News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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It seems we are stumbling along with a mix of Spring and Summer weather. Cloudy days, spats of rain and temperatures going up and down. We’ll get to the June weather data later. Many scientists said one could not extract centuries-old El Niño weather events from Tropical Pacific Coral Reefs – it just couldn’t be done. Well, for some scientists when a problem is posed, they move ahead with innovative techniques and find an answer to the problem. Down Australia way, a group of scientists have p...
The short answer to the headline – yes, it does rain plastic. Take a look around, plastic is everywhere. It’s in our everyday lives; it is, in fact, omnipresent. It is in our rain too. Plastic is an environmental challenge that is piling up globally. About 300 million tons of plastic is manufactured annually. Landfills are full of plastic and it will be there for a long time. Our oceans are increasingly becoming a type of catchment for plastics of all kinds – mini-continents. Two recent studi...
Climate change, tree rings and us Like a book of factual history, tree rings are the annual chapters of a tree’s life. Through the eyes of a trained professional, tree rings tell the real story of a location through a living thing — the tree. Those rings can yield a lot of information about the climate at a specific location. The oldest trees are the bristlecone pine (pinus longaeva), dating back some five millennia, and they are found at a high elevation in the California desert White Mou...
In every stage of life we go through, there seems to be some type of test. We all faced the required tests that 12 years in school presented. There was a variety of tests for those who spent time in the military — weapons, equipment and the many skills testing. There are college-entry exams and graduate-school-entry exams like the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, etc. Want to drive a vehicle? Have to take a state-mandated test to be licensed. All those professionals we interact with, such as lawyers, d...
We just witnessed an event that is part of the Water Cycle on our home planet — snow melt. Though the quick disappearance of snow is not fully attributed to melt-off. There are other events going on as the snow gradually disappears. Yes, there were waterfalls on the Grand Coulee walls, lots of runoff water dumped into Banks Lake. Those waterfalls were a part, albeit a good part, of the snow disappearance. Let’s also take a look at evapotranspiration (e·vap·o·tran·spi·ra·tion), generally...
With all the snow occupying our landscape, it’s hard to image spring at all. Be assured that it will arrive; in fact, March 20 will bring vernal, or spring, equinox. It’s that point in time that we have equal daytime and nighttime hours. Yes, even with the passing of equinox, it’s highly likely we’ll still have snow on the landscape. A couple of other things March will bring us – Sunday, March 10, we go through the antiquated ceremonial turning of our clocks forward one hour. Here’s hoping Wash...
It caused a great uproar in the news media and with those living in parts of Canada and the U.S. The Upper Midwest felt the effects of the ever-present Polar Vortex. TV news reporters stood outside showing viewers just how cold the air was — frozen things were displayed for all to see. People shot video of themselves holding frozen shirts, pants or their wet, frozen hair. More importantly, the TV reports and newspaper articles addressed the health consequences of truly cold air. Add some wind t...
I’ve lost track of how many years I’ve been writing this monthly column about our weather, and climate and related issues and events. One thing I do like — and I admit I’m a bit of a facts-driven person — is gathering the weather data from the previous year and sharing it here. We’ll have to rely on data from the home weather station only, for now the “partial government shutdown” is affecting access to our local official weather station data. So, let’s take a look back and see what happened...
Each of us can recall severe storms we’ve lived through. Major thunderstorms with crashing lightning and heavy rain and hail. Wind events, not unlike some we’ve had right here in the Coulee — those walls of dust moving through, blowing over trees, damaging roofs. There’s the major league storms — tornadoes and hurricanes, and the results they bring. I recall witnessing at least three storms that came close to stopping most all human activity. Ice storms can slow or stop us in our tracks ve...
In the last column, I wrote about the physical changes occurring in and around the Arctic Ocean. Those changes are occurring due to climate change. Shipping lanes are being used for commerce, significantly cutting travel time and saving fuel. Other transformations are happening as a direct result of climate change in that part of the world as well. The geopolitics of the Arctic is affected as much as the physical body of the region. Several nations are looking at the region and envisioning...
Commerce, likely many other things, is dependent on current weather and long-term climate. Our regional wheat growers know that our climate is conducive to their work and production. The same applies to the transportation of goods. Be they from a farm or a manufacturing plant, the goods have to be brought to market. We know that major weather events can cause havoc on the highways, rail systems and open seas. Climate change will affect the transportation of goods as weather events change. A...
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 air and clear skies, if we don’t get any more wildfire smoke — fingers crossed! We’ve been blanketed again this season with much smoke and fine particulate matter. We’ve seen an active wildfire season and smoke has filtered into our region from considerable distances. Early in August, we got hit with...
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 our daily news diet, it can be analogous to fast food. Add some social media and a boatload of websites that many feed themselves and we have an even bigger diet of “news.” It all boils down to our personal choice and acceptance. We all live in a self-created bubble of some sort. We surround ourselves with...
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 and wind actions that occur down along the Tropical Pacific Equator that can, and do, affect global climate. These fluctuating ocean wind and temperature events also play a role in our winters here in the Pacific and Inland Northwest. One is referred to as El Niño (the child, Spanish) and the oth...
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 rainbows. What happens is individual ice crystals or water droplets in the cloud reflect, refract and disperse incoming sunlight. It’s like what happens when a rainbow develops. A rainbow is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets, causing a spectrum of light to app...
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 fresh water, while 2-3 percent is contained in glaciers and ice caps. The oceans contain 99 percent of the living space on the planet. Digest those numbers as we take a look at some ocean research and ocean-research tools being used today that are helping us understand global weather and the changes now occ...
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 separation of the dry and arid west and the humid east of the United States. That line goes through all of North America and is the 100th Meridian. Powell was best known for his exploration of the Grand Canyon as well as other parts of the great west. Powell, who explored many areas of the west,...
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 live, let’s be thankful for the rain, certainly for the snowpack too. To our north, northeast and northwest the Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) numbers are looking good for our region. Snow Water Equivalent means the amount of water contained within the snowpack. As of mid-April, Moses Mountain had 51 inches o...
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 are wide and varied when it comes to books and reading, though weather and weather events are always subjects I like to read about. Given that we still have some winter left, I want to share with you some titles and a little synopsis of some books about weather I’ve read, may be reading or have wai...
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 mid-January, we begin to see good gain in daylight on both ends — sunrise and sunset. Example: Dec. 22, 2017 — sunrise at 7:43 a.m., sunset at 4:06 p.m.; Jan. 15, 2018 — sunrise at 7:41 a.m., sunset at 4:31 p.m. Think of all the things you can get done outside with all the extra light. (Insert smi...
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 look like here in the Coulee. The discussions about La Niña, a recurring event that has a direct result on global weather, are stating some weaknesses, with “only a 65-75 percent chance that it will continue at least through the winter. Similar to last winter, the event is predicted to be re...
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 our region is particle pollution. During the summer months, here in the west and northwest, air-quality culprits are primarily wildfires. During the winter months, in some areas, it’s home wood burning coupled with temperature inversions. As an example, this past Aug. 6, much of the western United S...
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 look at what is going on in the Tropical Pacific Ocean — down there where La Niña and El Niño are found. That area, down there in the Tropical Pacific Ocean, is called the ENSO — El Niño Southern Oscillation. What’s happening currently is that sea surface temperatures are dropping and there is a l...
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 Drought Monitor, it shows our region currently in “abnormally dry conditions.” Something we all can attest to, I’d say. Looking to our east, Montana and the Dakotas are in much drier conditions than we are now experiencing. Montana is seeing well over a half million acres involved in wildland fires. Had...
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 scientific explanation of what we see has brought us beyond the myths. Many cultures have explained eclipses - solar or lunar - as animals consuming either the sun or the moon, or that demons are the culprits. The Viking sky wolves are a favorite of mine. My Viking ancestors saw a pair of wolves in t...