Wetand News

 Several of the rivers in and around Yellowstone Park experienced record-breaking flows this week and my podcast today tells the story.   And I also provide the forecast for the Northwest over the next week As I discuss in my podcast, there are two main elements behind the Yellowstone flooding:  (1) the melting of an extreme snowpack and (2) heavy localized rain.   And to make this happen in such an extreme way, a lot of moving pieces had to come together. The snowpack on June 11th, right before the flooding, was extreme, with the regional terrain having snowpack water percentages of hundreds of percent above normal (see below).  That means LOTS of water ready to melt.  This snowpack was the result of our cool, wet spring. June 11th snowpack percent of normal Warming temperatures before and during last weekend resulted in substantial melting. And then there was the rainfall.    A plume of moisture moved in from the southwest--an atmospheric river--and was directed right into the Yellow

Even the sun can have a pet:  the sundog.    And last week, as high clouds streamed in overhead, a good example of this feature was captured by weather videographer extraordinaire Greg Johnson of Skunk Bay Weather. During a sundog event,  areas of light are seen on both sides of the sun (see example below).  These are the "dogs."     Sundogs are also called "mock suns" The ancients thought that sundogs were ominous signs, foretelling events such as the death of kings.  Today we know that sundogs generally occur when the sky is filled with a thin veil of ice crystal clouds, generally cirrostratus. Now let me show you a video captured by Greg Johnson from his location in northern Kitsap County around 6:30 AM last Wednesday.  From his camera, you only see one of the dogs. The sky at the time of sun dogs was full of high ice crystal clouds, called cirrostratus.    You can see the extensive veil of such clouds from the visible satellite picture taken about this time (see

The reality on the ground has finally started to change the minds of the U.S Drought Monitor folks. Until this week, the NOAA/US Department of Agriculture staff had severe drought over portions of eastern Washington (orange color in the right image below).  But this week, they only have a moderate drought.   This week                                              Last Week Severe drought was inconsistent with what has been happening on the ground for a long time.    But even moderate drought seems problematic with the cool, wet spring.    Specifically, the drought monitor plot shown above, indicating moderate drought or abnormally dry in eastern Washington, is inconsistent with their own guidelines (shown below). For example,  their own guidelines suggest that moderate drought is associated with streamflow percentiles of 11-20%  and abnormally dry has 21-30%  (50% would be exactly normal...with as many period above or below). What are the observed, current river percentile (see below)

This spring is really shaping up to be remarkable.    Remarkably wet that is.   A wet April, a very wet May.  And it's not over.   Today a strong atmospheric river is invading our region:  one that would be considered strong even in midwinter. Here is the image of the atmospheric moisture plume from off the Pacific for 11 PM Friday.  Blues are VERY high values.  And as this moisture ascends our local terrain, the result is heavy rain. With the moisture plume directly aimed at Oregon, the heaviest forecast precipitation is along the Oregon coast and western Oregon, but with lots of rain getting into northeast Oregon and SW WA.  Just where we need it. The precipitation over the next week is amazing.  Another system will push moisture along the same pathway from the southwest.  For the entire week, the region and northern Idaho will get hit very hard, with totals over 3 inches in broad areas.  This is very unusual for middle June.  Importantly, some of the precipitation will get into

  My podcast this week is about the origins of aircraft turbulence.   Why are there sometimes uncomfortable and disconcerting motions while flying?  Knowing the causes can provide some peace of mind. A map of the pilot-reported turbulence last week showed a lot of reports, but keep in mind that most turbulence is generally only found in a narrow range of altitudes. As I describe in the podcast, there are several major categories of turbulence: Mechanical and convective turbulence near the ground. Mountain-wave turbulence aloft Wind-shear turbulence Thunderstorm and convective turbulence To listen to my podcast, use the link below or access it through your favorite podcast service. Some major podcast servers:     Like the podcast? Support on Patreon 

Grasses and small shrubs play a critical role in western wildfires since they can act as tinder for the larger fuels, such as dead or living trees, or can ignite man-provided fuels including wooden structures.    Grasses and herbaceous fuels dry out rapidly in late spring and summer and are easily ignited.  Fire can move fast in grass and ignite the understory vegetation of forests, which act as ladder fuels into the tree canopies. The importance of grass and annual vegetation in spreading and initiating fire complicates the relationship of wildfires to climate.  For example, wet/cool springs can result in bountiful grass growth, which can lead to more wildfire during the subsequent summer even if the summer has normal temperature and precipitation.  Grasses can also make a forest more vulnerable to human ignition of fires, such as the Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise California as a failing electrical tower ignited the grass below. A variety of state and federal agencies monitor the

 I am getting tired of writing about the Seattle Times, but their miscommunication is simply getting worse, and I think you should know about it. Take the front page of the online Seattle Times yesterday.   There is a big picture showing a dry-looking scene in eastern Washington with a headline that eastern Washington will face another summer of sparse water supplies (see below). The problem?   Their headline is not true.  The evidence is clear and definitive. After a very wet, cool spring, the soil moisture is above normal for most of eastern Washington, including much of the dryland farming region, where wheat and barley are grown.  Here is a picture taken in the Palouse last week by the very talented professional photographer Jack Graham.   Look any different from the picture in the Seattle Times? There is near normal soil moisture in the desert area from Yakima/Tri-Cities towards Moses Lake, where most farming uses irrigation. Soil moisture with green being above normal What about