June 2009

June 30, 2009
9:35 P.M.

Nothing new to talk about today. Tomorrow, I'll talk about pyrocumulus clouds. Without looking up the term, post what you think they are on the wall. I'll see how many people read this. :)

June 30, 2009
6:36 P.M.

So I actually wasn't able to talk to professor Mass today, but I did talk with a woman whose job it is to talk to undergrads and high schoolers about getting a degree in atmospheric sciences. It is going to be a lot of work, but I'm now even more interested in going into meteorology than ever before. And if I get a Phd, I have to go through 6 years of graduate school, but then I can hold a position similar to that of Cliff Mass. Then you guys can all be like, "I remember "Charlie's Weather Forecasts" and how smart and charming that geek was." Well a doctorate is a long way off, but as a junior in high school, I have my heart set on it and won't take this journey for granted.
The weather we can expect around here for the foreseeable future is warm and sunny in general. This coming week in particular looks outstanding.
We will have high pressure stationed over the area and a thermal troft will swing by the coast. This will help to generate offshore flow from the mountains down into the Puget Sound Lowlands, which will cause higher temperatures due to downslope adiabatic warming and drier air for the same reason (as air descends it compresses, warms, and dries). This will cause us to have beautiful blue skies and highs in the upper 70s to mid 80s for most of the week. Just in time for July 4th, the clouds will start to roll in, but we should remain dry. Highs over the weekend will reach the mid 70s.
By Monday, there will be more clouds and lower temperatures. Highs should reach the low 70s.
The reason for this increase in clouds and decrease in high temperatures is because the thermal troft will have passed to our east, ushering more onshore flow from the ocean. Obviously, the Pacific Ocean is cooler than the land in the summer and warmer in the winter, so in either season, it always moderates.
The extended looks like we will see normal or slightly above normal temperatures with mostly sunny conditions. Get outside and thanks for looking at the blog!

June 29, 2009
8:45 P.M.

I should let you guys know that I probably won't do many forecasts on weekends or Fridays, as I am usually out of town. The forecast generally looks the same. I'm talking to Cliff Mass tomorrow, so tomorrow I'll have a lot to write about.

June 25, 2009
6:04 P.M.

The prognosis is the same for the next couple days, I'm just writing here to let you know that I am alive and well. Have a good Thursday evening people.

June 24, 2009
7:12 P.M.

Those of you at the UW Jazz Camp got an explanation of the predicted weather pattern for the next two weeks. Well, for sun lovers, I have some good news. The ridge of high pressure that was keeping us semi-dry semi-wet now looks like it will strengthen more than originally thought. This will allow us to have weather in the mid 70s for the forseeable future. I am now calling for the same "boom chuck chuck" pattern, but I think we will only be waltzing with clouds as opposed to rain.
In the meantime, we had some showers today, and we will have more tonight. The Puget Sound Convergence Zone will form a little bity south of its usual location. Usually, the PSCZ hangs out in the Shoreline/Edmonds area, but tonight, it will drift southward into the Seattle metropolitan area. This means we will see a narrow band of fairly steady rain or frequent showers right around Seattle, with clear skies to the north and south of us. This convergence zone will linger into early Thursday morning before tapering off in the mid-morning hours.

June 23, 2009
7:03 P.M.

Hey everybody. Apologies for no forecast over the weekend; I was out of town digging clams, and Monday I spent all day cleaning them. But now they are cleaned and in the freezer. Contact me if you want some. They sell for as much as 30 dollars a pound in Japan for the whole clam (including shells and guts) but I will sell them to you for the low price of $14.99 per pound. Considering the fact that I have already cleaned them and sliced them up, this is a very, very good deal. Or maybe I'll just give them away for free. Depends on how much I like you, I guess.
But anyway, the weather we have had of late is fairly typical for early summer, albeit a bit cooler and wetter than normal. Scott Sistek actually quoted it as a "waltz" with one day being sunny, one day being a transition day between sun and rain, and the next being a rainy day. "Boom chuck chuck boom chuck chuck." You get the idea.
So how long will this pattern last for? It seems to be going on for a long time. This is because we have a weak ridge of high pressure in our area. It is enough to keep us fairly dry, but it can't block out all of the moisture that the Pacific has to offer. As for the rain arriving every three days, that is because the low pressure systems coming off the Pacific are coming in every three days or so.
Later, the weather looks like it will take a turn for the more traditional cloudy morning, sunny afternoon days with highs in the mid 70s to lower 80s. I can say with caution that the 4th of July should have good weather. But, it's the Fourth of July. Crazy weather events have always happened on that date. I'll tell you about some when our 233rd anniversary of our independence roles around.

June 19, 2009
2:11 P.M.

Man! The year went by fast, didn't it? I really felt like sophmore year blew right past me. I'm definitely happy it is summer though.
The last few weeks we have had some amazing weather. A week or so ago, highs hit 90. Today, it is much colder, and we finally got some rain last night to clean up the air (I was having really bad hay fever). This weekend, unfortunately for some but fortunately for those who want a longer respite from this recent hot weather, will be cool and showery. Saturday and Sunday will feature highs in the mid to upper 60s with lows in the low 50s. There will not be a threat of widespread rain, but there will be showers scattered around the Puget Sound Lowlands, especially toward the foothills and in the mountains (Cascades or Olympics). The atmosphere isn't particularly unstable though, so these showers should just be light sprinkles for the most part as opposed to dark ominous thunderstorms. Monday through Friday next week looks average for this time of year; highs in the low to mid 70s and lows in the low 50s. Often, we will see cloudy skies in the morning due to a "marine push" of air coming in (this is due to minute differences in pressure caused by uneven heating between Washington and the Pacific Ocean; the Pacific has a higher heat capacity and is slower to heat up or cool off than the land, so when the land (not the atmosphere) is warmest late afternoon into the night, there is lower pressure (warm air rises) and cool air from the ocean (which has relatively higher pressure) floods in to 'even out' the atmospheric pressure). This marine push will cause cloudy skies in the morning, but the sun will burn these off and we will have sunny afternoons. Have a great weekend everybody, and congratulations on finishing the 2008-2009 school year!