Pacific Northwest - Is our weather on the decline? (1 Viewer)

[Jeff]

This is actually directed more towards Vancouver, but I've noticed in the last few years that our spring/summer weather is really on the decline. I've lived here for 10 years, moving from the Toronto area, and from 1992 up until a few years back we have always had a pretty decent spring, and a good dose of summer weather spanning most of July, pretty much all of August and most of September. June has always sucked, go figure, being more like Feburary with the exception of a couple years.

Anyway, our spring has been much cooler lately and we are lucky to get 5 warm, sunny days. And we get more like a month and a half of summer weather.

I've been sort of a studier of weather over the years and I've noticed that systems or clouds are coming at us from other directions, more often, and a good ridge of high pressure in the Pacific ocean, where most of the nasty weather comes from, dosn't mean we will have clear skies. For the last week here, for example, we've had a good ridge of high pressure in the pacific ocean but we are getting bombarded by weather coming down from Alaska. That's very strange for this time of year.

Last summer, in the second week of August, I noticed an odd trend where there would be zero systems in the Pacific Ocean and a strong ridge of high pressure but yet the tail end of the previous system that was over us, which should have been on it's way to the east, just stalled and sat over us for an entire week, swirling around and around like a whirl pool. This gave us a week of rainy weather in which used to be our rock solid month of weather. This same, odd, trend happened again in early September.

Anyway, maybe this type of weather has been happening here for decades, I just happened to move out here when it was unusually good. I will say, I'm really starting to miss dry, muggy, 35 degree weather in Southern Ontario. Never thought I'd miss that.

Jeff

 

[NickSo]

Its been looking like crap the last couple of days... c'mon, i want sun!!!

 

[Max Leung]

Hey it snowed in Edmonton and Calgary 3 times in the past month. Cry baby.

 

[Jeff]

Well, it's official. The weather is screwed. I live in North Vancouver and it's snowing here, this morning!!!
I don't think we can call it "Lotus Land" here anymore.
Jeff

 

[DennisHP]

The summers in Oregon come later and leave earlier then they used to as well. So much for global warming. I think it's all cyclical.

 

[KyleS]

I agree also this spring has not been that warm and I cant wait for the summers. It used to be that the summers started in May and went through to September and even early October in Oregon but not its looking like June through early September if we are lucky this year. :frowning:
KyleS

 

[Sarah S]

No one ever said that Global Warming would mean consistent good or even warm weather; just that the average temperature of the earth would increase.

I have to wonder if the strange weather this year (and last year) aren't related to global warming..causing the weather patterns to change. Or maybe we'd trade weather with the southern hemisphere...so that it will be winter in the summer & have our warmest weather in the winter. Too early to tell.

 

[LarryDavenport]

The winter/spring of 1998/99 was really wet and lasted until almost August. I think between November of 1998 through July 1999 there were a total of 9 sunny days. The summer of 2000 was really nice and there were many sunny days. 2001 was OK but there weren't many really nice days all summer. I have heard that the summer of 2002 is supposed to be the hottest in years, but as everyone in the Pacific Northwest knows, our weathermen can't predict the weather more than a couple hours in advance.

 

[DennisHP]

everyone in the Pacific Northwest knows, our weathermen can't predict the weather more than a couple hours in advance.

So how does ANYONE know whether it will be wamer or colder in 100 years?

 

[DennisHP]

everyone in the Pacific Northwest knows, our weathermen can't predict the weather more than a couple hours in advance.

 

[PatrickM]

I've been here my entire life virtually (35 plus years) and its changed since the 70's but its different every year. The El Nino year was really great for Vancouver and crappy for almost everyone else in North America.

I do remember long stretches of summer back in the 80's where we wouldn't get rain for 40 days or so but I also remember super hot summers in the mid 90's (like the year I got married) where it was blazing for days on end.

Its been cool here lately but its been relatively sunny and it also depends on what part of Greater Vancouver you reside in. If your in Lynn Valley you get rain 247 days of the year. If you live in Ladner you get over a 100 days less I believe.

Pat

 

[LarryDavenport]

I seem to remember gorowing up in the Olympia area back in the late 60's to late 80's, that we had more snow on the ground than we have had lately (lately being the last 10-15 years).