Cliff Mass Weather Blog

The wildfire season in the Pacific Northwest is rapidly approaching the endgame, with huge declines during the past month.

To illustrate the profound change, consider the satellite-based wildfire observations for today versus one month ago (below).

Today,  there are only a handful of hot spots on the northeast side of the Cascades.  No apparent fires...

Weather prediction has become far more skillful in recent decades, with nearly all major regional weather/climate threats accurately predicted days in advance.

Unfortunately, several major cities have not taken advantage of the profoundly more skillful forecasts, resulting in unnecessarily severe loss of life and prop...

Climatologically, the most costly meteorological disaster west of the Cascade crest occurs at this time of the year:  massive wildfires associated with strong easterly winds.

Here is a map of the big ones through 2020

Normally, tropical storms and hurricanes avoid the area of the Hawaiian Islands.  

Why? Because the nearby Pacific is usually too cool!

In general, surface temperatures must reach at least 80°F (26.5°C) to sustain tropical storm development.

This year, due to a very strong El Nino, temperatures south and east of Hawaii are 1-2 C above normal (see ...

 One of the most remarkable aspects of Northwest climate is the rapid fall transition from summerlike conditions to cold and wet between September 1 and November 1.

This is illustrated by the average temperatures at Seattle (below).