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Weather Blog - May 2008

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Snoqualmie Pass finishes up very snowy season
May 30, 2008 at 6:29 PM PDT
A weather forecast chart you've likely never seen before
May 29, 2008 at 8:47 PM PDT
Seattle's carbon footprint found to among nation's smallest
May 29, 2008 at 7:56 PM PDT
Great scenery, and save $4 a gallon to boot!
May 28, 2008 at 7:30 PM PDT
Like to track rain? You'll be cuckoo for CoCoRahs
May 27, 2008 at 5:43 PM PDT
Tornadoes -- not just a Midwest thing
May 26, 2008 at 5:59 PM PDT
Siberia, the next great wine country? Not quite yet...
May 26, 2008 at 5:10 PM PDT
Now THAT'S a sunset!
May 23, 2008 at 3:00 PM PDT
Surf's 'up' in Iowa, and we mean that literally
May 22, 2008 at 2:00 PM PDT
I've got rainbows, on a sunny day
May 21, 2008 at 7:59 PM PDT
What's the difference between a cyclone and tornado?
May 20, 2008 at 7:28 PM PDT
"Out My Window"
May 20, 2008 at 6:58 PM PDT
Seattle weather: Where normal is rarely the norm
May 19, 2008 at 8:18 PM PDT
El Nino -- apparently not just for winter barbecues
May 19, 2008 at 7:38 PM PDT
Interesting study on global warming and hurricanes
May 19, 2008 at 7:29 PM PDT
It hasn't been this hot this soon in a long time
May 18, 2008 at 5:53 AM PDT
How hot was it Friday?
May 17, 2008 at 2:17 AM PDT
Just how hot is it?
May 16, 2008 at 8:10 PM PDT
From March to August in 3 days flat
May 16, 2008 at 6:35 PM PDT
Washington, U.S. have cool April, but globally it's still hot
May 15, 2008 at 9:21 PM PDT
From Drizzle To Sizzle
May 15, 2008 at 8:10 PM PDT
BOK BOK BOK is HOT! HOT! HOT!
May 15, 2008 at 7:04 PM PDT
Stealing heat from Arizona, so "Take it Easy"
May 14, 2008 at 5:43 PM PDT
If it's 0 outside, how can it be twice as cold tomorrow?
May 14, 2008 at 12:06 AM PDT
Weather haiku time!
May 13, 2008 at 6:56 PM PDT
Ashtray, anyone?
May 13, 2008 at 6:01 PM PDT
Storm clouds comin'
May 12, 2008 at 10:17 PM PDT
Welcome to our new weather blog!
May 12, 2008 at 9:26 PM PDT
Ever wanted to ski in shorts? This might be your chance
May 12, 2008 at 8:53 PM PDT
Mt. Rainier puts on spectacular light show
May 1, 2008 at 7:55 PM PDT
Think this spring has been chilly? It's been worse
May 1, 2008 at 7:34 PM PDT
Now that's one cool (and spooky) cloud formation
May 1, 2008 at 7:27 PM PDT

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About Scott Sistek

Meteorologist

Recent Posts

Weather Brrr! Seattle, Portland briefly tied for coldest major city in lower 48

By Scott Sistek Published: May 22, 2013 at 11:37 AM PDT Last Updated: May 22, 2013 at 1:08 PM PDT

Does it feel a bit like January out there today? Your skin does not deceive you.

A cold system from the Gulf of Alaska has settled into the Pacific Northwest, bringing not only a steady winter-like rain but has kept temperatures stuck in the 40s(!) through the late morning.

In fact, at 11 a.m., Seattle was stuck at 46 degrees -- about the average high for mid January. It's so cold in the Northwest that Seattle and Portland were tied as the coldest major cities in the lower 48 states -- and it wasn't even close! (Boise was at 50. Anchorage was also at 46. If we do lower our population threshold for "major city", Spokane checks in at 41.)

Portland would gradually take the trophy by itself as Seattle later warmed into the low 50s as Portland remained stuck in the mid 40s.

Weather How tornado victims got 36 minutes of precious warning time (Photo Gallery)

By Scott Sistek Published: May 21, 2013 at 12:18 PM PDT Last Updated: May 22, 2013 at 10:43 AM PDT

Thirty-six minutes.

That might not seem very long -- roughly about the time it takes to wade through your hourly drama if you blaze through commercials. But compared to a few decades ago, 36 minutes of time might have saved countless lives during the devastating tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma on Monday.

Years ago, the residents of Moore would have likely had no idea the tornado was coming until the twister was sighted, giving people barely a few minutes' notice. But thanks to advancements in technology, tornadoes rarely sneak up on anyone anymore.

In fact, forecasters as early as Wednesday began sounding the alarm for a potential severe weather breakout on Sunday and Monday. And, on Friday, the forecasts became more specific. On Monday, a Tornado Watch, which indicates conditions are right for tornadic development, was issued at 1:10 p.m. for much of Oklahoma, including the greater Oklahoma City area.

Weather "What does ''EF-4'' mean?' and other tornado questions answered

By Scott Sistek Published: May 20, 2013 at 4:10 PM PDT

With tornadoes in the news lately I figured it'd be a good time to post answers to some frequently asked questions about the powerful storms:

What does "EF-4" mean?

WIth the devastating tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, you'll be hearing a lot of about "EF" ratings -- that's from the Enhanced Fujita Scale that rates tornadoes on a scale of 0 to 5, 5 being the strongest.

The Moore tornado was given a preliminary rating of EF-4 ("Devastating") with estimated tornadic wind speeds of up to 200 mph, although many are thinking that rating could be increased to an EF-5 ("Incredible") once more damage assessment is done.

Sadly, it's not the first time Moore has had to deal with such a catastrophic storm. On May 3, 1999, Moore was struck by an EF-5 tornado which recorded the strongest wind speed ever registered near Earth's surface. this map provided by the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma shows just how close the two tracks were.

Weather Northern Lights peek out in Eastern Washington (Photo Gallery)

By Scott Sistek Published: May 18, 2013 at 9:57 AM PDT Last Updated: May 19, 2013 at 12:55 AM PDT

As we mentioned in the blog Thursday, there's a particularly active sunspot on the sun right now.

It had, as its opening salvo while starting to face the Earth, unleashed a moderately strong solar flare that reached us late Friday, triggering a display of the Northern Lights that reached as far south as Colorado.

Weather Northern Lights to be visible around the Pacific Northwest soon?

By Scott Sistek Published: May 16, 2013 at 11:33 AM PDT Last Updated: May 16, 2013 at 1:58 PM PDT

The sun has been getting quite active lately, with one sun spot in particular giving off several explosive flares this week, and it could eventually bring some brilliant displays of the Northern Lights to the Pacific Northwest.

Since Monday, Sunspot AR1748 has already given off four "X-class" solar flares -- X being the most powerful class of flares that have potential to disrupt radio and satellite signals. In fact, that flare has given off more X-class flares than every other sunspot of the past year combined, according to spaceweather.com.

Up to this point, the spot has been on a part of the sun not directly facing Earth, so the flares have been directed away from our planet and not really giving us much of an effect.

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