The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

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... — Updated 8/16/2017

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,... — Updated 7/12/2017

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 jun... — Updated 6/21/2017

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 d... — Updated 6/7/2017

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, mor... — Updated 4/5/2017

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 r... — Updated 3/8/2017

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 tende... — Updated 2/22/2017

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 c... — Updated 1/11/2017

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 u... — Updated 12/21/2016

This time of year we witness one of the two annual equinoxes. We recently passed through September or Autumn Equinox. Sept. 22 marked the moment the Sun crossed the celestial equator. Now, we are fast on our way to Winter or... — Updated 10/19/2016

At this midway point in August, it may be time to look into the crystal ball of future weather to see if we can spy winter predictions. There are a few things trickling down that are somewhat intriguing. First, the Climate... — Updated 8/17/2016

This is a Centennial Year, and I doubt anyone has thought about celebrating with parades, picnics and fireworks. The event, a world-changing event in fact, is something we mortal folks don’t want to experience ever. The year 1... — Updated 7/13/2016

Let’s take a look at drought here in the West. California drought conditions have changed somewhat. Unfortunately, the state is still mostly in severe drought. The exception there is the extreme northwest corner that is showing t... — Updated 4/6/2016

As Washington state and the rest of the western United States continue to rebound from drought, I’ve come across a couple of interesting scientific research articles that I’m sharing here. I have two stories, one from here in the... — Updated 3/9/2016

One would think with all the precipitation we had in December the drought we experienced in 2015 would be placed in the history books. Well, not just yet according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. Looks like we’ll have t... — Updated 1/6/2016

So many folks speak of the autumn months as one of their favorite times of the year, and I’m one of them. Temperatures are moderating from the heat of summer, and there’s a bit of a chill in the morning air as leaves begin to tur... — Updated 10/7/2015

The synopsis for August was not very good, a reflection of the drought affecting the Pacific Northwest. Let’s start with temperatures. Our high for the month was 102.3°F on Aug. 13, and our low was 51.7°F just 10 days later. We... — Updated 9/16/2015

First, let’s do a recap of temperatures and precipitation for July. I recorded four days with a high in excess of 100°F. July 2, 3, 4, and 31 were all above 100°F. The high for the month was on the 3rd at 104.1°F. Our low of the mo... — Updated 8/12/2015