Which happens more often – White Thanksgiving or White Christmas?

Last week, my sister-in-law Emily asked me which we experience more often – a White Thanksgiving or a White Christmas. I was pretty sure I knew the answer, but I wanted to look it up to have some actual numbers before I told her something definitive. Figuring out information for Christmas is simple enough since […]

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It won’t be a hurricane, but it will be as strong as one

There is still quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding the low-pressure system that is expected to approach the Oregon and Northern California Coast on Tuesday. What isn’t uncertain, though, is how strong this thing is going to be. The National Weather Service (NWS) has Hurricane Force Wind Warnings for a wide area of the Pacific […]

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Don’t board the hype train: A look at our snow chances next week

Note: The data presented in this post is accurate as of midday Wednesday. Snowflakes in weather apps present an annual struggle for meteorologists and weather enthusiasts. Last night, a friend of mine texted me showing exactly that – a major weather app with snow in the forecast for the Tri-Cities. Before we get too deep, […]

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Thoughts on our upcoming weather: Interpreting long-range forecasts

Note: This post talks about official forecasts for this winter and is the final part of my series on my thoughts for the upcoming winter. Other posts in this series can be found here. HOW THE FORECAST WORKS Before we look at long-range forecasts from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and Environment Canada, it is important […]

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Thoughts on our upcoming winter: Analog years

Note: This post talks about previous years that had some similarities to our current situation and is part of a series on my thoughts for the upcoming winter. Other posts in this series can be found here. ANALOG YEARS Looking at analog years goes deeper than looking at the Blob and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. […]

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Thoughts on our upcoming winter: Impact of The Blob

Note: This post talks about the impact of the Blob on winter weather in the Tri-Cities and is part of a series on my thoughts for the upcoming winter. Other posts in this series can be found here. THE BLOB The Blob is an area of persistent, unusually warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the […]

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Thoughts on our upcoming winter: Impact of El Niño-Southern Oscillation

Note: This post talks about the impact of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation on historic weather in the Tri-Cities and is the first in a series on my thoughts for the upcoming winter. Other posts in this series can be found here after they are released. INTRODUCTION As we transition toward the cold season, arguably the […]

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Drought improvement continues across Pacific Northwest

With all the snow we’ve received in the Pacific Northwest over the past several weeks, it’s crazy to think that there are still some parts of the region still experiencing drought conditions. Almost all of the drought is centered in the Oregon Cascades and the high deserts south of John Day (with a small amount […]

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It won’t be Snowmageddon, but we will have snow

Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service in Pendleton posted Winter Storm Watches for their entire warning area. For the Tri-Cities and Hermiston, the statement calls for 3-6 inches of snow falling Friday Night through Saturday Night. Right now, they’re expecting 3-5 inches in Walla Walla and Pendleton for Friday Night through Sunday Morning. This is […]

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