FOG & ......RIME?

Our recent stagnant weather pattern has really taken hold of the Inland Northwest. ManY were socked in again today with fog, while others experienced widespread lower clouds. And the fog has been depositing quite a bit of rime on the trees, power lines, and grass due to the air being very moist and the temperatures at or below freezing. Will this weather pattern end soon. Maybe not soon, but it has to come to end at some time, right? The dominant ridge may get nudged east or west, but it won't be going far. That means many valleys will likely see a lot of the same things for several days. If you want a change, the mountains have been enjoying mostly clear skies with above average temperatures. Temperatures at 3500 to 4000 feet have been in the 40s to near 50 degrees at times.

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Julia’s 7 Day Weather Forecast for Lewiston, ID

Mostly Sunny with patchy morning fog and a slow warming trend

MON: Patchy morning fog then Partly Cloudy, morning low temperature in the upper 20s, afternoon high temperature in the upper 30s.

TUE: Patchy morning fog the Partly Sunny, morning low upper 20s afternoon highs mid 30s.

WED: Partly Cloudy, morning low near 30 degrees, afternoon high low 40s.

THURS: Patchy morning fog then Partly Sunny, morning low near 30, afternoon high low 40s.

FRI: Patchy morning fog then Mostly Sunny, lows upper 20s, highs near 40.

SAT & SUN: Sunny, lows near freezing, highs mid to upper 40s.

Inland Northwest Weather Blog

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Does a dry winter lead to a bad fire season?

Common sense would suggest that if the fuels begin the fire season on a dry note that should increase the risk of fires later in the year. But is that necessarily true? Before we address that notion, lets review the weather pattern thus far this water year and what the weather looks like for the remainder of the winter. For climate purposes in the western U.S., the water year is defined as the 12-month period beginning in October. Since October, the western U.S. has generally been affected by a persistent ridge of high pressure fixed just off the coast. Meanwhile, the remainder of the U.S. has seen a rather persistent trough of low pressure. http://inlandnorthwestweather.blogspot.com/2014/01/does-dry-winter-lead-to-bad-fire-season.html

13 Fun Facts about Clouds

1. It takes somewhere between a few minutes and an hour for clouds to be created.

2. There are 3 categories of clouds, depending on their height from the ground, low clouds, medium clouds and high clouds.

3. Loud clouds are normally made up of water droplets and have a base under 2,000 meters. 
- See more http://13-fun-facts.blogspot.com/2011/05/13-fun-facts-about-clouds.html

Lewiston, Lapwai, Culdesac - 45mph gusts may cause damage, outages

* LOCATIONS: LEWISTON, LAPWAI, CULDESAC, PECK, COEUR D`ALENE, POST FALLS, HAYDEN, WORLEY, GIFFORD, SPOKANE, CHENEY, DAVENPORT, ROCKFORD

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
SAT JAN 11 2014

* WINDS: SOUTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH

* TIMING: WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT WHILE SLOWLY
DECREASING.

* IMPACTS: STRONG WINDS COULD LEAD TO SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES
AND MINOR PROPERTY DAMAGE. STRONG WINDS COULD ALSO LEAD TO
TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES.

65mph gusts may cause outages for Clarkston & Palouse

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
SAT JAN 11 2014
...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM SUNDAY...

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF CLARKSTON, UNIONTOWN, GENESEE, MOSCOW, PULLMAN, PLUMMER...POTLATCH, COLFAX, KAMIAH, CRAIGMONT, NEZPERCE, WINCHESTER
POMEROY, ROSALIA, LA CROSSE, OAKESDALE, TEKOA

* WINDS: WEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH. THE ALPOWA AND POMEROY AREA COULD EXPERIENCE GUSTS OF 65 MPH OVERNIGHT.

* LOCATIONS: THE EXPOSED TERRAIN OF THE PALOUSE AND CAMAS PRAIRIE AS WELL AS THE HIGH TERRAIN NEAR ALPOWA SUMMIT WILL EXPERIENCE THE STRONGEST WINDS. THE CLARKSTON AREA WILL BE SOMEWHAT PROTECTED FROM STRONG WINDS ALTHOUGH GUSTS TO 45 MPH ARE POSSIBLE.

* TIMING: WINDS WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE NIGHT AND SLOWLY DECREASE SUNDAY MORNING

* IMPACTS: STRONG WINDS COULD LEAD TO SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES AND TREE DAMAGE. STRONG WINDS COULD ALSO LEAD TO TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES.

Giant Solar Flare Creates Brilliant Auroras and Tech Trouble

Strong Geomagnetic Storm may interrupt radio/TV, power grids-An intense coronal mass ejection (giant solar flare) observed Tuesday is expected to cause strong geomagnetic storming late Thursday into Friday. Geomagnetic storms on Earth can impede the operation of electrical grids and temporarily damage radio and satellite telecommunications. The NWS Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) continues to closely monitor and update forecasts and impacts as required. http://ow.ly/srlouhttp://ow.ly/i/4fpmj