As I will show below, this past week has been unusually cool in this area.
But that leads to another question….mid-June is getting warmer or colder?
A strange question when there is so much discussion about global warming. But as you’ll learn below, the truth is stranger still 😀
Let’s start with this morning’s picture at the Paradise Visitor Center on Mount Rainier (at about 5000 ft). They have showers interspersed with snow and fog. It’s disgusting. Not my choice for hiking!
Next, consider the difference in local average daily temperatures from normal over the past week (below). Green, blue, and purple colors are below normal.
No wonder I was wearing my sweatshirt! Most of Washington state was cooler than normal and much of western Washington had temperatures 3-5F below normal. My tomato plants are struggling for a reason.
But you don’t need me to tell you that it’s cool and dripping.
But now something interesting: is mid-June in our area cooler or warmer?
Below I have plotted temperature trends over the past week (June 9-16) in Hoquiam, on the WA central coast. This is the MOST INTERESTING mid-June since 1953 (about 70 years!) and there is very little long-term trend (brown line)
In Olympia, mid-June is not only colder than normal, but mid-June is also getting COOL over time.
In Bellingham, this year’s mid-June temperatures are in the top 10 coldest years and there is no trend of increasing or decreasing temperatures in mid-June.
I’m not showing SeaTac Airport because the site is useless for any climate work with the addition of a third runway, greatly increased aircraft activity, and the massive amount of development around the airport .
What about Wenatchee in eastern Washington, located in top fruit-growing country? (see below)
OH MY GOD! This is not just a mid-June cold snap but a long-term trend cooling.
Could this REALLY be true? Consider Yakima, also in prime agricultural land. There is NO temperature trend in mid-June.
A similar trend of lack of temperatures in mid-June occurred in Spokane.
So how is this possible? With all the talk about global warming, how can our mid-June temperatures stay the same or get cooler?
The main reason is our location near the cool Pacific Ocean. In mid-June, we still have a strong flow of cool maritime air over land, which insulates much of our region from inland warming.
In fact, enhanced warming in the interior could cause more pressure to drop there, which creates MORE pressure differentials onshore (high offshore pressure and low pressure on the interior).
We have global warming protection this time of year!
Such climate subtleties are important but unfortunately missing in most media.
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Notice
A pool Steve Memorial College Scholarship was established in his honor (see below).
Once funded by donations, this new undergraduate scholarship will provide financial support to promising Atmospheric Science students, promoting the training of the next generation of meteorologists and scientists. study the atmosphere next.
If you’d like to contribute or learn more about Steve, check it out webpage below. Thanks so much….cliff
