10:22 PM Sat, Aug 18, 2007 | Permalink
KGW Meteorologist Joe Michaels
E-mail
|
While we've seen a decent amount of sunshine this August, it still hasn't been quite as clear as you'd expect. And tomorrow - forget about seeing any sunshine! Instead, a fall-like storm is going to say hello to the Pacific Northwest! It's setting us up for some pretty interesting weather.
Our average high this time of year is 80. Our average daily rainfall this time of year...a few hundreths of an inch. Basically - usually it's warm and sunny! Of course, everyone knows this, but the scientist in me just had to look at the numbers. =) Tomorrow is going to be going against the grain, and the averages. Our high won't get out of the 60s. We could see more than half an inch of rain. Pretty wild stuff.
All that rain is a good thing...it has actually been dry for July and August, even by 'Oregon in summer ' standards. So we'll work on that rainfall deficit tomorrow.
And if that still doesn't make you feel better about a wet Sunday, I've got something else up my sleeve! =) Looks like the week ahead will transition to a calmer pattern, and sunshine...and highs in the 80s...could be back by Tuesday and Wednesday. Enjoy!
On my way to church, I saw trees starting to change color!!
Wow, this storm was even stronger than I was expecting...trees changing color and all... =)
Thanks for the humor, Michael.
I have a question - when we've had summers such as this one in the past, have there been any trends related to the following winters? Unusually cold? Average? What?
My husband, tired of my complaining, told me to find out what the weather experts were saying about the weather. Although we may have seen a few hours of sun this summer, it is not nearly enough to comphensate for the long raining winter ahead.
Anna
I don't think Michael was trying to be funny. It looks like fall in my yard. I actually need to rake leaves.
Today Monday August 20th there was 1.39 inches of rain from 12:50 to 3:00pm at Battle Ground Lake, Wash.
Wow - that's a lot of comments!
I'll respond in order...
Elysia, I think it's still too early to really 'classify' this summer into a specific category. But I can tell you that there is a decent chance that La Nina will develop as we head into winter. If it does, we can expect temperatures to be cooler than average...we can also expect an above-average amount of rain, even by our standards!
Anna, you are not alone! A number of people have approached me about our abnormally-cloudy August. If memory serves me right, when I was in Seattle last September and October, the weather was very pleasant with comfortable temperatures and lots of sun. Then the bottom fell out on November 2, and the rain was here to stay! If you're lucky, this cloudy August pattern will transition into a sunnier one.
Rachel, maybe Michael was being serious. Let's ask him. What do you say Michael? Was your comment a joke, or were you seriously seeing trees changing color?
Finally to Brian, that is a lot of rain in such a short amount of time. That's actually more rain than we typically see in the entire month of August.
Thanks for writing in everybody - let's keep the discussion going!