Articles written by bob valen
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June ushered in our summer dryness
Reviewing the past five June’s, June 2014 comes in as the driest. Here at the home weather station we only measured 0.59 inches, while the mean for June is 1.04 inches. Here’s how... — Updated 11/13/2020
We had a "normal" May
Though our mean temperature was a bit higher for May, the month was on the normal side. We recorded a high for the month of 89.5°F and a low of 36.5°F (all-time high was 100°F in 1986 and the all-time low was 21°F in 2002). The... — Updated 6/24/2015
Defining April "dry"
Certainly, California has rewritten the definition for “dry.” Yet, here in Washington (Oregon too) we are beginning to create our own heightened definition too. On the state lev... — Updated 5/20/2015
Trend established, warmer than average
March continued the trend of warmth we’ve been seeing the past few months, with a mean temperature of 46.6°F, 5.5°F above the March mean. It doesn’t stop there; we had a high tempe... — Updated 4/15/2015
A warm February
Goodness, February was like the start of spring. No snow, warm temperatures and not much precipitation. Mean temperatures across the state were above normal, and generally,... — Updated 3/18/2015
December was on the warm side
Having recently read that December 2014 was the hottest December on record, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, and that 2014 was the warmest year on... — Updated 1/21/2015
November continued the wetness
November brought more rain and a touch of snow, which put us over the mean precipitation in November by nearly a half inch, at 0.49 inches. We ended the month with a total of 1.73... — Updated 12/17/2014
October was warmer and wetter
We received almost double the mean amount of rain for October, with 1.38 inches measured here at the home weather station. The measuring station at the dam showed 1.72 inches for October. The mean is 0.72 inches. I didn’t hear a... — Updated 11/19/2014
Rotary planning sign project
The Grand Coulee Dam Area Rotary Club has started planning for a few community projects. One project is to gather all the individual services club, church and other not-for-profit... — Updated 10/29/2014
August was a record breaker
My goodness, August really brought the rain. SO, how much rain you ask? What we received exceeded all of the past six years for August. Our combined past six years for August... — Updated 9/10/2014
Can you spell hot July!
Hot indeed, July was, to quote Yoda. I’ve been looking over the records for the month of July at the “official weather station” here in the Grand Coulee area (Coulee Dam 1 SW [4517... — Updated 8/13/2014
Third consecutive May with little rain
The mean precipitation for May is 1.10 inches, and this year, like 2013 and 2012, we only received a portion of that. We measured 0.63 inches here at the home weather station (compa... — Updated 6/11/2014
A moist April, but drought predicted
I had hoped for warmer weather for Colorama and Mother’s Day weekend; we take what we get, as someone once said. If you recall, last year was very warm with temperatures in the h... — Updated 5/21/2014
Wet March and more daylight - Total lunar eclipse next week
We ushered in a seasonal change on March 21 with equal day and night times. Now, we are gaining more and more daylight as we head into summer. We are gaining roughly three minutes... — Updated 4/9/2014
February brought most snow and cold
February left us with a good amount of snow and was our coldest month, too. We measured 8.3 inches of new snow here at the home weather station (compared to a mean snowfall is 2.5 i... — Updated 3/19/2014
New Year – warm and dry
January kicked off our new year on the warmer and drier side. Here at the home weather station we had a January mean temperature of 31.5°F, while the overall mean is 26.9°F for a difference of 4.6°F. The low for the month was 14... — Updated 2/12/2014
Drier than usual
For December, here at the home weather station, we only had three days of low temperatures in the single digit area — the 5th, 7th and 8th. The lowest was a 3.5°F on the 8th, wh... — Updated 1/29/2014
November was drier and cooler
The joy of working with computer recording software unsurprisingly leads to a bit of frustration. Here at the home weather station we have a gap of eight days lost – the last e... — Updated 12/30/2013
After a dry October, first seasonal snow falls in November
The home weather station measured a trifling 0.14 inches of precipitation for October. Looking back at past years shows we’ve had more — 1.15 inches in 2012, 0.54 inches in 201... — Updated 11/27/2013
September guides in cool weather
The high temperatures we had up to mid-September, 80s and 90s, have dropped off measurably. As we transitioned into October we’ve had nothing above the high 70s. I think it’s fai... — Updated 10/16/2013
August - Big storm, some rain
Aug. 25 saw a very strong, fast moving storm system blow through our area. We continue to clean up the mess left behind. Winds of 65 miles per hour and above were noted in many area... — Updated 9/18/2013
Power lines are killing birds
Sadly, this morning, I found yet another causality of the high tension power lines that cross over North Dam Park. Since I’ve been walking the area, about eight or nine months, I... — Updated 8/21/2013
July was flat out hot
I’m still wiping my brow of perspiration from all that heat. The National Weather Service reported some near- and new-high temperature records throughout the region. Here at the h... — Updated 8/7/2013
Above-average rain in June
June was wetter than the month’s mean. We measured 1.32 inches of precipitation at the home weather station compared to a mean of 0.99 inches. Our high temperature was 92.9°F and oc... — Updated 7/10/2013
A dry April into a dry May
A dry April into a dry May I’ve been checking into the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center’s three-month prediction (June, July and August), and it states, “…an... — Updated 5/29/2013
