It’s not one of the sexier meteorological parameters, but some people ARE into pressure. If you have an old-style barometer, you may have noticed it’s very high today. In fact it’s the highest we’ve ever seen in December here in Portland and it’s never been higher at Astoria. Since the NWS put that image out on their FB/Twitter page, the pressure has risen to 30.80″ at PDX. The meteorological world (and most of the rest of the regular world) uses millibars though. At 10am it’s 1043.4 mb at PDX and still rising. You can see the monthly/yearly records for PDX:
So why aren’t we seeing a damaging wind event? Extreme high or low pressure doesn’t have a whole lot to do with wind speed. That’s because wind is produced by the DIFFERENCE in pressure from one spot to another. Air moves from high to low pressure so if all of the Pacific Northwest is seeing high pressure, the differences across the terrain aren’t as high as a strong high pressure to the east and low pressure to the west (to produce strong east wind for example). This time around as the strong arctic high pressure moved south out of Canada, it pretty much descended right down over the Pacific Northwest instead of sliding down mainly east of the Cascades. The pressure gradient from The Dalles to Portland is only around 6 millibars this morning…weaker than we would see in just an average east wind episode that no news media would be interested in. In fact that gradient is probably typical for about 25% of the days from late November through February here.
High temps today will end up in the mid 30s, then with a calming wind (away from the Gorge) tonight we should see widespread teens in outlying areas and near 20 in the urban areas away from the wind. Tonight and tomorrow MIGHT be our coldest nights of the winter…we’ll see.
Chief Meteorologist Mark Nelsen
Here in Salmon ID, go ducks! 23 below zero last night, hasn’t been above 0 since I arrived Tuesday. Sis has a ice guest house, beats camping by the frozen frozen Locksa river.
PULL THE BATTERY OUT OF YOUR FÜ©К!ЛҔ PHONE!!! >_<
get a life slim ball
Pretty slick words from someone who obviously has no idea what he’s doing. Go figure it out.
Here’s a clue, oh mighty keyboard warrior: https://fox12weather.wordpress.com/2014/12/26/get-ready-for-the-coldest-week-so-far/comment-page-2/#comment-266769
More pics from my hike the other day to Hamilton Mountain in the gorge 🙂
Great weather for a New Years walk today 40 and sunny. How often does that happen. A day like this in January is truly to be appreciated. so maybe this will be a warmer and drier Winter than normal. Okay so be it. Next month baseball Spring training starts. And by the end of the month of January our sunset is just past 5:30 PM. And just 66 days from today Daylight Savings Time starts. Australia is having a record hot Spring so maybe we have another hot Summer in 2015. Do I have a warm bias. Oh yeah. I live for Summer and don’t ski. So as long as we have enough water for our needs I really don’t care if we have a great ski season. Sorry but I am just being honest. I do love a snowstorm however and if we get one in the valley great. But if we have a warm Winter with no valley snow that’s okay too. As for today I will enjoy the sunshine. Happy New Year one and all, peace.
Another hot summer is a given i don’t see how that wouldn’t happen especially if It’s a el nino summer either way it’s gonna be great.
And yes another silly and I don’t now what im talking about comment, haha
40 degrees is not above average temperatures.
Yeah, as I get older I think I favor the longer, warmer days too.
Reblogged this on rwaltemate and commented:
One other thing to note today is the high pressure! Check this out
I know that no one wants to hear this but…. When I stepped outside into the cool crisp morning air, it sure smelled like spring!
Nah thats just the hangover.
January and look at the long stench of warm 850mb temps. 16 days with no sub freezing and as high as 10C or 50F…
http://wxweb.meteostar.com/sample/sample.shtml?text=KTTD
19.5 for a low here in Battle Ground.
BEA-utiful morning, cold with snow still on the ground. Happy new year 🎉! Inversion developed at Timberline last night. Went from 30F at 9pm to 38F at 10pm, up to 40F at midnight. Hmmm, taking daughter up skiing again. Monday was brutal with 18F when we first showed up with sustained winds and high gusts with blowing snow. Dropped to 14F when we left. Made her first run to the bottom of Pucci chair. Today will be great and spring like, if only we had a 150″ + base now. Weather pattern could once again eat that mtn snowpack down to nail biting amounts again. Maybe February will rebound like last winter.
Oh no! All the pollution from my fireworks are going to intensify global warming!
Happy New Year yall!
Happy New Year!
May all our days be filled with wild and crazy weather!
12/31/2014 Oregon (All) Temperature Summary
Warmest:
High:61 at RED MOUND(1753 ft)
Low: 41 at BROOKINGS(79 ft)
Coldest:
High:9 at KB7DZR Joseph(3984 ft) & EW3547 Seneca(4810 ft) & CW9027 Ukiah(3415 ft)
Low: -25 at Horse Ridge (US (4160 ft )
Largest Diurnal Change: 49 degrees
Sand Creek (US 9 (39/-10 ) (4525 ft )
I think this duck game is going to be closer than expected. We all thought the acc teams were not that good but in bowl games they are doing way better than anticipated. For example: Georgia Tech womped on Mississipi State today.
I was wrong by so many miles!
Snowing in Scottsdale, AZ. A dusting on the ground.
The following is absolutely true: I’m in Phoenix, Arizona ….. and it’s snowing. This is right on the valley floor. Not sticking but the wet flakes are definitely coming down. Only got to 43 deg today and currently 36 …. and snowing.
And you probably went there for warm weather right? Haha
GO DUCKS!!!! Predictions below…….
Oregon 48 FSU 27
Oregon W 35-24
I can go with both Ice’s and Borings prediction. A nail biter one score victory is maybe likely; but I can also see a semi blowout win going away! Go Ducks! (And most definitely because this is a weather forum that we all know and love: Go Winter!!!)
Go Ducks…………….although I might be biased
UO 38-FS 26
Haha flurv
Vall!!
Ducks 31
Noles 27
Eugene 18 degree low.
Models aren’t looking very good long-term, and they predicted too cold the cold temps of the cold air mass that we now are in. I don’t see anything snowy/icy in the next 3-4 weeks. The only chance we would have is if precipitation arrived Friday night/Saturday morning and surface/850mb temps were cold enough to produce snow since we’d probably be too warm for freezing rain. I’m not excited at all about this since there’s probably less than a 10% chance of anything frozen this week, but I’m saying that the biggest chance for snow in the next month will probably be Friday night/Saturday, and that is a less than 10% chance, so this upcoming month is looking poor for wintry weather in the lowlands.
Well how good tis it looking for mountain snow?
This could all change in a day! We’ll see.
It’s looking bad for mountain snow @boring oregon haha, GFS through hour 240 hardly has any snow for the mountains and the GEM is worse
If anything falls Friday night it’ll be ZR. Upper levels were already warming today.
Stop already. Anything beyond 7-8 days is possible. Models can and do change . lots of winter to go yet
Stop discussing the models? So what do we do then? Only discuss them when they show something you like?
Hes just sayin it’s too far out to tell.
Thanks Boring. That’s all I was saying. Can’t give up on a month that hasn’t even begun yet
What an odd night. Down to 21 around 130, up to 27, than back down to 21 around 8am.
Bottomed out at 24 here, my prediction of 23 was pretty close.
http://www.climatedepot.com/2014/12/30/global-sea-ice-breaks-all-time-record-high-antarctic-sea-ice-also-breaks-all-time-record-high/
Well global warming may cause an ice age too, because of logic…
The real report, unbiased.
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
And how do you know that is not biased huh?
Good point. There could be some hidden agenda behind everything and anything. This webpage doesn’t seem to be pushing government conspiracy or the opposite. Just reporting scientific data. At least we think ha ha.
Even though the high clouds killed my low temp a bit (19), they sure livened up the last sunrise of 2014!
WOW!
Simply stunning, Tyler.
The last gasp of a dying year.
Soooo beautiful! Thanks, Erik.
Cloudy, cool 47 deg here in Phoenix. Had a bit of rain early this morning and now just cool for a couple days with highs around 50. Warm weather returns AFTER I leave! Enjoyed some sunny mid-60’s yesterday in Yuma. Sat outside an In-n-Out there for a good hour.
Bottomed out at 18 at 0400, now up to 22 degF. A bit of cloud cover apparently choked off radiational cooling.
Was 21F here in Aumsville but it has gone up to 23F a few minutes ago.
Modified Artic Blast Fail! 🙂 Funny how a few days ago models were showing this to be a modified Artic blast with widespread highs around 32F even though I knew there was no support for it.
The interior Columbian Basin needs to be super cold for those kinds of temps to filter in over here when there is east winds.
Still a cold wave
…i’m entering hour 56 of below freezing temps…..
12/30/2014 Oregon (All) Temperature Summary
Warmest:
High:52 at Gold Beach (US 1( 60 ft)
Low: 39 at Brookings Airpor(459 ft)
Coldest:
High:4 at CROW FLAT(5172 ft)
Low: -24 at Horse Ridge (US (4160 ft )
Largest Diurnal Change: 37 degrees
CRAZYMAN FLAT (25/-12 ) (6100 ft )
Wow -24 thats cold.
What am I seeing on satalite coming down into wa state?
Just high clouds from a weak short wave, im sure chris or mat will give me hell for saying that because I post silly comments. lol
This blog needs to have a type of baby monitor for some of those people Brian.
Currently 21 degrees
Mark made me feel old when he said “old style barometer.”
Currently 28F here. I’m probably going to have trouble getting my car started tomorrow. It’s about right now that I wish I hadn’t skipped out on not putting gas…. >_<
It is 22° here my truck usually starts just fine though.
Down to 27F now. First car… 😛 Got me through college but it doesn’t like the cold, low gas combo and for whatever reason I never learn lol!
Brrrrrr. Already -21 at Horse Ridge:
http://www.tripcheck.com/popups/Cam.asp?camera=2418&curRegion=5
Pressure does it for some folks I suppose…oh Mark haha
Last night was borderline for snow making 28 til 11pm so I turned it off. Tonight much better 19F and snow is nice powdery variety not frozen ice pellets. Interesting ALL the ingredients that must come together so the water can turn into snow. Have it set up on my kids play structure and cannot wait til they see it tomorrow! Happy new year!
A great day for a hike! It was windy (not extreme) but very cold. I don’t remember being so cold on a hike. I even had long johns on.
Thats a great pic.
Looks amazing, nice climbing pitch I might add.
I was amazed at how quickly the ice has developed up there.
That explains– I knew the dry air mass was affecting my sinuses, couple that with high barometric pressure, and it feels like my head is going to implode. I’d never make it as a deep-sea diver.
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/12/highest-pressures-in-northwest-history.html
I knew it wasn’t all in my head ( no pun intended)
Actually, it IS all in your head – that’s the problem…
Already down to 25°f here if it keeps dropping it might drop into the teens!
Here, too, but there’s too much water around me for it to get much colder. Typical temperature curve on cold clear nights where I am is for it to drop quickly at sundown then very slowly the rest of the night. Probably will bottom out around 23.
Late November’s cold snap was colder up this way (20). The light dusting of snow probably helped in that department. I don’t think I’ll see the teens this winter. Probably just as well, given how badly the madrones got blasted by the cold last winter. They need a break.
Its down to 23°f now the cooling has slowed a bit though.
Seems that elevation temps are pretty true to an “arctic” air mass.
http://www.santiampassskipatrol.org/wx/weather.htm
That would be wind chill of about -27 F
And it is interesting…
1049.6mb (30.98″) in The Dalles. Falling now.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ysr-xMMvquI
This song says it all
Yes, yes it does. And neon light by Blake Shelton is us goin from einter to spring.
Winter*
30.75 here it was 30.76 at its max but still very high nonetheless.
And it looks like it’s going to be dry through the remainder of the year so my rainfall totall for December was 4.92in.
I’m curious how strong the winds would be through the Gorge if the center of this record high pressure had set up over -say- Pendleton, and we had a low sweep up the coast past Astoria?
One can only dream…
Uh lets just say devastating.
I believe we have a photo-shopped image that could represent then pending apocalypse associated with that
Might look something like this???IMG_6116.JPG
Nevermind can’t get it to work:-/
I’d wager this house would fail….
http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/straw-house-survives-the-test-of-hurricane-force-winds.html
“house”
30.83 @ my weather station in NW Hillsboro
Under pressure lol 8 inches of snow here in bend
Might want to check on Karl….his chest wall may be crushed by the high pressure there and may need assistance with breathing
Thats slightly depressing.
You didnt have to post that particular photo,
Sure he did – it’s W7’s schtick.
I’m sorry, did that picture hurt your feelings? I thought it was perfectly within the context of what Paul was saying about this high pressure centered over The Dalles.
Maybe this one will help clear things up for you a bit?
Don’t read too much into that, now…
Well thats not what i was talking about but you can post that for no reason.
And that is extremely wrong for you to post that in here.
Was it? Is that simply because you disagree with it?
Quit whining.
Alright i guess i might have to post something that you’d hate.
Sorryhttp://theconservativetreehouse.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/darren-wilson.jpg
Actually, looking at the weather roundups, the Dalles has highest surface pressure (SLP) of any station in OR, WA, ID, MT (There’s got to be one higher in MT but have not seen one)
Interesting to note that The Dalles has higher pressure reading than surrounding sites in Oregon/Washington, probably the damming of cold air against the Cascades