Weather reports on whatever I decide to report on.
An active weather pattern is expected to continue into the weekend. The Inland Northwest isn’t likely to see much in the way of precipitation as a ridge of high pressure off the Pacific Northwest puses weather systems up into Alaska and down the east side of the Rocky Mountains, dropping most of their moisture before […]
An unusually strong area of high pressure is forecast to build over the Pacific Northwest during the next several days. The drought in place across much of the West (including the Columbia Basin) also adds a little to what temperatures the region may see. With soil moisture values low, there is little if any water […]
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake was observed near Mount Hood late in the day on June 5. Minor shaking was reported by people living around the volcano, but earthquakes this small do not typically produce damage. It has produced many aftershocks in what geologists are calling an earthquake swarm. The USGS defines an earthquake swarm as […]
The National Drought Mitigation Center updates their Drought Monitor every Thursday, outlining the geographic details of drought conditions throughout North America. In today’s update, the extreme drought category was expanded to include much of Eastern Washington from the Tri-Cities northeast toward the Spokane area. Previously, only small sections near Prosser and Waitsburg were seeing extreme […]
The Tri-Cities Airport observed its first 100 degree reading Wednesday afternoon thanks to this early June heatwave, leading to a new record. The preliminary high temperature was 104°, beating the old record of 103° set in 1986. A heat advisory remains in effect for the Columbia Basin until 20:00 Thursday with upper 90s likely for […]
This Spring will go down as the third driest on record for the Tri-Cities as dry conditions continue to plague much of the American West. A total of 0.31 inches of rain was observed during the months of March, April, and May (meteorological spring). Tri-Cities Driest Springs Rank Year Precipitation 1 1964 0.06″ 2 1900 […]
Early Monday morning, the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the Columbia Basin. That advisory will still start at 11:00 Tuesday but now extends to 20:00 Thursday. It includes the Tri-Cities, Yakima, Walla Walla, Hermiston, and surrounding areas. FORECAST This heatwave comes just in time for the start of meteorological summer, which begins […]
The lowlands of the Inland Northwest should lose much of their snow this week as high temperatures slowly rise into the 40s. While some flooding may occur in small streams and low lying areas, larger rivers like the Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Yakima are forecast to remain below flood stage. The snow certainly is deep, […]
Light rain showers fell on parts of the Columbia Basin Monday evening. These brought an insignificant amount of rain, with the Tri-Cities Airport only recording a trace (meaning it wasn’t enough to measure). What made it stand out, however, was the amount of dust it left behind. Dust mixing in with rain happens from time […]
The first atmospheric river event of the season is taking aim for the Pacific Northwest, bringing widespread rain to the region beginning on the coast Tuesday night and spreading inland to moisten the ground in the Tri-Cities Wednesday night. It will be backed by a cold front spawned by a low pressure system that will […]