Nostr notes by Ingalls Weather

## The meteorology behind the small hail that blanketed Meridian, ...

2026-06-27T17:32:01Z

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The meteorology behind the small hail that blanketed Meridian, Idaho like snow

On Friday evening, a severe thunderstorm moved through the Boise area in southwest Idaho. This storm brought damaging wind that blew a few trees over but the bigger headline was small hail that blanketed nearby Meridian, Idaho in a way that looked like it was several inches of snow.

These types of thunderstorm events are fairly rare in any one location but a few of them occur in the United States and Canada every year. A unique meteorological environment is required to form them including the freezing level, moisture, and wind.

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Model estimated upper level conditions in Meridian, Idaho at 21:00 MT Friday. (Ingalls Weather)Using model data from around 21:00 MT Friday (when the storm hit), a few of these features stand out. The freezing level was around 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) and above that was a deep layer between -10 and -30ºC across several thousand feet. This is the layer where hail develops. The deeper and colder it is, the better a storm can manufacture hail.

The real key was the shape of the storm’s fuel, though, not just the amount. Meteorologists measure a storm’s potential energy as CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy) which essentially tells how hard a rising bubble of air gets pushed upward. What matters for hail isn’t just how much CAPE there is but at what altitude it’s distributed through the atmosphere. It is measured in joules per kilogram (j/kg).

Weather radar image showing the severe thunderstorm moving through Meridian, Idaho at 20:57 Friday. mPING reports and severe thunderstorm warnings shown. (RadarScope)Picture two storms with the same amount of energy but one has it packed into a short, intense burst down low while the other has it stretched thin over a tall vertical column. The first forms a violent updraft that throws a few stones high to grow them into large, damaging hail. The second, which forecasters nickname “tall skinny CAPE”, is gentler.

The Meridian storm had tall skinny CAPE. The energy was modest and spread across a deep layer in the atmosphere, so the updraft was steady rather than explosive. Instead of building a handful of big stones, it acted like a slow ice factory by lofting countless water droplets fast enough to freeze and grow. This produced an enormous number of tiny stones that fell together as a dense, slushy curtain.

The last ingredient was wind. The profile showed winds turning and strengthening steadily with height. This was enough to maintain the storm’s structure and steer it along at about 20 mph (30 km/h). Rather than parking over one spot, the storm laid down a continuous ribbon of hail as it moved across Meridian. The high freezing level would normally melt small hail before it reached the ground but the sheer volume of stones and the rain-cooled core of the storm protected the mix on the way down.

A retention basin in Meridian, Idaho filled with floodwater and ice the morning after the severe thunderstorm. (Andruw Sorensen)Hail like this can enhance flooding by backing up storm drains and numerous videos from around Meridian last night showed just that. Meridian’s event was moving forward but when a thunderstorm producing significant amounts of small hail and rain like this parks over an area for a long time, flash flooding can be especially severe.

We don’t have exact data for the thunderstorms that caused the 1903 Heppner flood in Oregon but I think it’s reasonable to assume that that’s what happened in the Blue Mountains upstream of town. The flood that struck Heppner on June 14, 1903 remains the deadliest natural disaster in Oregon history and the second deadliest flash flood in the United States. While these kinds of storms bring significant novelty factor, they should not be taken lightly.

Another notable hail flooding event is recorded in the book *Isaac’s Storm* by Erik Larson. He writes that while the book’s subject, Isaac Cline, was in San Angelo, Texas he observed “an escarpment of water” that was 15-20 feet (4.5-6 meters) high descending the Concho River, taking out a group of three people who had been crossing at the time.

The source of this flood was a mystery until over week later when visitors came into town from upstream and described “a monstrous hailstorm” that “discharged stones the size of ostrich eggs.” In this case, the hail was not a blanket of tiny stones like what was observed in Meridian on Friday evening but it carries the same point – that prolific hail events can lead to destructive flash flooding.

Beyond flooding, huge amounts of small hail like this can also cause crop damage. Several commenters on the [Ingalls Weather Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/ingallswx ) reported damage to plants in backyard gardens despite the small diameter of the stones. Hail that arrives in overwhelming numbers tears at everything it lands on. Immediate consequences include broken stems, ripped off leaves, and beaten or fallen fruit.

Shredded leaves make the plant less able to photosynthesize and these wounds open the door to fungus and insects. Thus, damage and disease can spread after the storm has passed. The toll is dependent on timing as leaf damage is most severe in the spring when plants are tender. A blanket of small hail also lingers, chilling the ground and the base of the plants for hours after the sky clears. Photos show piles of hail remaining around Meridian the morning after the event.

Other recent examples of small hail creating a snow-like blanket on the ground include storms in Marathon, Texas in 2024 and Vicksburg, Michigan in 2019. The high altitude of Colorado’s Front Range cities (Denver, Colorado Springs, etc.) makes them slightly more susceptible to events like this but it still remains a rare phenomenon there.

*The featured image was taken during the hail storm in Meridian, Idaho on June 26, 2026. (Tanya Sorensen)*

#Boise #Hail #Idaho #idwx #Weather

## A day in Casablanca I went to Cabo Verde for work but on the ...

2026-05-27T20:26:17Z

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A day in Casablanca

I went to Cabo Verde for work but on the way here I had a long layover in Casablanca, Morocco that allowed me to head into the city for my first ever visit to Africa. Morocco has been on my wishlist for a while, admittedly because of the song *Morocco* by Moon Taxi which I feel like may be a dumb reason, but it’s the reason I have.

I recognize that only having a day isn’t enough to get a good taste for any country but I’m glad that I was able to get out of the airport. There is train service connecting the airport to the city center. The train was clean and I was able to get to the Casa-Port station in about 50 minutes.

> *Ingalls Weather thanks the support it gets from donors. Please consider making a small donation *> [> at this link](https://ingallswx.com/donate/ )> * to help me pay for the website and access to premium weather data.*

Casa-Port is in the heart of Casablanca and my first moment in Africa was discovering that crossing the street in Morocco is a very different experience than crossing the street in North America. You kind of just start walking when there’s a small gap between cars and hope people see you and don’t hit you.

This method wasn’t for me so my preferred method was to wait until someone else was crossing the street and walk next to them. Luckily for me there are plenty of pedestrians in this part of town so I didn’t ever have to wait long. And as a bonus I didn’t get hit by any drivers.

I made my way directly from the train station to a little cafe to find a geocache, making Morocco the 20th country that I have geocached in. This took me down an alley that seemed like it was in a tourist district but honestly I don’t really know. My French is rusty at best and my knowledge of Arabic is at about the same level as the number of footsteps I have taken on the Moon, which is none.

Because I only had a few days’ notice before this business trip (I originally expected to be launching balloons near Barstow, California) I didn’t have much time to plan out things to do in Casablanca. Instead I spent some time sitting to people watch followed by wandering around to places that I thought looked neat.

One of these was a bazaar where I was able to pick up small souvenirs for my wife and daughter. They don’t know what these souvenirs are, though, and I haven’t been back home yet so I can’t divulge what they are in this blog post.

After wandering around I was starting to get hungry. I tried finding Moroccan food but everything I could find looked French (at least that was open for lunch) so I went back to the train station to get McDonald’s. Before you roast me for eating McDonald’s in Morocco I want to reiterate the lack of Moroccan food in this district. Plus, I was on a mission to try something specific.

My wife visited France about 10 years ago and raves about the croissants she had at McDonald’s there while she was in the train station. I figured since a lot of the restaurants looked French maybe McDonald’s would have a croissant and I was right. I disagree with her, though. While I enjoyed the croissant I prefer the ones from Costco. They are flakier.

I paid in cash at McDonald’s which gave me enough change to pick up a belt from a street vendor for 20 DH (US$2.16). I had been in the market for a new dress belt anyway, so this was something I couldn’t pass up.

From here it was time for me to get back on the train and head to the airport. A woman, her two year old child, and her mom sat next to me and they were bringing a bright pink birthday cake with them. I got to chat with them and we enjoyed showing each other pictures of our kids.

It was funny to watch the mom try to keep her daughter awake until they got home so she could get a good nap when they got there because this is a struggle we had often when our daughter was that age. It was one of my favorite things because it displays how even on the other side of the world many facets of life are remarkably similar.

I have much to talk about from Cabo Verde so keep an eye out for that in the coming days.

#casablanca #morocco #Travel

## Viewing hurricane damage in Jamaica Last week we went on a ...

2026-04-28T21:56:47Z

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Viewing hurricane damage in Jamaica

Last week we went on a family vacation that included a stop in Falmouth, Jamaica. Falmouth is a small town on the north side of the island situated to the east of Montego Bay. This was our first visit to Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa passed right over this region last October. This storm made landfall with 185 mph (300 km/h) sustained winds. It is tied for the strongest landfalling hurricane recorded in the Atlantic basin.

> *Ingalls Weather thanks the support it gets from donors. Please consider making a small donation *> [> at this link](https://ingallswx.com/donate/ )> * to help me pay for the website and access to premium weather data.*

Hurricane Melissa was moving from south to north as it transited Jamaica so communities on the northern coast like Falmouth did not get the worst of it, but “not as bad as the worst ever” is still pretty bad when we’re discussing hurricanes.

Before I report on what I saw as we spent the day in Jamaica I want to reiterate that this was my first time in the country. I have tried to identify what was from the hurricane vs. what existed in this state before the storm, but it is inevitable that I am not 100% accurate. Still, the obvious damage I saw was something I had never experienced before.

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Homes in various states of construction or destruction on the hill near Falmouth, Jamaica. (Ingalls Weather)The first thing that stood out to me on arrival was that many of the trees were significantly defoliated. The land was still quite green but it’s clear that the tree canopy is not as dense as it once was.

Driving from Falmouth toward Montego Bay the hill is full of homes in various states of disrepair. We aren’t talking missing siding or shingles, either, but something like half of the homes didn’t have roofs and many were just concrete shells. Some were being reconstructed while others just sat in ruin.

Easily half of the homes I saw were damaged to the point that they would have been condemned in the United States or Canada but a lot of these were still occupied. I saw a few residents milling about but of course many were probably at work when I passed through during the day on a weekday.

By my visual estimate, around 90-95% of buildings showed signs of recent damage. I only saw four buildings in what I would say are in excellent condition – two KFCs, a Wendy’s, and a Scotiabank branch.

I could also pick out where the worst of the winds seemed to hit and what communities have wealthier economies. The closer we got to Montego Bay, the less severe damage we saw. Falmouth seemed like a shell of its former self, but as I understand it it was already struggling economically before Hurricane Melissa despite receiving many tourists from cruise ships.

As a meteorologist I have seen a lot of reporting on natural disasters and I have personally visited a few disaster zones myself. Aside from this, the worst I had seen was the damage caused by grapefruit size hail in Blair, Nebraska in 2014. The aftermath of that storm looked like someone had taken a machine gun to the north and west faces of every building but for the most part homes were still standing and livable.

Meteorologists and weather nerds often get accused of enjoying seeing disasters like this and “rooting” for cataclysmic storms. As a practitioner of the science it is genuinely awesome to see the power of the world around us but the cost in some cases is extreme. In an ideal world we could observe huge tornadoes on desolate plains and massive hurricanes in the middle of the ocean but the sad reality is this is rare.

Documenting and sharing the aftermath of these storms is a critical part of educating ourselves and those we speak with. The uncertainty associated with forecasting high end events like this leads to a lot of warning fatigue in at risk communities. It is difficult for communicators to balance messaging in what are relatively low likelihood events with catastrophic and deadly ramifications.

Tornadoes are notorious for this because they are quite small and short lived but this even happens with large events like hurricanes. Even in major hurricanes (category 3+), the damaging wind field can be surprisingly small. In many cases hurricane force winds will only extend tens of miles/kilometers from the center of the storm.

The evacuation zone can often be much wider, though, because we simply don’t have that level of accuracy on the hurricane’s path far enough in advance to conduct a successful evacuation of thousands of people. A shift of 20-50 miles (30-80 km) in the forecast does happen in the days leading up to hurricane landfall but if we waited until we knew exactly where it would land it would be too late to get people out.

That’s just considering the wind field. The biggest hazard from most tropical cyclones is actually flooding from heavy rainfall and that has its own difficulty in communicating. This was seen in the Pacific Northwest in March when most people had no issues but significant flooding was observed along waterways like the Walla Walla River.

This is a complex issue on the social science side as well. Evacuating is both financially and emotionally expensive. Not everyone has the means to leave their home with a few days notice and travel hundreds of miles/kilometers away. Some people will be taking unpaid time off work to do this while others have added difficulty brought on by healthcare needs.

I’m often aware of a lot of judgment thrown around during and after catastrophes like this. Some is thrown at meteorologists for perceived overhype of a storm while others who have never experienced something like this judge those who stayed behind. The world could use a lot more patience and understanding as people try to make the best decisions they can with the information they have to protect themselves and others.

Improving forecast accuracy is one of the things I’m most excited about with my new job at Windborne Systems. The weather balloon data we collect feeds into our internal model as well as to the GFS and others. We are scaling up our operation rapidly to collect more data.

Part of my role is to highlight regions where balloons are needed to get improved forecasts on upcoming major weather events. During April I helped to get balloons in the path of the low pressure system that turned into the severe weather outbreak on the Plains, a typhoon that hit Guam, and severe weather in Paraguay and Argentina. I find a lot of value in this work.

I didn’t really expect this to turn into a bit of soap box style work when I started writing this article but I think it works. Readers should note that I have a lot of work related travel coming up so this blog (and associated social media) will be a bit of a travelogue for a while as I have the opportunity to explore the world while launching weather balloons.

As I do so I hope to bring you more stories and observations from these places, as well as connections to regional climates.

#Hurricane #Jamaica #Melissa #Weather

## Not all snow is created equally: Understanding snow-water ...

2026-03-18T17:17:08Z

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Not all snow is created equally: Understanding snow-water equivalent in the Pacific Northwest

If you’re a well-traveled skier, you know that not all snow is created equally. Some of it is heavy and dense while other areas experience light and fluffy snow. What matters when resource managers and meteorologists prepare for the summer is not the depth of the snow, but instead how much water this snow will become when it melts.

That’s where snow-water equivalent, or SWE, comes in. This measurement is essential for predicting whether the Pacific Northwest will have enough water to get through the dry season. When water managers in the region look ahead to summer, they’re not thinking about rainfall or reservoir levels directly. Instead, they’re focused on the mountains and how much liquid water is locked up in the snowpack.

> *Ingalls Weather thanks the support it gets from donors. Please consider making a small donation *> [> at this link](https://ingallswx.com/donate/ )> * to help me pay for the website and access to premium weather data.*

Snow-water equivalent is the amount of liquid water you’d get if you melted all the snow at that location. It’s measured in inches or millimeters, and it accounts for the fact that snow is mostly air. By measuring SWE instead of snow depth alone, water managers can compare snowpack across different regions and different years on equal footing.

The relationship between snow depth and water content is called the snow-water ratio. The “average” ratio is often cited as 10 to 1, meaning ten inches of snow contains about one inch of water. However, this average masks enormous variability depending on where the snow falls and what type it is.

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In the Cascade Range of Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia, maritime air masses dump heavy, wet snow that has earned the nickname Cascade Concrete. A foot of Cascade snow might contain two or even three inches of water, giving it a ratio closer to 4 to 1 or 5 to 1.

Head south to Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, and you’ll find the famous light powder that skiers dream about. That snow can have ratios of 15 to 1 or even higher, with a foot of snow containing less than an inch of water.

The snow that falls in places like Minnesota and Manitoba can be even lighter and fluffier. Those continental regions sometimes see ratios of 20 to 1 or more, where massive snowfall totals translate to surprisingly modest water content.

The differences come down to temperature and moisture. Cold, dry air produces light snow. Warmer, moister air creates denser snow that packs down and contains more water. The ratio can even vary widely from storm to storm over the course of a season.

For the Pacific Northwest, SWE measurements matter because they tell the real story of what the mountains hold. A healthy snowpack acts as a natural reservoir, continuing to feed rivers and reservoirs into early summer even after the region’s wet season has ended.

By April, when water managers make their summer forecasts, they’ve analyzed the snowpack across hundreds of mountain locations. Those measurements tell them whether next summer will bring plenty of water or whether restrictions might be necessary to keep water flowing for all users.

#BCstorm #orwx #Snow #wawx #Weather

## Flooding does not mean the Pacific Northwest drought is over ...

2026-03-16T17:01:53Z

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Flooding does not mean the Pacific Northwest drought is over

Heavy rain on snow in the Blue Mountains led to flooding on the Walla Walla and Umatilla Rivers plus their watersheds over the weekend. A few other waterways throughout the Pacific Northwest also experienced flooding.

Spring floods are common on Pacific Northwest rivers as mountain snow melts. It gets accelerated when we have heavy rain at mid-elevation locations, such as what occurred in the recent atmospheric river. Despite this rain and flooding, drought conditions continue to exist in Washington, Oregon, and Southern British Columbia.

> *Ingalls Weather thanks the support it gets from donors. Please consider making a small donation *> [> at this link](https://ingallswx.com/donate/ )> * to help me pay for the website and access to premium weather data.*

The juxtaposition of flooding during a drought is difficult to communicate. Droughts are long-term weather events that last for months to years whereas most floods (especially on smaller river systems like the Walla Walla) last for a few days to a few weeks. That said, larger rivers like the Mississippi can experience flood events lasting much longer.

A lot of water is coming out of the mountains. There is some benefit here as new soil gets added to farms on area floodplains and it is true that a modest amount of new water enters the groundwater system that nearby wells pull from.

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Flooding like we saw in the Pacific Northwest over the weekend does not represent enough water to end the regional drought, however. Most of the floodwater will make it from the Walla Walla and Umatilla Rivers to the Pacific Ocean within a week, at which point it is lost to the system. It becomes unusable to Columbia Basin farms much earlier than that.

Many reservoirs are full, such as the large ones on the Upper Yakima River. Those have been pretty full since around Christmas and while it is nice to see, these reservoirs filled with rain and not snow.

The real driver behind Pacific Northwest water supply for most irrigated farms is mountain snowpack. This year’s snowpack remains quite abysmal despite recent gains in the Washington Cascades. Last week’s storms brought the snow-water equivalent in the Pacific Northwest from 58% of average to 66% of average over the course of three days.

These gains are a big deal but the fact remains that the region is still far short of what is needed to maintain sufficient water supply (especially in arid regions) through the summer. Full reservoirs in the late-Winter and early-Spring are great, but water is needed most during the summer months which are very dry and, east of the Cascades, quite hot.

Without sufficient snowpack to keep water flowing into the reservoirs through June and into July resource managers will have a difficult time providing plentiful water into the summer months.

The ideal for Columbia Basin and Yakima Valley water is to have a heavy winter snowpack that melts slowly. This trickles water into the system well into the summer so that reservoirs are not beginning to be lowered until July or even later. All indications are that this year will not look like that.

High pressure parked near California will lead to warm temperatures in Washington and Oregon, melting a lot of the snow that just fell. We may not even be able to hold onto last week’s snow until April, let alone June or July. Meanwhile the storm track is aimed at British Columbia so northern parts of the province should see some decent gains.

We will have good years in the future, but gradually warming temperatures are slowly decreasing the amount of snow that falls in the mountains. Precipitation itself is not decreasing, it’s just that more water is falling as rain instead of snow in mid-elevation locations. Mid-elevation snow is key because despite having a lot of rugged terrain very few summits in Washington and Oregon are actually high elevation.

Using Stampede Pass as an example, 2025-26 snowpack is about half of average for this time of year (a value that doubled last week). Total precipitation is actually above average, though, which is why reservoirs are full. Stampede Pass is up near Snoqualmie Pass.

It looks like El Niño will develop later this year. El Niño is an indicator that drought conditions will continue into next winter as the dominant flow jet stream pattern is one of split flow with moisture being aimed at Southeast Alaska and California while the Pacific Northwest remains (relatively) dry in between. It would be nice to see this pattern not be the case, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

#Drought #Flood #orwx #wawx #Weather

## In defense of heat lightningLightning from distant ...

2025-08-10T14:38:00Z

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In defense of heat lightningLightning from distant thunderstorms can sometimes be seen on the horizon without any thunder. It can be fairly common during the summer months in places like Florida though is more rare in the Pacific Northwest because we don’t get a lot of thunderstorms as it is. The term *heat lightning* is occasionally applied to this phenomenon.

From time to time people have assumed that it is caused by heat alone because it is primarily seen on warm summer nights and may not have thunder associated with it. This is incorrect (it’s just lightning too far away to be heard) and this incorrect assumption has led to some meteorologists becoming angsty when people refer to heat lightning.

> *Ingalls Weather thanks the support it gets from donors. Please consider making a small donation *> [> at this link](https://ingallswx.com/donate/ )> * to help me pay for the website and access to premium weather data.*

As a meteorologist myself, I think this angst is unnecessary and that there is nothing wrong with the term heat lightning. Certainly meteorologists should clarify what heat lightning is when relevant, but I suspect that in general most people using the term know that heat lightning is just distant normal lightning.

With relatively clear skies and good visibility lightning from distant storms can be easily seen from 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80 km) away and in very clear conditions over 100 miles (160 km) away when it’s dark out. At these distances, you won’t hear thunder with the lightning.<div class="wp-block-jetpack-subscriptions__form-elements"><p id="subscribe-email"><labelid="subscribe-field-label"for="subscribe-field"class="screen-reader-text">Type your email…<inputrequired="required"type="email"name="email"class="no-border-radius "style="font-size: 16px;padding: 15px 23px 15px 23px;border-radius: 0px;border-width: 1px;" placeholder="Type your email…" value="" id="subscribe-field" title="Please fill in this field."></inputrequired="required"type="email"name="email"class="no-border-radius></labelid="subscribe-field-label"for="subscribe-field"class="screen-reader-text"></p><p id="subscribe-submit"><input type="hidden" name="action" value="subscribe"><input type="hidden" name="blog_id" value="231036007"><input type="hidden" name="source" value="https://ingallswx.com/?p=6270"><input type="hidden" name="sub-type" value="subscribe-block"><input type="hidden" name="app_source" value=""><input type="hidden" name="redirect_fragment" value="subscribe-blog"><input type="hidden" name="lang" value="en"><input type="hidden" id="_wpnonce" name="_wpnonce" value="4cc2a51d67"><input type="hidden" name="_wp_http_referer" value="/?p=6270"><input type="hidden" name="post_id" value="6270"><button type="submit" class="wp-block-button__link no-border-radius" style="font-size: 16px;padding: 15px 23px 15px 23px;margin: 0; margin-left: 10px;border-radius: 0px;border-width: 1px; background-color: #113AF5; color: #FFFFFF;" name="jetpack_subscriptions_widget">Subscribe</button></p></div>

I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to point out that observing distant lightning in the evening is a very different experience for the viewer when compared to lightning nearby or overhead. For this reason, the displeasure some meteorologists express is simply overly pedantic.

Many meteorologists also take on a teaching role for the general public. For a lot of people, a meteorologist is the only scientist they regularly interact with or see content from in the media.

Someone discussing heat lightning incorrectly presents a meteorologist with a simple opportunity to lean into this teaching role that has inadvertently come to the industry. Most meteorologists naturally have no problem with this. Positive interactions increase the trust followers have with that meteorologist; trust that is critical when dangerous weather is approaching their forecast area.

As with all of science, meteorology is continuously evolving as researchers discover new features requiring new terminology. From time to time new terminology is heaped on us from outside the industry but works well enough that it becomes appropriate for use in forecasting and other weather material.

Two semi-recent examples of this are *atmospheric river* and *heat dome*. Atmospheric rivers are narrow bands of moisture that bring heavy rain to a specific area for long periods of time. In the last decade or so meteorologists have been leaning more into this term which was developed in the 1990s over the older *pineapple express* used on the West Coast of North America.

Pineapple express is still relevant and accurate for many of the atmospheric rivers that impact British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California yet meteorologists are utilizing newer and more academic terminology.

Meanwhile the term heat dome has come to be used for a strong upper level high pressure system that generates long-lasting unusual heat at the ground level. My understanding is that this term came from outside the industry but has been adopted by meteorologists because upper level highs are literal domes of air and when conditions are right they bring severe heat.

As we expect the public to adapt to the way we communicate weather hazards, we should adapt to some extent to the general public – especially when the terminology they use isn’t a misrepresentation of the situation. Heat lightning is one of these terms, it’s literally lightning that one sees when it is hot in the evening.

I want to point out that for most meteorologists this isn’t an issue. Occasionally I see tempers flare on the subject on social media, however, and the temper just isn’t something I understand.

There are many different things related to weather communication that need to be improved. The entire watch, warning, and advisory system in North America is constantly misunderstood, for example, and the media often misnames strong wintertime lows as polar vortexes. Why don’t we tackle these issues instead?

*The featured image is of a distant thunderstorm photographed in Kentucky in 2010. (Bbadgett/Wikimedia)*

#Weather

## Eyewitness to History: The 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens ...

2025-05-18T15:32:00Z

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Eyewitness to History: The 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens

*Author note: This article contains the memory of my great-grandfather Charles Mulvey who was working on the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington when Mount St. Helens erupted. A few days after the eruption, he wrote this short essay about his experience. It was recently found by my aunt Diane Izzo when she was looking through family effects. The text provided below has no alterations from the original.*

May 20, 1980

Well, the Spirit Mountain did as the Indians have been telling us it would do. It spoke real loud and was heard as far as Spokane anyway. It seems Mount St. Helens still has a lot of life left.

So I guess I’ll make an attempt to give some of the sights, impressions, and feelings which I observed and felt during and after the eruption which occurred this past Sunday, May 18, 1980.

> *Ingalls Weather thanks the support it gets from donors. Please consider making a small donation *> [> at this link](https://ingallswx.com/donate/ )> * to help me pay for the website and access to premium weather data.*

Mount St. Helens has been gradually changing from its former inactive status to active with mostly relatively mild eruptions and steam, ash emissions. The officials concerned and those persons observing the volcano have repeatedly given warning of the serious potential of a major eruption.

Sunday morning at approximately 0830 a.m. Mount St. Helens erupted with an explosion which blew the top 1300 feet off of the mountain and formed a horseshoe shaped crater. A huge cloud of ash and debris was reportedly blown to an altitude of 60,000 feet.

I was at work and doing my job assignment this day. I heard the blast and thought that that was no sonic boom but possibly a large dynamite explosion. The time is not definite but seemed to be just before 0900 a.m.

There was earth movement reportedly felt by others, however I felt no movement of which I was aware.

I continued with my work routines and sometime near 1000 I noticed the western sky getting dark and appeared smoky as if the fruit growers in the Yakima Valley were fogging to save the fruit crop. Of course, the day had started out clear, sunny and warm. Fruit fogging was out of the question.

The sky continued to darken rapidly and a radio transmission was heard telling all listeners that Mount St. Helens had erupted. More information would be transmitted as it was received.

By 1030 the sky was rapidly being covered with a huge, flat bottomed cloud which eventually covered all visible horizons completely blacking out the sun.

My job assignment was partly the responsibility of watching a pumping operation and the recording of operational data. At the 1100 time for a check of the pump and data the cloud had covered the sun and the northern and southern horizons and all except the east portions.

The westward facing field lamps were being activated. These field lamps light up with detection by a photo cell of approaching dark conditions.

By the time I had completed my periodic check of the pump operation and returned to the building, full darkness had occurred and the fallout of volcanic ash was underway. The darkness was equal to that of a moonless, starless, possibly cloudy stormy night.

During the next two hours the ash fall continued, with an appearance of a dry rain, if such were possible. The particles of ash ranged from a fine powder to a coarse sand. The coarse, sandy material was heavy, and the fine powdery material is extremely light, almost a talcum powder.

At the 1300 time check of the pump, the ground and all horizontal exposed surfaces were covered with ash to a depth range from one-eighth to one-quarter inch deep. The ash was evenly distributed and created considerable dust when vehicles were driven.

Light conditions at 1300 required use of a flashlight to observe numbers and dials. The pump incidentally was stopped at 1315 hours due to the hazardous conditions.

The ash fall continued heavy until approximately 1430 when the sky lightened again to daylight. A light dust ash fall continued. A dusty haze filled the air and it was necessary to don dust filters or face masks for working outside. Some samples of ash were taken for souvenirs at this time.

The light ash fall continued for the remainder of the day and possibly throughout the night. A souvenir ash sample of this light ash fall was taken the following morning from a surface which was clean at the time the initial ash fall samples were taken.

The volcanic ash fall covered a large area of eastern Washington. Roads and highways were closed due to extremely dusty conditions which made driving very difficult. People were warned to stay off the roads and to stay indoors.

The severity of the ash fall was relevant to the depth of the ground cover. This ranged from a trace to several inches. Towns and cities within the fallout area have encountered difficulty with removal of the volcanic ash.

The bus which picked us up at work and transported us home was a casualty of the dusty conditions. Dust clogged the filters and was pulled into the motor which failed due to the abrasive ash. Only the front part of the bus was visible as it approached. It was lost in dust back from the front wheels.

A light ash fall continued the following day with extremely dusty air conditions. Only essential work was being done, and usually only necessary stores (grocery, etc.) were open.

High winds have swept the area since the eruption which continually creates more dust conditions.

*The featured image is of the eruption column from Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. (USFS)*

#Geology #History #TriCities #Volcano #wawx

## Upper level trough to keep Pacific Northwest cool and moist ...

2025-05-12T15:12:47Z

##

Upper level trough to keep Pacific Northwest cool and moist this weekA slow-moving upper level trough is forecast to pass through western North America this week. It is not expected to park over the Pacific Northwest for the entire week but the trajectory of this system should keep the region cool compared to the May average with periodic rain showers in some areas.

As usual, most of the shower activity can be expected in the mountains and west of the Cascades. That said, the Columbia Basin could have a few isolated showers and thunderstorms this week. The position of the upper level low makes it so that shower activity north of Kamloops will be less widespread.

> *Ingalls Weather thanks the support it gets from donors. Please consider making a small donation *> [> at this link](https://ingallswx.com/donate/ )> * to help me pay for the website and access to premium weather data.*

On Monday morning, the upper level trough was centred near a line from Crescent City, California, to Wells, British Columbia. By Tuesday the trough acts migrates to near Boise, Idaho, with it being near Billings, Montana, on Wednesday.

Northwesterly flow aloft is expected over the Pacific Northwest for several days as the trough moves eastward. Northwesterly flow brings in cool and moist air from the Gulf of Alaska, becoming the primary driver behind regional weather conditions.<div class="wp-block-jetpack-subscriptions__form-elements"><p id="subscribe-email"><labelid="subscribe-field-label"for="subscribe-field"class="screen-reader-text">Type your email…<inputrequired="required"type="email"name="email"class="no-border-radius "style="font-size: 16px;padding: 15px 23px 15px 23px;border-radius: 0px;border-width: 1px;" placeholder="Type your email…" value="" id="subscribe-field" title="Please fill in this field."></inputrequired="required"type="email"name="email"class="no-border-radius></labelid="subscribe-field-label"for="subscribe-field"class="screen-reader-text"></p><p id="subscribe-submit"><input type="hidden" name="action" value="subscribe"><input type="hidden" name="blog_id" value="231036007"><input type="hidden" name="source" value="https://ingallswx.com/?p=5585"><input type="hidden" name="sub-type" value="subscribe-block"><input type="hidden" name="app_source" value=""><input type="hidden" name="redirect_fragment" value="subscribe-blog"><input type="hidden" name="lang" value="en"><input type="hidden" id="_wpnonce" name="_wpnonce" value="637e8dc63b"><input type="hidden" name="_wp_http_referer" value="/?p=5585"><input type="hidden" name="post_id" value="5585"><button type="submit" class="wp-block-button__link no-border-radius" style="font-size: 16px;padding: 15px 23px 15px 23px;margin: 0; margin-left: 10px;border-radius: 0px;border-width: 1px; background-color: #113AF5; color: #FFFFFF;" name="jetpack_subscriptions_widget">Subscribe</button></p></div>

Cool temperatures in the mid- and upper-levels of the troposphere help to generate shower development over land. Low stratus will probably be in play most mornings west of the Cascades (especially in Washington, the Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island) but sunshine later in the day and elsewhere will heat the ground allowing for rising air and cloud development.

Isolated thunderstorm activity appears likely under this regime. The best chance of lightning will be in mountain areas where the terrain helps to lift air upward for more dynamic cloud development.

For Thursday and Friday the upper-level pattern shifts to westerly (instead of northwesterly). A weak cold front may come in to bring a few hours of steady rain followed by postfrontal showers. We are too far out for specific timing details on this feature.

Rainfall totals don’t look all that impressive though stronger showers could produce brief heavy rain. The question becomes who will see these stronger showers and aside from knowing they are more likely in and near the mountains it’s hard to say until they actually begin to develop each day.

Through the end of the day Friday, rainfall expectations range from near 0 for Columbia Basin communities like Moses Lake and the Tri-Cities to about 30 mm (1.20 in) in the higher elevations of Vancouver Island. A total of 30 mm in a week is not particularly impressive for the rainforests of Vancouver Island.

Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland could come in somewhere between 5 and 15 mm (0.20 to 0.60 inches) for the week, which also is not particularly impressive.

Look for high temperatures a few degrees below average in the Pacific Northwest through the end of the week and possibly into the beginning of next week. Medium-range weather modeling is hinting at warmer air coming in for the second half of next week but this is far enough out to be taken with a grain of salt.

Still, May is the time of year when slightly below average temperatures can be quite pleasant (especially for the Columbia Basin and Willamette Valley). Highs at Pasco will probably be around 71ºF (21ºC). Portland and Eugene look closer to 66ºF (19ºC).

*The featured image is a satellite image showing the low pressure system off centred off the Oregon Coast on Sunday afternoon. (zoom.earth)*

#BCstorm #orwx #wawx #Weather

## ¿Son realmente tan ventosas las Tri-Cities? Depende de tu ...

2025-03-21T17:42:14Z

##

¿Son realmente tan ventosas las Tri-Cities? Depende de tu perspectiva*This article is available in English at [this link](https://ingallswx.com/2024/05/28/are-the-tri-cities-really-that-windy-it-depends-on-your-perspective/ ).*

Las personas que viven en las Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland) suelen hablar del viento. A menudo, es para quejarse de lo ventosa que parece ser la zona. Las Tri-Cities ciertamente pueden experimentar fuertes vientos durante tormentas regionales, pero ¿cuánta de esta percepción se debe a sesgos de confirmación y de recencia durante dichas tormentas?

Naturalmente, la velocidad del viento varía en toda el área de las Tri-Cities. Las cimas de las colinas, los campos abiertos fuera de la ciudad y las zonas a lo largo del río Columbia experimentan vientos más fuertes porque hay menos obstáculos que bloqueen el movimiento del aire. También hay muchos días en los que las Tri-Cities experimentan poco o nada de viento.

> Ingalls Weather agradece el apoyo que recibe de los donantes. Por favor, considere hacer una pequeña donación en > [> este enlace](https://ingallswx.com/donate/ )> para ayudarme a pagar el sitio web y el acceso a datos meteorológicos premium.

Este artículo analiza las condiciones promedio generalizadas para las Tri-Cities en su conjunto. Cabe destacar que las personas que viven en lugares como Canyon Lakes probablemente verán vientos más fuertes que quienes están dentro del Richland Bypass.###

**Perspectiva del Noroeste**Comparación de vientos promedio en ciudades seleccionadas del Noroeste. (WeatherSpark)Los habitantes de las Tri-Cities viven en el área metropolitana más ventosa entre las ciudades medianas y grandes del Noroeste del Pacífico. Solo Bend se acerca a lo que experimenta la zona, con vientos promedio en Bend que superan los de las Tri-Cities en diciembre, enero y principios de febrero.

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El perfil de velocidades de viento en Spokane sigue de cerca el de las Tri-Cities, aunque con velocidades aproximadamente 1.5 mph (2.5 km/h) más bajas durante todo el año. Seattle y Eugene son las menos ventosas de este grupo.

Las comunidades más pequeñas en y cerca de los principales pasos montañosos del Noroeste del Pacífico son más ventosas que las Tri-Cities. A pesar de estar a solo media hora en coche al sur de Kennewick, Hermiston es notablemente más ventosa porque está más directamente en la trayectoria del viento que atraviesa el desfiladero del río Columbia.###

**Comparaciones a nivel nacional**Comparación de vientos promedio entre Kennewick y las cinco áreas metropolitanas más grandes de los Estados Unidos. (WeatherSpark)Sin embargo, solo en el Noroeste del Pacífico destaca el viento de las Tri-Cities. Veamos primero las cinco áreas metropolitanas más grandes de los Estados Unidos (Nueva York, Los Ángeles, Chicago, Dallas y Houston).

De este grupo, solo Los Ángeles experimenta menos viento que las Tri-Cities. Houston y Nueva York ven cómo sus vientos promedio caen por debajo de los de las Tri-Cities en verano, pero lo compensan con vientos más fuertes durante el resto del año. Por supuesto, Houston también experimenta huracanes ocasionales.

Chicago se gana su apodo de “La Ciudad de los Vientos”. Su mes más calmado es julio, con una velocidad promedio de 8.7 mph (14.0 km/h), superior incluso a los meses más ventosos de las Tri-Cities: marzo, abril y junio, con 8.1 mph (13.0 km/h).

Comparación de las velocidades medias del viento en Kennewick y algunas ciudades seleccionadas de los High Plains. (WeatherSpark)La parte más ventosa del interior de los Estados Unidos contiguos se encuentra en los High Plains, justo al este de los Rocky Mountains. El este de Wyoming es especialmente ventoso, algo que los viajeros frecuentes de la I-25 y la I-80 al este de Laramie conocen muy bien.

El terreno relativamente plano de esta región, combinado con la profundización de los sistemas de baja presión en el lado sotavento de los Rockies, genera vientos fuertes a medida que estas perturbaciones se desplazan hacia el este a través de América del Norte. Alguien que se encuentre al aire libre en las High Plains probablemente sentirá una ligera brisa incluso en ausencia de un sistema de baja presión intenso.

Las tormentas de viento son más frecuentes y más intensas en las High Plains. Entre 2010 y 2019, el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional emitió un promedio de dos advertencias de vientos fuertes por año para Tri-Cities. En comparación, la Cordillera Frontal de Colorado recibió alrededor de seis advertencias anuales, mientras que en algunas partes del sureste de Wyoming se emitieron más de 30.###

**Causas del viento en el C**olumbia BasinGráfico que muestra la frecuencia relativa de la dirección y velocidad del viento en el Aeropuerto de las Tri-Cities. (Iowa Environmental Mesonet)En el nivel más básico, el viento es causado por diferencias en la presión del aire, moviéndose de regiones de alta presión hacia regiones de baja presión. Este viento es canalizado por el relieve regional, como las Cascades, el río Columbia e incluso los Rockies. La magnitud de la diferencia de presión entre dos ubicaciones se llama gradiente de presión.

Los vientos del oeste y suroeste que atraviesan los pasos de las Cascade dominan el patrón de viento en la Columbia Basin. Casi el 64% de las observaciones horarias en el aeropuerto de las Tri-Cities en Pasco registraron vientos con un componente occidental, incluyendo el 95% de las observaciones cuando el viento sostenido superaba las 40 mph (64 km/h).

Para visualizar cómo el aire atraviesa las Cascade, imagina una compuerta abierta en un canal de riego. Las paredes de hormigón se extienden hacia adentro desde el borde, pero una abertura en el centro permite que el agua pase. El nivel del agua es más alto detrás de la compuerta que delante de ella. El agua se acelera y se vuelve más turbulenta al pasar por la compuerta antes de calmarse más adelante.

En esta analogía, el desfiladero del río Columbia y Snoqualmie Pass son compuertas de agua, y las Montañas Cascade son las paredes de hormigón. La alta presión a menudo se acumula detrás de los sistemas regionales, como los frentes fríos, formando el “agua” detrás de la compuerta. Las Cascade actúan como una barrera formidable para la alta presión entrante, generando vientos fuertes a través de los pasos montañosos.###

**El viento como peligro meteorológico**Aunque las Tri-Cities pueden no ser tan ventosas como muchos otros lugares en los Estados Unidos, el viento sigue siendo un peligro significativo. Es la causa meteorológica más común de muertes en el área de advertencia de la oficina del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en Pendleton, que incluye la Columbia Basin.

Además del polvo, los vientos fuertes pueden levantar objetos sueltos. Ejemplos notorios en las Tri-Cities incluyen trampolines voladores y enormes acumulaciones de plantas rodadoras. Una brisa moderada, altas temperaturas y baja humedad relativa combinadas crean un riesgo significativo de incendios.

El criterio para una advertencia de vientos fuertes varía de un lugar a otro, pero generalmente se emiten cuando los vientos sostenidos están entre 40 y 73 mph (64-117 km/h) o cuando hay ráfagas más fuertes.

#clima #orwx #TriCities #wawx

## Thursday’s tsunami warning highlights confusion that comes ...

2024-12-05T21:50:43Z

##

Thursday’s tsunami warning highlights confusion that comes with some NWS alertsAt 10:44 Pacific Time Thursday, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California near Eureka. The strength of this earthquake prompted the National Tsunami Warning Center to issue a tsunami warning for a large area of the Pacific Coast of California and Oregon, including San Francisco.

Initial alerts regarding the earthquake and potential tsunami went out quickly with many people able to take action. Evacuation orders were issued in some San Francisco Bay Area neighborhoods and boaters along the coast took their vessels out to open water to mitigate damage risk.

> *Ingalls Weather thanks the support it gets from donors. Please consider making a small donation *> [> at this link](https://ingallswx.com/donate/ )> * to help me pay for the website and access to premium weather data.*

Thankfully, no damaging tsunami was observed and the warning was lifted at 11:54 Pacific Time. Significant confusion about whether or not a warning was in place arose about a half hour before this, however, and it was completely avoidable.

At 11:27 Pacific Time, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an update to their tsunami information statement. Part of this message read:<code>* THERE IS NO LONGER A TSUNAMI THREAT FROM THIS EARTHQUAKE.</code>

This was quickly picked up on social media with people understandably posting that the tsunami warning had been cancelled and the risk was gone. The problem was this was issued by the tsunami warning center in Hawaii and not the one in Alaska.

The National Weather Service operates two tsunami warning centers – one in Honolulu, Hawaii and the other in Palmer, Alaska. The Alaska office is named the *National Tsunami Warning Center* while the Hawaii one is named the *Pacific Tsunami Warning Center*. To avoid confusion, I will refer to these by the state they are in for this remainder of post.

The Alaska center is responsible for warning about tsunamis in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. They also handle warnings for U.S. and Canadian shorelines along the Atlantic. Meanwhile, the Hawaii center is responsible for warning U.S. interests in the Pacific except for the West Coast. They also serve an advisory role for other Pacific rim nations.

When the Hawaii center stated there was no longer a tsunami threat, they were referring to there being no threat for their area of responsibility. In fact, the Hawaii center never issued a tsunami watch, warning, or advisory for this event.

The confusion in this notice was created by the Hawaii center not making it clear that they are not responsible for California and Oregon. The following text is provided at the bottom of their alert message, but it isn’t enough:<code> * COASTAL REGIONS OF HAWAII... AMERICAN SAMOA... GUAM... AND CNMI SHOULD REFER TO PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES SPECIFICALLY FOR THOSE PLACES THAT CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.TSUNAMI.GOV. * COASTAL REGIONS OF CALIFORNIA... OREGON... WASHINGTON... BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA SHOULD ONLY REFER TO U.S. NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES THAT CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.TSUNAMI.GOV.</code>

Shoving this to the bottom is not enough to give general readers notice that they aren’t talking about California or Oregon. Furthermore, the two centers share the same website and with the exception of one word have the same name.

The general public does not have much exposure to the National Weather Service’s tsunami warning centers and should not be expected to know this administrative nuance during a potential emergency.

Text stating that the message does not include California or Oregon should have been placed adjacent to the notice, not several lines beneath it. For half an hour between the Hawaii office’s notice and the Alaska office cancelling the warning social media was beginning to be filled with people quoting the line “there is no longer a tsunami threat from this earthquake.”

There was no damaging tsunami so this did not cause any issues, but had there been a tsunami and people were deciding to return to the hazard zone because of the Hawaii office’s message this would have been a significant problem.

It is kind of surprising to me that the alert is laid out this way. The National Weather Service generally does a good job of collaborating between offices. During severe weather events local offices communicate with national centers and each other to present a unified message.

This is not a piece meant to slander the people working to issue these alerts, but rather a call for meteorologists and others in the “hot seat” to remember that the general public doesn’t necessarily know or care about the difference between a local forecast office, regional centers, and national centers.

It is true that people should seek information from official sources during a potential emergency. With that said, the people at those official sources should also recognize the reality of how information spreads.

Adding one line of text would have completely avoided the confusion. If necessary, the software the National Weather Service uses should be updated but until then scientists issuing critical warnings should keep the public in mind.

A tsunami alert sent to an iPhone. (Provided by cynthia rose is desirable (npub15ea…h2ds))Further issues stem from how tsunami alerts (and weather alerts in general) are disseminated. The system the U.S. government uses to blast cell phones with weather and other geophysical alerts continues to send text messages based on county which creates an unnecessary false alarm effect.

Under the tsunami warning, this led to alerts being sent to phones at long distances from the hazard zone because of how large many counties are in the Western United States. One of the warned counties extends from the coast to the Cascades of Oregon, a distance of 115 miles (185 km).

Of course, the tsunami warning was only for [coastal zones](https://ingallswx.com/2022/02/17/faq-why-do-weather-alerts-often-stop-at-state-or-county-lines/ ). People inland like this don’t need to be receiving emergency text message for coastal hazards.

The false alarm problem is not limited to tsunami messaging. When I lived in St. Anthony, Idaho, our county was about 60 miles (100 km) long from end to end. On the rare occasion that a tornado warning was issued anywhere in the county, we would get an emergency text message despite having never been placed in a tornado warning the whole time we lived there.

I knew, as a student meteorologist, to see what part of the county the tornado warning was for. Many other people also know to do this, but many people don’t. Like the issue with the two different tsunami warning centers, weather alerts should accommodate the understanding of the general population. We can’t expect to be understood by everyone but this feels like “low hanging fruit” for improvement.

Events like the earthquake and associated tsunami warning where there were no tsunami related deaths or damage are perfect opportunities to improve the system. Small changes can be made to the alert messages to avoid confusion in the future.

The issue with text alerts is admittedly a harder problem to solve. There are ways it can be fixed, though. One idea would be to only text out alerts to phones connected to cell towers inside or within five miles (8 km) of the alert area. The technology is there to do this. Some Midwestern counties utilize a similar method to determine what tornado sirens to activate during severe weather.

The tsunami warning centers and the text message emergency alerting system are critical, lifesaving infrastructure. The people who build and operate these systems do important work. These systems should be maintained but also improved to maximize efficiency and minimize confusion.

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*The featured image is a tsunami evacuation sign in Seaside, Oregon. (M.O. Stevens/Wikimedia)*

#Earthquake #NWS #sfba #tsunami

Many home weather stations are internet connected in some form. ...

2024-10-31T18:17:26Z

Many home weather stations are internet connected in some form. One popular method of getting a weather station online is to run it through WeatherUnderground. A lot of internet connected stations on the market in North America have a built-in ability to connect to that service.

Others push data to the manufacture’s internet-based service. In either case, the data is usually only publicly available on one or two platforms. This limits the owner’s ability to look at and share the data.

> *Ingalls Weather thanks the support it gets from donors. Please consider making a small donation *> [> at this link](https://ingallswx.com/donate/ )> * to help me pay for the website and access to premium weather data.*

GitHub user leoherzog created a script to automatically pull weather station data from one source to put it into another. Before I get into how to use this, I want to note that I am not very tech savvy at all.

Most things on GitHub are well beyond my abilities to use, but this one was wildly simple even for me. This is the first time I successfully used something I found on GitHub.

The script is called Wunderground Station Forwarder and can be found at [this link](https://github.com/leoherzog/WundergroundStationForwarder ). Despite the name, it can pull from multiple sources and forward to multiple sources:<thead><tr><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Sources</th><th class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Receivers</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">WeatherUnderground</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">WeatherUnderground</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">MyAcurite</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">windy.com</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Davis WeatherLink</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Aeris PWSWeather</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">WeatherFlow Tempest</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">WeatherCloud</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Ambient Weather</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">OpenWeatherMap</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">NOAA CWOP</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">NOAA CWOP</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Custom RTL_433 JSON</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">WindGuru</td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">——</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">MET (UK) WOW</td></tr></tbody>

Even though this script can send to multiple sources, I generally recommend only setting it up to send to NOAA CWOP. CWOP, or the Citizen Weather Observer Program, is the system to get weather stations publicly visible on US National Weather Service websites. Placing it on CWOP also makes it visible on other websites in the receivers list, including Windy (seen in the featured image).

My good friend [Joey Only](https://www.youtube.com/@JoeyOnly ) up in Wells, British Columbia recently had a weather station donated to him. Since I don’t have my own, I asked if he would be willing to be my guinea pig for using this script.

Joey’s weather station is set up to send data to WeatherUnderground. We have successfully set up the script to send from WeatherUnderground to CWOP. This tutorial will cover doing that because that’s how I did it, but the instructions are pretty similar to pull from other sources.###

Script setupScreenshot of the copied script in a new Google Script project. (Google)The GitHub script is meant to be copied and pasted into a new project in Google Scripts found at [this link](https://script.google.com/ ) using the user’s Google login. I did this on a desktop computer and don’t know how well it would work on mobile.

From there, just create a new project and copy the code over from GitHub into the new project’s Code.gs file. The result should look like the screenshot above.####

Configure receiving dataThe code updated to pull from IBM/WeatherUnderground with Joey’s API key and station ID redacted. (Google)Since we pulled Joey’s station data from WeatherUnderground, we changed line 10 to:<code>const datasource = 'ibm'</code>

This tells the script that it will be looking for the WeatherUnderground API key and station ID from lines 12 and 13. For other sources, use the relevant identifier provided in the comment (gray text) in line 10. Some take a login, others take an API. The necessary data for your source can be found in one of the sections contained in lines 12 to 34.

All WeatherUnderground users who send data to their service can get an API key from them for free that is compatible with this script. You can do this following the instructions [at this link](https://www.wunderground.com/member/api-keys ). Once you have the key, copy and paste it between the quotes in line 12 and paste your individual station ID between the quotes in line 13.

Your station’s latitude, longitude, and elevation are part of the data that comes over from the source. There is no need to put that into the script unless you are pulling from a custom JSON feed.

The script can only pull data from one source at a time.###

Configure sending dataThe sending data section of the script with changes made to lines 67 and 68. Joey’s CWOP ID is partially omitted. (Google)Next we tell the script where we want to send the data to. As noted above, I opted to only send this data to CWOP because many of the other sources included pull from CWOP. Joey was especially interested in Windy, which is one of the ones that uses CWOP among other sites.

We changed line 67 so the script knows we want to send to CWOP’s system so that it says:<code>const updateCWOP = true;</code>

Next we needed to acquire a CWOP site ID. To do this, register at [this NOAA link](https://madis.ncep.noaa.gov/cwop_signup.shtml ). These registrations are reviewed by a human so it can take a few hours to a couple days to get your site ID. Once you have it, update line 68 to have your six-character (two letters, four numbers) station ID within the quotes.

I don’t really know what line 69 does. I didn’t change it from null and the script is working fine.

The email from CWOP giving you your station ID will also instruct you to email them back once your data is flowing into their system to confirm the location is accurate and that it looks like it is flowing smoothly. After that, they will enter it into the database and it will begin appearing on weather maps like the [Synoptic Data Viewer](https://viewer.synopticdata.com/ ).

The script can send to multiple recipients at once, though I recommend starting with CWOP and if you want to add more about a week after it is published on CWOP you can revisit it to see what’s missing.###

Send data and confirm it is correctThe Executions page showing the action the script is taking to acquire Joey’s data and send it to CWOP. (Google)Once you have followed the steps above, click the **▷ Run** button at the top and it should be all set. From there, open the left sidebar and click **Executions**. This is the page where you will see the actions the script is taking. It will start blank or with one or two lines, but it will fill up over time.

The script pulls from Weather Underground every minute and pushes out to CWOP every five minutes.

Next we want to confirm the data is making it to CWOP. Since it won’t be on any weather maps until you confirm the location by email, I think the best way to do this is wait for about ten minutes after clicking run and then heading over to [aprs.fi](https://aprs.fi ).

APRS is a ham radio tool for tracking stations and sending messages. CWOP originally started through this system and has since expanded to include internet-only stations.

[](https://aprs.fi )The aprs.fi page showing Joey’s station location and current weather conditions. (aprs.fi)On the top right side of [aprs.fi](https://aprs.fi ), enter your CWOP site ID into the **Track callsign** section and click **search**. It should move the map to your station location and present your latest weather conditions. Zoom in to ensure the location is reasonably accurate, if it isn’t you will need to fix it on the original source.

On aprs.fi, you can also click **show weather charts** to see more detailed data on what the system is receiving from your weather station. You can also confirm your station’s location and configuration using the info in the email from CWOP but I prefer this site. Once you have confirmed this, don’t forget to email back the people at CWOP.###

Seeing your data on weather mapsA map showing temperatures at various weather stations in the B.C. Cariboo region with Joey’s station circled. (Synoptic)It will take time for your weather data to get to weather maps that pull from CWOP. A human updates their database once a week. From there it takes time for services pulling from CWOP to update their maps.

When we set up Joey’s station in October 2024 it took a couple hours after it was put into the database to reach the Synoptic Data Viewer (screenshot above). It took the same amount of time to get to the National Weather Service Weather and Hazards Viewer but it didn’t reach Windy until the next day.

Because the Google Script runs continuously on Google’s cloud, you don’t need to be running your own computer 24/7 for it to work.

If you are looking for a weather station to buy for your home, I recommend the Tempest Weather System. It is simple to set up and maintain with no moving parts and good accuracy. You can head over to their store at [this link](https://shop.tempest.earth/?ref=ingalls ) and get 10% off using the code **WEATHER10** at checkout.<a href="#8d4fe299-f410-4b24-848a-f9fb90c4c573" id="8d4fe299-f410-4b24-848a-f9fb90c4c573-link">1</a>

[Subscribe](https://ingallswx.com/?post_type=post&p=4712 )

*The featured image is the National Weather Service display of data it is receiving from Joey’s weather station via the script. (NOAA)*<li id="8d4fe299-f410-4b24-848a-f9fb90c4c573">Note that I get a small commission from Tempest purchases using my link and/or the coupon code WEATHER10. That said, I would not have joined their program if I didn’t like the product. <a href="#8d4fe299-f410-4b24-848a-f9fb90c4c573-link">↩︎</a></li>

https://ingallswx.com/2024/10/31/simple-guide-to-forward-your-weather-station-data-to-multiple-sites-online/

#GitHub #Weather

Weather apps are often seen as the bane of a meteorologist’s ...

2024-10-08T20:02:20Z

Weather apps are often seen as the bane of a meteorologist’s existence but I don’t think this necessarily needs to be the case. There are a lot of good apps out there for both iOS and Android that provide useful information at a quick glance.

I use several weather apps myself depending on what information I am looking for. Below are five weather apps (in no particular order), plus one earthquake app, that I like to use on a regular basis. There are plenty of other useful apps out there as well.

> *Ingalls Weather thanks the support it gets from donors. Please consider making a small donation *> [> at this link](https://ingallswx.com/donate/ )> * to help me pay for the website and access to premium weather data.*

None of these weather apps replace the expert opinion of an educated meteorologist. In severe weather (like tornadoes and hurricanes) or a situation with a lot of nuance (like snow when the temperature is forecast to be near freezing), every weather app will produce disappointing results. Never use a weather app to make lifesaving decisions.

Note that I have been a long-time iPhone user. When available, I will provide links to the Android version as well. Some are free, some have a cost or subscription. I will note this but not include specific cost information because prices vary slightly by country and because they can change.

I am not being paid by any of these apps for their inclusion in this article (but if any of them want to pay me I wouldn’t turn them down).####

Windy(Windy)[Apple](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/windy-com-weather-radar/id1161387262 ) • [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.windyty.android ) • [Browser](https://www.windy.com/ )
Cost: *Free, paid subscription for premium features*.

Windy is an extremely versatile app that aggregates weather model data and presents it both on a map and as a time series for a single point. I have been a user of Windy for several years and have enjoyed watching it grow by adding new weather models and additional parameters.

Despite being termed as a forecast in the app, it is important to understand that the data in Windy is *model* data. Models are always wrong in some way or another, but they are a critical tool in predicting weather.

Users can toggle between different weather models, parameters, and altitude levels easily. One can also change the color tables, which I have done for my account. As of late-2024, weather models currently available on Windy for North America are the ECMWF, GFS, ICON, NAM, HRRR, and HRDPS. Each have different strengths and weaknesses.

One parameter I wish they would include is total precipitable water. Having it would be useful for visualizing atmospheric river and monsoon events. There are multiple apps named Windy, my preference is the one run by [windy.com](https://www.windy.com ).####

RadarOmega(RadarOmega)[Apple](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/radaromega/id1439881811 ) • [Android](https://play.google.com/store/search?q=RadarOmega&c=apps )
Cost: *Initial base app cost, additional add ons by paid subscription.*

RadarOmega displays real-time weather radar data for the United States, Canada, Australia, and Germany. U.S. owned radars in Japan and South Korea are also included. Many weather nerds use RadarScope, which is also good, but I made the switch because RadarOmega’s base app includes more features.

This app presents raw radar data. It will appear more pixelated and grainy than many other weather apps because those apps smooth out the data. Smoothing the data removes fine details.

Depending on the radar’s capabilities, users can view reflectivity (most commonly used for precipitation), velocity (how fast detected particles are moving), and more expert things like correlation coefficient and vertically integrated liquid. Lightning data, weather alerts, METARs, and other non-radar information can also be presented.

There is no weather radar coverage in the Canadian territories. If you live there or in another large radar gap, you have no need for this app because it will have nothing to show you.####

My Lightning Tracker(My Lightning Tracker)[Apple](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/my-lightning-tracker-alerts/id1175031987 ) • [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrustonapps.mylightningtracker&hl=en-US )
Cost: *Free with ads, one time fee for ad-free*.

My Lightning Tracker is by far the best free/cheap source of lightning data that I’ve found. It aggregates multiple commercial sources to present the locations of lightning strikes over the last hour.

It shows lightning strikes from around the world. I have used this in forecasting for Central Oregon storms because even when radar coverage is poor the lightning data show where storms are and where they are moving.

Because of how lightning is detected, it even covers remote regions like the middle of the ocean and the Canadian Arctic. There is a radar overlay function, but I don’t use this because I get my radar data from another source (RadarOmega).

I appreciate the lightning notifications it offers, even on the free version. I have it set to notify me of lightning strikes within 80 km of my current location but the range can be set anywhere between 1 and 320 km (or 1 to 200 miles).####

Wildfire Info(Wildfire Info)[Apple](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wildfire-info/id1035221813 ) • [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.davidgrossapps.wildfire&hl=en-US )
Cost: *Free, paid subscription for premium features*.

Wildfire Info has a ton of different options for displaying fire data. Note that it presents data that is received by automated or semi-automated systems. It is not like [Watch Duty](https://www.watchduty.org/ ), which has human reporters who collaborate and gather data on ongoing wildfires in the Western United States.

My favorite tool on this app is the hotspot map, which shows locations where satellites have detected hotspots over the last 24 hours. Hotspots don’t necessarily mean a fire is present, however. I have also used the hotspot map to track lava flows in Hawaii and Iceland.

Also on the app are fire perimeters inputted by authorities working on wildfires. These come from sources like InciWeb and the state of California.####

Apple Weather(Apple)Cost: *Included with Apple devices*.

There will certainly be some in the meteorological community who judge me for using the generic weather app on my phone but I don’t care. Ever since purchasing DarkSky, the Apple weather app is superior for at-a-glance conditions, such as temperature, precipitation, and winds. It also sends notifications for weather alerts issued by the National Weather Service and Environment Canada.

The issue that comes from relying on this and other generic weather apps is due to people taking it at face value. It is important to remember that these “forecasts” are actually just weather model outputs. Sure, they are advanced weather models, but it’s still a model with no human input into the forecast.

It being a model isn’t a problem under most weather conditions. Where it becomes problematic is a scenario where the forecast is difficult. This and other generic weather apps will not tell you the nuance of a forecast that could produce light rain or moderate snow if the temperature deviates slightly.

While it gives weather alerts from government agencies, it shouldn’t be relied on for lifesaving data. It won’t tell you where a tornado is or how much flooding a hurricane might bring.

For everyday weather it’s totally fine and reasonable. Could I make a better forecast? Probably, but I’d spend at least 30 minutes doing it. Do I really need to do that to be a degree or two better than Apple when I’m just deciding if my kid needs a sweater or not? No, I don’t think so.####

QuakeFeed(QuakeFeed)[Apple](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/quakefeed-earthquake-tracker/id403037266 )
Cost: *Free; paid subscription model for premium and ad-free features.*

As a bonus, here’s the app I use to track earthquakes. It takes in data from the USGS, Natural Resources Canada, and European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre. Earthquakes can be plotted on a map or in a list view.

I really like the notification feature on this app. I have mine set to all earthquakes in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, as well as large earthquakes globally. I get maybe 6-10 earthquake notifications a day with this setting.

On individual earthquakes, there are direct links to web pages offering more data. For earthquakes that came from the USGS it also has a direct link to the relevant “Did You Feel It?” page.####

Honorable mentionsThere are a few other weather apps that I use less frequently. Storm Shield has a good push notification interface for weather alerts, WillyWeather provides the National Weather Service point forecast, and Paku shows air quality data from PurpleAir.

Volcano Up! is a good one for accessing volcano updates from the USGS, Smithsonian, and New Zealand’s government. Of course volcanoes, like earthquakes, are not weather but are still earth science.

Do you have any favorite weather apps that I missed? Let me know by dropping a comment.

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*The featured image is a stock image of an iPhone sitting on a keyboard. (SimonWaldherr*/Wikimedia)

https://ingallswx.com/2024/10/08/five-weather-apps-that-i-find-useful-as-a-meteorologist/

#Weather

Basalt is the main bedrock of much of the Pacific Northwest, ...

2024-09-07T21:45:45Z

Basalt is the main bedrock of much of the Pacific Northwest, owing to the massive Columbia River basalt flows over ten million years ago. This flood basalt province erupted from numerous vents in Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, and far Western Idaho with the largest eruptions flowing out to the Pacific Ocean.

Columbia River basalt underlies the Columbia Basin and the Columbia River’s path from there to where it meets the Pacific Ocean near Astoria. We can use it to see where the river used to flow, such as Crown Point near Troutdale and Tillamook Head north of Cannon Beach.

Basalt outcrops downstream of the Columbia Basin represent the old path of the river because the basalt would have flowed in the low point of existing valleys, shoving the Columbia River aside. These outcrops remain because basalt takes a long time to erode compared to other formations.

The Ginkgo Flow (orange) superimposed over other Columbia River Basalt Group flows (brown). The black line in Eastern Washington is where the Ginkgo Flow erupted from. (CWU)One interesting location with a basalt outcrop is Yaquina Head north of Newport on the Oregon Coast. This is where the Ginkgo Flow of the Columbia River Basalt Group reached the ocean. It is well south of other points where Columbia River basalt meets the Pacific.

The Ginkgo Flow erupted from a series of vents extending northwest and southeast from near Kahlotus, Washington. Evidently a low valley crossed the Coast Range east of here allowing the basalt to pass through.

Yaquina Head is the site of one of Oregon’s lighthouses. At the base of the outcrop are numerous tide pools. Basalt outcrops into the ocean often feature tide pools because of the rock’s resistance to erosion, allowing rocky shores to be exposed rather than wearing down into sand.

Basalt cobbles at Yaquina Head. (Personal photo)Between the tide pools and the base of the cliffs is a beach covered in basalt cobbles. These have been knocked off the cliff over time and then rolled around against other rocks by the water to become rounded and polished.

Yaquina Head is one of the more interesting geologic features of the Oregon Coast. It is accessible by car, though visiting the tide pools involves walking down (and back up) a long staircase. It is operated by the Bureau of Land Management and there is an interpretive center on site.

https://ingallswx.com/2024/09/07/eastern-washington-basalt-on-the-oregon-coast/

#Geology #Oregon

This morning’s cloud cover is forecast to dissipate on both ...

2024-09-03T15:13:16Z

This morning’s cloud cover is forecast to dissipate on both sides of the Cascades as the day progresses, heading for warm temperatures and sunny skies. Up above, upper level ridging is developing over the western half of North America.

The ridge is forecast to bring a late-season heat wave. The heat wave is forecast to peak west of the Cascades on Thursday and east of the Cascades on Friday or Saturday.####

Heat wave forecastECMWF ensemble probability of reaching 100°F (38°C) on Thursday (left) and Friday (right). (WeatherBell)Some local TV meteorologists in Portland have already put 100°F (38°C) on their forecast graphics for Thursday. I think it is possible for Portland to reach that mark, especially near downtown where the urban heat island is strongest.

The ECMWF ensemble indicates that the Northern Willamette Valley has a higher chance of tapping 100° on Thursday. It generally looks like the warmest area will be from Salem to Wilsonville.

Parts of the Columbia Basin may tap 100°F on Thursday (especially around Boardman), but Friday and Saturday will be the warmest days. Pasco, Hermiston, and Boardman are likely to hit 100°.

Yakima and Moses Lake will be close on Friday. An isolated 100° reading is also possible around Salem and Hillsboro.

Onshore flow west of the Cascades on Saturday brings an end to the 100° weather but the Columbia Basin and Yakima Valley may even be a degree or two warmer. Given the current forecast, Walla Walla could join the 100 club.####

ClimatologyThis is unusually late in the season for 100° temperatures, but they aren’t unheard of. The record latest 100° day in Portland was September 7, 1981. Salem is likely to tie their record of September 5, set in 1944. They have about a 30% chance of hitting 100° on Friday, which is September 6.

Despite being further inland, the record latest 100° day in the Tri-Cities isn’t that much later than Portland. It currently stands at September 9, 1940. I don’t think there is a very good chance of this even being tied.

The record could be broken in Yakima, where their latest 100° day so far was September 3, 1988. At the Hermiston Airport, the record is September 1 but records there only go back to 1998.####

Extended forecastTemperatures begin moderating west of the Cascades on Saturday and early next week for the Columbia Basin. Models currently favor upper level troughing becoming dominant to bring cooler temperatures and, for some, a chance of rain.

https://ingallswx.com/2024/09/03/columbia-basin-and-willamette-valley-may-hit-100f-later-this-week/

#orwx #pdxtst #wawx