Articles written by Bob Valen
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The trouble with historical fire comparisons
Can you feel it? That seasonal change is coming — tree leaves are starting to turn color, temperatures are dropping a little. The official day for Autumn Equinox is Sept. 22 this year. Cool, crisp...
News is like food – nutritious or junky
Morgan Spurlock, a documentary filmmaker, went on a 30-day McDonald’s fast-food diet and he ended up with health problems. He documented his feast in his film “Super-Size Me.” When we satisfy ou...
El Niño and the ENSO
In past columns I’ve talked about the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), or as some call it, the Southern Oscillation. Let me briefly review what this thing does. There are two ocean temperature...
Shimmering clouds and good wine
Last week I got an email with a photo showing a cloud that had erupted into a rainbow of color. There is a name for what happened: it’s called cloud iridescence or irisation. Some call it cloud...
Let's hear it for our oceans!
Let’s start off with some facts about our oceans: The Earth’s oceans cover 71 percent of its surface and contain 97 percent of the Earth’s water. Less than 1 percent of the Earth’s water is...
The Climate Divide is changing
In 1878, John Wesley Powell, solider, geologist, explore and professor, placed an imaginary longitudinal line on a map based on his exploration observations. That line, he explained, represented the...
This cool, damp weather will change, really
Yep, I’ve heard the comments: “When will it warm up; when will it stop raining?” It will, really. This spring seems to be similar to last year’s in some ways — cool and damp. Given where we...
January sputters with odd weather
Winter months are great for offering up some reading time. We all find that comfortable, well-lit spot, a drink (your choice) and a great book — maybe some great music, too. My personal interests...
Winter Solstice has passed - now more daylight
With the passage of Winter Solstice, we will start gaining more daylight. It’s not that noticeable; it’s measured initially in about one minute each day, and that’s at sunset. When we arrive at...
And the snow fell, a little
Early November teased us a little bit with measurable snowfall that apparently has stalled. Not to worry, ski fans and snow junkies, it will snow again. I spent some time looking at what winter may...
Do we really know our air quality?
Air quality alerts are common in many regions of the world. The United States experiences air quality alerts regularly too. The causes are wide ranging and many are seasonal in nature. Of concern in...
What will winter bring?
I’ve licked my finger, held it up to the air; now I can tell you what winter will bring. If only it were that simple! So, let me share what is being stated by our federal agencies that work in the arena of weather prediction. First, let’s take a...
Is drought development likely?
It’s looking like we may be starting a long dance with drought — maybe. It’s still a bit too early to call it a long-term drought. As we enter into fall and then early winter we should have a better understanding. Looking at the North America...
Today, the sky will darken ominously!
With the impending solar eclipse very close, it's nice to know the science of what is happening; humanity doesn't react to the old mythologies that surrounded past solar or lunar eclipse events. The s...
This dehydrated July was one of very few
You can almost hear the ground gasping with a slow, agonizing, parched voice, pleading for some water. A bit dramatic, I guess. Certainly, it has been dry around and in the Coulee. There were some recent isolated showers here and there, nothing to...
State preservation council meets in Coulee Dam
The Washington State Governor's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation met in Coulee Dam Town Hall June 27 to address eight nominations to either the Washington Heritage Register or the National...
General Washington saved by winter weather
Recently, I came across an interesting story about spies, kidnappings and winter storms. It was all happening during our war for independence from the British more than two hundred years ago. The characters are many, some British, some Colonists and...
Fake news about the jungle!
Reading the recent piece about the circus visit, I found a statement to be two-thirds correct. “Jungle cats” is a misleading title for the three big cats that are part of the circus. Lions, specifically African lions, are not jungle dwellers,...
Can trees migrate?
Really, do trees migrate? The answer is a yes. A little clarification here, though; trees don’t actually move themselves. What does occur: tree populations can shift over time. A recent study confirms that, over the past three decades, trees in...
Wet, wetter and wettest
We certainly aren’t seeing the amount of rainfall that the Olympic Peninsula receives with an annual average of 140 inches a year. Yet, we have been wet here in our region of the state. With all...
Is partisan science any good?
Rain! We’ve had a decent amount of it in the past year. I measured a total of 15.21 inches of precipitation at my home weather station in 2016. Rain is just one of many forms of precipitation. It’s part of the water cycle, more properly the...
Up north, thawing permafrost causes climate change concerns
Planet Earth, our little satellite that we all call home, is composed of several broad-ranging geographic regions. Let’s add some varying climate types to those regions. Now we see how the complexities of these broad geographic regions grow. At...
January brings a negative, but it's been far colder
Our conversations seem to be revolving around the weather. It’s understandable, it’s been cold and wet; lots of snow on the ground, and some of our friends have been south or to Mexico and are bragging. We also have a general tendency to not like...
December brings cold snap and snow
Let’s start out with a quick look back at 2016 weather, shall we? What really stands out for me in 2016 was the amount of precipitation we received. Our area averages 10.55 inches annually. Well, that changed and will likely change the overall...
An abnormally warm November
There was a big change in mean temperature for the month of November, not only here but statewide. Here at the home weather station I recorded a November mean of 44.7˚F. The all-time mean temperature for November is 37.5˚, giving us a +7.2˚ differ...
