish 49.6°. I had to go back and double check the daily log to make sure the station didn't go down in the afternoon for a few hours. It did not. The 29th had the coldest daytime high I have ever recorded in September, at this station dating to 2003. Earlier that morning recorded a daily low record of 43 but that was nowhere near a monthly record. I also had a daily record low on the last morning of the month with the chilliest day of the month at 35.4° still well off my all time monthly low of 34°. We had just six days of mostly sunshine and 15 days with rain.

After August was wetter than average yielding 1.58 inches of rain, September gave us October like numbers in the rain bucket with 4.07 inches. That is well above my 2.47 inch 17 year average for the month. We had a few squalls that produce thunder, lightning and hail along with some drenching rainfall. 1.01 inches fell on the 8th. We had six days produce a 1/4 inch or more. On the 28th a late afternoon thunderstorm produced a rapid 1/2 inch of rain and dumped nearly an inch of hail that stayed on the ground for half an hour. If this past month is a herald, holy cow things are going to get wild!

October may bring us some nice weather for a few days of Indian Summer, but I wouldn't count on it. The latest I have ever recorded an 80° high was October 16th and the 17th is the latest I have ever recorded a 75° high. The NWS is calling for a few nice days in the upper 60s and some sunshine, but also several days of rain. If we get to mid October without any summerish weather, that's all she wrote.

Get out and soak it up my friends, soak it up.

Welcome to October!

September is in the books and she was a bit on the cool side yet a little dry as well. Despite having 7 days with measurable precipitation, the rain gauge only collected a smidgen over an inch. I did manage to record one temp in the nineties to boost the YTD total to 18 tied for the most since I started records here in 2002. There is a 99.9% chance that 2018 will pass without a triple digit high temp as September's best was a mere 90.7° The month was notably cooler than my "normal" driven by a 2° under for the overnight lows. It seemed wetter than it was as the rain that fell was short and light for the most part. Despite a week of cloudy weather, I still managed to have 20 days with sunshine.

The thermometer stayed above 40 degrees for the entire month and I measure 6 days at or above 80° Every single day in September of 2018 managed to get above 60° as well. The warmest temp was the 90.7° on the 5th, the warmest overnight temp was a warm 59° on the 8th. The coolest mark came on the morning of the 24th with a crisp 42.1°. The chilliest afternoon was the 29th when the merc had to stop at 63.7°

Rainfall was 1.04 inches, well below my typical 2.47 inches. The bulk of it coming on two consecutive days of 0.31 and 0.35 inches the 11th and 12th. Those were the only days that managed to produce more then a quarter inch. Snow levels did come down during the rainy spell that added the first fresh layer of snow to Mount St. Helens, but the warm weather last week melted it right back off.

So now we are fully engaged with autumn and we begin our frost and freeze watch. When will it frost and when will it freeze? The trees are getting ready to put on the annual fall color show and that is always a delight. I typically get the first sub freezing low in the month of October, but there have been several Octobers that did not produce a freezing temp. A frost is inevitable in October. October is also capable of producing temps in the 90s but it is rather rare, in fact even 80s are an oddity for the Harvest Month. 

October is a beautiful month weather she be cold or warm so get out and soak it up my friends, soak it up.

The Autumn Segue Begins

August 2018 is history and it was a classic if not a tad warmer month. Looking at the chart here you can see several incursions above the 90 degree line. That brings my total for this year to 17 days at 90° or higher just one day shy of my record of 18 set in 2015 and 5 more than the average year which sees 12. In a typical September I will get one or two 90 marks at my house, but they almost always come in the first week of the month and we seem to be in a chilly mode right now with clouds, showers and temps in the 70s. We shall see, a pair of late 90s will topple my previous mark for days with wasted heat energy ;) Despite all these 90° days I have not posted a century buster yet with 97.3 my 2018 high thus far, posted in July. I have never recorded a 100 mark in September so 2018 will quite likely leave without one. That is not at all uncommon as I have roughly half of the years go by without a triple digit temperature.

August looked like a typical August really, average temps hovering just a smidgen above "normal" with a daily average low observed at 57.63° and high at 81.64° both just about one over. The hottest afternoon came on the 9th with "El Sol's" 94.6° effort. That was one of seven days in the nineties. The coolest daytime temp arrived on the 26th when the mercury was subdued to a mere 63°. The chilliest evening temp was the lone sub-fifty mark of 47.5° on the 25th. August gave us several warm evenings, producing nine morning lows in the sixties including a toasty 65.5° on the 10th. It's not surprising it followed the warmest daytime high on the 9th.

The month of August managed to give us 21 sunny or mostly sunny days and just 3 days with any "real" rain. Several of those "sunny days" were hazy with smoke from fires in Eastern Washington and British Columbia pushed into our region. I received some showery weather towards the end of the month producing a total of less than 1/4 inch well below the "normal" 1.27 inches for August, but still within the typical expectation for the month. The wettest day was the 26th with 0.09 inches.

So as the title suggests it is time for the Autumn segue. Even though the ninth month can and often does produce warm sunny weather, it has a a tendency to feel chilly as temps take a bit of a plunge. October and November are the months that really plunge on temps but this is a segue from warm and reliable summer weather to chillier and wetter fall weather. It is definitely time to have a backup plan for any scheduled outdoor activities if you don't like a little damp in your life. We are not likely to see any sub freezing lows nor are we likely to have a real heatwave. In fact with the exception of the increased threat of rain, September is usually a gorgeous month. Lovely 70s and low 80s are never out of style.

Soak it up my friends, soak it up.

 

Warm-Tober

That was a pretty warm October. No record breaking events but definitely toasty and that has just been the case all year long. The average daily high for October, 2015 was a smoking 6.5 degrees above my 15 year "normal" and the overnight lows averaged three and a half degrees over as well. This was not due to an anomalous heat wave skewing the average, in fact, just one day recorded a temperature above 80 degrees.  No it was just really mild and that typical Autumn plunge just never materialized.

If October is a precursor to our winter we can expect a classic El Nino with warmer than average temperatures and drier than average conditions. But harbinger-smarbinger, last year we had the earliest sticking snow in my 15 years of record keeping when a one inch dusting stuck and stayed for a few days beginning on the 13th of November. Some precursor that was, it ended up being the only snowfall for the whole season!

October finished up with an average daily high of 65.93 degrees and an average overnight low of 48.82 degrees. The warmest day came on the 5th when the mercury hit 83.8 and the coolest temperature was the 23rd when it dipped to 37.9 which was the only sub 40 mark all month. The coolest afternoon was the 28th with a mild 54.5 and the warmest overnight low came on the 27th with a near summer-like 57.5. In total 18 days stayed above 50 degrees overnight and 25 days had high temperatures at 60 or more degrees.

Rainfall was deceptive. Up until and through the 30th of the month a mere inch and three quarters had fallen into the gauge. Nearly two inches more fell on the soggiest Halloween I can remember saving the month from a desert dry finish and bringing the total to near normal at 3.77 inches which is about 85% of normal for my location. Just 7 days with measurable precipitation and only 5 over .25 inch. The wettest was of course Halloween with that monsoonish 1.96 inches.

I have yet to yield a frost and haven't gotten any where near a freeze yet this season. It is quite likely that the first frost will in fact come in November as I have certainly never gone to December without achieving the first frost. In fact my records show that subfreezing weather has always occurred by the end of November to start the winter season.

So get ready for an interesting and potentially wild November, because September and October were truly mild to the point of dull, and I don't think it's possible for three dull weather months in a row, here in America's Vancouver.

Flash, Boom, Swoosh!

Bob Segar once sang of this phenomenon although in an entirely different context.

I woke last night to the sound of thunder

How far off I sat and wondered

Started humming a song from 1962

Ain't it funny how the night moves

When you just don't seem to have as much to lose

Strange how the night moves

With autumn closing in

Last night, or more aptly early this morning, I awoke to the sound of thunder. How far off I need not wonder, for there was little time between the crackle and the boom. Then came the swoosh of heavy rain. Autumn truly is closing in.

September is Toast : Hello Autumn

So the last of the summer has rode off into the sunset. Sure October can flash an 80 degree day... occasionally, but probably not. No my friends Autumn is upon us and although this last summer was very feisty I doubt she'll muster much more in the way of heat. Having said that there has been a precedent for a 90 degree day in October but you have go back to the days when a Mullet was fashionable to find it. Just say no to the Mullet and no to 90s in October.

September turned out to be a pretty standard fare with one day popping up over the 90 degree mark and a few days that failed to reach 60 degrees. Our very first 30s appeared for the season towards the end of the month and that is all pretty routine. Over all the month was a tad on the warm side trending with the rest of the summer this year. As has been the case all year long rain was light with a little more than have the normal amount hitting the bucket.

The warmest day was the 11th with a mark of 91.4 degrees and as mentioned the only 90 plus day. That was however the 18th day of 2015 that busted through the 90 barrier, which is about double the usual number for a calendar year at my station. The warmest temperature overnight was a mild 57.7 degrees on the 12th of course the evening following the 91.4 high so that fits like the proper puzzle piece. The coldest temperature came on the morning of the 28th when the mercury dropped into the 30s for the second time in September to a chilly 39.3 degrees. The coolest afternoon high came on the 6th under showery skies with 57.9 degrees. This was one of two days this past month that could gather enough strength to hit 60 degrees.

Overall the average daily high was 74.1 degrees about 2 over and the average low came in at 49.82 about 1.5 over. really this was a garden variety September.

On the water side, rainfall was light. It is not unusual for July, August and September to be dry, in fact they typically are. April, May and June however were very dry this year so we could have used a little extra this past month. No such luck would be had as the bucket showed 1.39 inches when a typical mark would be 2.47. The wettest day came on the 17th when a soggy 0.69 inches fell. This was one of 7 days with measurable rain. Only two managed to bring us more than a 1/4 inch. I had 19 days with mostly sunny skies and no frost.  

Welcome to Autumn!

My friend and local weather guru, Pat Timm posted this satellite pic of the storm we have perched off the coast. This one is 'all coiled up an hissin' if you'll pardon the REO Speedwagon parlance. The rain has already started to fall on this very first day of fall. Soon the colors of Autumn will begin to flash like fireworks on the Fourth of July. Ah, just soak it up my friends, soak it up.

SUNday was fabulous!

It wasn't a balmy day, but it was gorgeous yesterday. After a week of steady rain and Saturday's dry but cold and foggy episode, Sunday was wonderful. The mercury managed to get into the middle 50s under gloriously delicious sunshine all day long. This is November and it is time for the dark plunge into winter. We the denizens of the Pacific Northwest are a hardy lot. We know the endless gray drip of winter is enough to kill a Southern Californian. We embrace these amazing pockets of sunnylicious goodness as the temperatures continue their spiral into the basement and the clouds darken. Yes, I had to turn on my headlights at 3:30 on Saturday. The trees that have been so brilliant with their bright harvest hues are now yielding to old man winter and his lousy attitude. When these days of sun make their brief but welcome visits in the depths of our winter, we must take notice and most of all... we must soak it up my friends, soak it up.

OK, I think autumn weather is going to return now

Well, most of October has been nothing short of brilliant. We even had a record breaking day last week with several locales busting over the top of 70 degrees. I think this spectacular early autumn delusion is going to fade away now. The National Weather Service is calling for more 'normalish' 50s this week. However they are still expecting mostly sunny conditions. I think this may be the sunniest October I have seen in a dozen years.

Funny thing also, I have yet to record a temperature below freezing. I can't remember the last time October went by without a sub freezing morning. of course there is still a few days to go and you never know. Enjoy the sunshine while we have it, then enjoy the brilliant fall color under a cloudy blanket. It's all good. Soak it up my friends, soak it up.

Hello Vancouver USA, Are you Soaking This Up?

It's 1:30 pm, the merc is soaring past the mid sixties and that magically rare 70 could possibly happen later on this afternoon. We have a sky full of blue and a raging star raining down warm rays of sunny goodness. You better be reading this on your mobile device so you can be... soaking it up my friends, soaking it up.

What a GREAT weekend!

I was gone on Friday and most of Saturday but I few into PDX late Saturday afternoon and it was spectacular. The was the most beautiful landing I have ever had. The sun was tickling the horizon as our plane skirted along the western flank of the cascades. Every peak was warm and reddish with alpenglow as the sun set. Sisters, Jefferson, Hood, Adams, St. Helens and Rainer were all aglow and crystal clear.

The plane made its way over the city and I could see the trees were showing a little color as they prepare for the autumn show. It was 70 degrees around 6:30 when I landed and the skies were clear. What a beautiful day it obviously had been and I couldn't wait for Sunday.

Sunday was a masterpiece with temps in the low to mid seventies under a glorious sun filled blue sky. I finally got around to mowing the lawns, possibly for the last time till spring. I even trimmed some bushes and put away the last of the patio furniture for the season. I love fall weekends like this. Bravo October, Bravo. Later this evening some showers are expected to develop as we return to traditional cool autumn weather. You can still get our and soak it up, my friends. Soak it up.

A Slippery September has Slid into the Books

Daily Rainfall for September

How's that title for a tongue twister? September was quite wet in fact it was the wettest month of 2013, thus far. I recorded more than five inches of rain in a month I typically see less than two and half. That says as much about our dry winter and spring as it does for a damp late summer.

The temperatures were a touch chilly by day and a tad warm by night compared to my long term averages. That said I also recorded the hottest day of 2013, a blistering 94.6 on the 11th. I think that will stick at this point lest we break the all time heat record for October by 5 or 6 degrees. The lowest afternoon high was a cool 53.7 on the 27th. September's evenings were comfy as we enjoyed mild temps most of the month with an average overnight low of just under 55 degrees, the warmest was 62.4 on the 2nd and the chilliest came in at 43.8 on the 19th. The wettest day of this watery month came on the 28th when 1.55 inches fell. That was the second day this past month with over an inch of rain. Although the rain gauge had 5.23 inches for the month, there were only 11 rainy days compared to 13 sunny days.

Daily Temperatures for September

The Autumn Plunge I have talked about this past month is well under way. By Halloween our highs will struggle to get into the mid 50s. It is time to break out the sweaters if you don't like it chilly. For me it is not quite sweater weather yet. I will be watching for our first frost and freeze of the year. I find that both typically arrive in October with a frost in the first ten days and a hard freeze by week three.

I am noticing that some of the early turners have begun to flash some color. Of course, I am talking about autumn leaves. Here in the Northwest we are granted a gift of brilliant and beautiful color as recompense for a precipitous drop in temperature.

Looking ahead to winter, the almanacs are suggesting a cold and snowy season awaits on the other side of Thanksgiving. Those ancient periodicals The Farmer's Almanac and The Old Farmer's Almanac, that have been continuously published since 1818 and 1792 respectfully, are both pointing to reduced solar activity and oceanic conditions in their predictions of a frigid winter. Hmm, we are due for a snowy winter. Last time I had more than ten inches of snow was 2008-09 and that was five years ago. Almanac, schmalmanac, I have my own anecdotal evidence and I think were in for white winter this year. So get outside and soak it up my friends, soak it up.

A Return to Unsettled Weather

So it begins, our late summer slide into the Autumn. The mistress of heat has played what was perhaps her final hand. The heat wave is over and we have a return to unsettled weather. Thunder and lightning awaited us this morning and the prognosticators of the atmosphere have proclaimed this shall continue through the middle of the week. The forecast is not bad, just a thump and bump and some showers to share till the end of the week when the 80s make a brief return. Soak it up my friends, soak it up :)