Monthly Archives: April 2009

March 2009 Tenth Warmest on Record for Global Temperatures??!!

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When I saw the above headline on NOAA.gov, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was a little relieved to know that nationally the US was near the average monthly March temperature while the global average was much warmer than normal with land and ocean temperatures 0.97 degrees above normal, making it the tenth warmest March ever.

In our little bubble here in the Northwest we experienced likely the coldest (and in some parts snowiest) March ever in recorded history, but while we were shivering our buns off up here Europe and most of Asia were exeperiencing warmer and drier than normal weather with very little in the way of snow. In fact, the northwest was one of the very few areas in the whole world that experienced colder than normal temperatures and snowfall.

One other interesting tidbit of information is that Arctic Sea ice was 3.7% below normal in March, but Antarctic Sea ice was 15.8% above normal. For the whole report, click here.

But why in the world are we reliving March? Isn’t there supposed to be a couple of 70 degree days headed our way?! Ok, sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s get to the forecast:

Today ended up being sunnier than predicted, but surprisngly it ended up being in the temperature range I expected with highs across the area in the mid and upper 50s. It certainly felt much warmer than that today, but hey…the records don’t lie. Tomorrow will be another very pleasant day with partly sunny skies, but highs will get a lot closer to 60 degrees, with some locations breaking the mark, so it will be a great day to get some outdoor activities going.

Clouds increase Saturday night as a very weak and harmless front pushes through the area. When some of you wake up Sunday morning you may be running down to your garages and grabbing your pitchforks because you will likely see low clouds/drizzle at first. But fear not! The sun shall break through the clouds of gloominess and offer you not only sunshine but highs in the upper 60s to lower 70s.

Want seconds? Sunshine and temperatures in the low to mid 70s return for Monday. Enjoy that because the clouds, though not in a great herd, will increase Tuesday with rain moving in on Wednesday.

Showers and sunbreaks rule the pattern from Thursday onward.

I guess the models weren’t too far off with their estimation of “meh” days mixed in with a few “ahhh” days 🙂

Matthew Leach

Kitsap Weather

7 DAY FORECAST

81

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POLL: What is Your Favorite Weatherman Pick-up Line?

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Uhh…yeah. I’m bored. How’d you guess 😉

We all know meteorologists have the horrible and sorta true stereotype of never being able to pick up a date—I mean, other than weather what else is there to talk about? But I found some funny (and some lame) weatherman pick-up lines that I dare each and every one of you to try. On the right hand side you can read through them and vote. If any of you readers think you have better weather pick-up lines (or just pick-up lines in general) feel free to post them!…just make sure they’re appropriate 🙂

This past week’s poll was pretty successful with 48 votes. 54% of you prefer temps in the mid 70s to lower 80s in the summer with 29% of you preferring upper 60s/low 70s in the summer. Overall, if we can be anywhere between 68º and 83º all summer long there will be a lot of happy campers. And to my amazement, not one person voted that they like 90º+ temperatures. I guess all 48 of us are true Washingtonians!

Aside from the wet and cloudy front moving through tomorrow morning the bigger story is the late weekend/early week heatwave we are about to experience. It is tough to determine how long the warm temps/sunshine will last, but it looks to last at least a few days.

Saturday looks partly sunny with highs in the mid 60s but Sunday and Monday both look generally sunny with highs in the upper 60s to mid 70s. So the 24% of you who voted that as your favorite temperature range in the summer are getting your wish!

After that look for an even mix of clouds, showers and sunbreaks which could offer up some cool rainbow photos. Remember, if you have any cool weather pix feel free to e-mail them to me at: forecastingkitsap@live.com

Have a fantastic evening and use those pick-up lines! 🙂

Matthew Leach

Forecasting Kitsap

7 DAY FORECAST

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Tax Day Tea Party in Olympia–Rallying in Good Weather

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Today was certainly an historic day—I participated in the Tax Day Tea Party  (T.E.A standing for “Taxed Enough Already”) in Olympia. I understand there’s a similar gathering in Downtown Bremerton on the boardwalk tonight at 6 PM so if you have time, you should check it out.

One thing that is important to remember when talking about this Tax Day Tea Party is it is not a republican or democratic issue nor is it a rally against paying taxes, it is gathering together regardless of political stance fighting for freedom from the bondage of debt our past and current government has so frivolously thrown us in. Below are more pictures related to the Tea Party I attended.

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Now of course this is a weather blog and I have to tie this into weather somehow. The good news is, weather is probably the easiest subject to mix in with other surrounding subjects so here I go: the weather was absolutely beautiful today, almost as if Mother Nature was like, “Hey, I feel sorry for you tax payers down there, I’ll clear the skies for you!” The cherry blossoms were stunning and the air was fresh and clean. The temperatures were also rather comfortable nudging close to 60 by 1 PM.

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Will this continue? Well, it will but we’re going to have a brief intermission as a front will move through tomorrow spreading more in the way of clouds and cooler temperatures. Friday looks like the wettest day of the next 7, and that’s not saying a whole lot because most of the precip will be light and showery in nature. Highs will be closer to seasonal norms.

A ridge builds over the weekend, but we could be looking at a “dirty ridge”, which is a term used by meteorologists to describe a dry but sorta cloudy pattern as some weak weather systems will pass to our north, bringing some mid and high level clouds. Highs are still looking mild in the 60s.

Warmer and even sunnier weather looks likely later in the weekend into early next week before the clouds and showers look to move in and put us back into reality.

Have a fantastic evening and have fun at any Tax Day Parties you may go to!

(If you are going to comment about the Tea Party and/or the pictures involved, please keep it civil)

Matthew Leach

Forecasting Kitsap

7 DAY FORECAST

80

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It Was a Hail of a Day!

Sorry about the title…I couldn’t resist! Today was active as expected and I snapped some cool hail photos:

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Anyway, I thought the afternoon hailstorm in Silverdale was pretty cool. It seems that most areas on the peninsula saw some active weather because the radar at noon was lit up like a Christmas tree! I love spring days like today. It keeps things interesting 🙂

Showers continue tomorrow morning, but we are about to enter a period of generally dry weather (I say generally because there’s the potential for a few showers here and there, but mainly it’ll be high and dry). Not only does it look dry in our future, but mild as well with highs bouncing into the 60s and maybe 70s if our ridge ends up over achieving. Overall, expect  a much drier and warmer weather theme to come.

Today has been a busy day hence the late post, but I’ll get a video forecast prepared for tomorrow.

Have a great night!

Matthew Leach

Forecasting Kitsap

7 DAY FORECAST

79

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Easter Sunday Weather Update

Happy Easter!

Well no doubt you see the rain falling outside right now. You don’t need a weatherman to tell you that! But this is a particularly cool and wet storm with a gigantic band of heavy precipitation falling all along the Hood Canal extending as far south as Shelton and as far east as Bremerton.

I really hope you planned those outdoor Easter activities yesterday, because there really won’t be a good time today to do them. But then again if you’ve lived in Washington long enough you’ve likely found a way to get those outdoor activities done even if the rain is falling.

So we know today is going to be a rainy mess. What about tomorrow? It’s going to be active for sure with rain (at times heavy) and possibly hail, lightning and thunder. The atmosphere is really going to destabilize tonight which will open the door to some thunderstorms tomorrow. In fact, it looks like we have a decent chance so be on the look out! Hopefully I’ll snap some cool photos…

Skies clear with only a chance of showers for Tuesday before the dry weather takes hold Wednesday and Thursday. Highs will be close to 60º.

Friday through the weekend has been looking cloudier and cooler the past couple days so I suppose that’s where I’m going to have to trend. The models have been horribly inconsistent lately so we’ll see what happens…

Have a fantastic Easter Sunday and try to stay dry!

Matthew Leach

Forecasting Kitsap

7 DAY FORECAST

77

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Long Range Thoughts: Periods of Greatness, but Overall Meh…

Like some movies I’ve seen recently, the weather in the long term will have it’s good moments, but overall it will be kind of…well…meh. What is meh?

Meh is an utterance that people make after being asked about an experience they thought was mediocre.

“How was the meal?” “Meh…It was ok…”

“How was the drive over here?” “Meh…it was a little slow but hey we’re here”

“What’s the weather going to be like 7-10 days from now?” “Meh…it appears we’ll have some good moments with highs in the 60s again, but overall it looks like more of the same: cool, variable weather.”

You get the point? In the short term, I think the little utterance we’ll use is “Eww” as Saturday night through Tuesday morning we have quite a bit of stormy weather to talk about—well, stormy on April’s standards, probably quite wimpy on November/December’s standards.

Tomorrow will be partly to mostly cloudy with light rain in the morning and just clouds /sunbreaks in the afternoon but overall it looks like a better day to go some egg hunting. Highs will be in the upper 40s to lower 50s.

Sunday will be a pretty dreary Easter day weather-wise as we have a nice juicy storm pegged to hit us and ruin outdoor plans. There have been some timing differences as far as exactly when the heaviest precip starts, but it appears that Sunday morning will feature a lighter rain than Sunday afternoon, but then again rain is rain and things will be quite wet. It’ll also be rather breezy and cold so if you must be outside, bring a jacket! (I would say umbrella, but Washingtonians don’t use umbrellas!)

Mother Nature puts on a magician act Monday as she pulls out several of her tricks: fast moving clouds, periods of blazing sun, heavy downpours, hail, wet snow, lightning and thunder. The latter half of the list is not for certain, and it typically never is, but be prepared for a crazy weather day Monday. Highs will stay close to 50º.

After some wet snowflakes Tuesday morning, we turn to mostly cloudy skies and showers with cool highs in the 40s. It’s not until Wednesday that we can retire the “meh” and use the “ah”  as the sun comes back out to visit and the temperatures warm up again. How warm is still a bit iffy, but it’s looking warmer and sunnier through the latter half of the week!

And then by the weekend we started muttering “meh” left and right as the clouds and moisture increase. We play the same tune for next week with a mix “meh” days and “ah” days.

Have a good evening!

Matthew Leach

Forecasting Kitsap

7 DAY FORECAST

76

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POLL: What Are the Most Comfortable Summer Temperatures?

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I think I’ll retire the poll I’ve had on the sidebar for over a week now asking the question: When Will We See Record Warmth?

46% of you believe there is no such thing as warmth in Washington, but 19% of you believe we’ll see record warmth either in May or June. Right now the numbers are tied. We’ll see what happens! The 15% that think record warmth will strike this month aren’t completely out of the contest as we still have plenty of days left to reach a record high.

So let’s start a new poll. We just went through a mini heatwave with high temps in the 60s and 70s all across the area. This got me to thinking: where are you most comfortable when it comes to summer temperatures? 60s? 70s? 80s? 90+? I am a true Washingtonian and can’t handle temperatures much above 80. 65-73º is just fine with me. So go ahead and cast your vote!

**NOTE: If the poll on the right hand side is not working for you (it doesn’t let me vote and a fellow reader also commented about the inability to cast her vote) then feel free to participate by submitting a comment.

Are we going to see anymore summer-like weather? Well, within the next 7 days it doesn’t look likely but the long range looks optimistic.

Tomorrow and Friday will be quite similar: partly sunny with showers and highs in the 50s.

Saturday looks just as showery with mostly cloudy skies. The day of concern is Easter and I know many of you are hoping for a nice dry day to do some egg hunting. If I were you, I’d do the hunting on Friday or Saturday as an organized low pressure system is expected to swing to our south bringing cool temperatures, rain, clouds and breezy conditions on Sunday. By the looks of it any outdoor plans could be thwarted. Stay tuned.

Monday looks like a raw day with highs nearly 10º below normal. Skies will also be mostly cloudy with rain showers falling across the area. In fact, Monday night into Tuesday we could see some wet snow on the local hills. Oh goody.

After a mostly cloudy and showery Wednesday we look to greatly improve and even warm up a little. Maybe not the best timing, but we’ll take what we can get 🙂

Matthew Leach

Forecasting Kitsap

7 DAY FORECAST

75

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On The Set: Curious Case of the Giggles

A couple years ago on the school broadcast I was reading the news and read a word that made me laugh. Embarrassingly enough I kept laughing for several minutes before I was able to calm down, but unfortunately started up again moments later. Sometimes when you get the case of the giggles, it’s hard to control yourself.

I came across a video of a weatherman who, for an unknown reason, had a serious case of the giggles during a newscast. After watching this video I didn’t feel so bad because this guy is easily 35-40 years older than me 🙂 Enjoy the video:

I swear, every time I see that video it makes me laugh. His laugh is contagious!

So today many areas on the peninsula were very close to the predicted high of 67º. One of my friends commented, “I wish it were like this every day…” It certainly was a gorgeous day with comfortable temperatures and tomorrow will be very similar with partly to mostly sunny skies and highs in the upper 60s.

Wednesday is still looking like our transition day with more in the way of clouds and cooler temperatures. Highs will be in the mid to upper 50s.

Thursday through Easter weekend looks quite showery and cool, but earlier forecast models were advertising a pleasantly dry and somewhat mild Easter Sunday. I’ll do an “in between” forecast and put partly sunny with rain showers in the forecast. Let’s hope it changes for the drier! Highs will be in the low to mid 50s.

I’ll get a video forecast prepared for tomorrow…

Matthew Leach

Forecasting Kitsap

7 DAY FORECAST

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