TODAY'S BIG WEATHER STORY IS...

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

ROCKET LAUNCH PRODUCES NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS:

This morning, August 5th, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying the AsiaSat 8 telecommunications satellite. About an hour and a half after the 4 AM launch, electric-blue clouds appeared over Orlando FL:

"These clouds appeared just before sunrise," says photographer Mike Bartils.

These are, essentially, man-made noctilucent clouds (NLCs). Water vapor in the exhaust of the rocket crystallized in the high atmosphere, creating an icy cloud that turned blue when it was hit by the rays of the morning sun. Years ago, space shuttle launches produced similar displays.

Natural NLCs form around Earth's poles when water vapor in the mesospherecrystalizes around meteor smoke. Sometimes they spread as far south as Colorado and Utah, but rarely or never Florida. Electric-blue over the Sunshine State requires a rocket launch, and that's what happened today. Browse the realtime photo gallery for more images of the Falcon 9 launch:

Expect delays over Snoqualmie Pass

By Carol Zinke Published: Aug 5, 201 Mon.-Thurs. both lanes closed 7:30-8:30p.m.

SEATTLE, WA - You may experience road closures if you plan on heading to Seattle during the next few days.

Starting at 7:30 each night, Monday through Thursday, lanes will be closed in both directions on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass. Rock blasting crews will be at work.

Washington Department of Transportation leaders said closures should last no longer than one hour,but longer delays are possible.

For more traffic alerts, visit: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/whatshappening

Power Outage

By Carol Zinke Published: Aug 4, 2014 2,000 Clarkston residents lost power on Sunday.

Lewiston, ID: More than 48,000 people were affected by the outage. That number is now down to about 33,000. Crews from Avista in the Valley are up in Spokane right now helping to restore the power.

Small power outages happen throughout the year, but what should you do to prepare for a long power outage like this one?

"You want to make sure you're prepared," said Avista Regional Business Manager, Mike Tatko. "That means having water on-hand, nonperishable food items, a manual can opener. Also, you want to make sure your cell phone is charged and you have a battery-powered radio. That way you can check the status of power outages and the weather status."

Tatko predicted 95-percent of power had been restored by 10:00 Monday night.

There was also an outage in Clarkston on Sunday, but it wasn't caused by the storm. Tatko said a bird got into a substation on Pound Lane, which caused 2,000 people to lose power but everything in Clarkston has been restored.

Friday, August 1, 2014

27 days to Cougar football: What is your guide to tailgating in Pullman?

By Mark Sandritter

Food, drinks, and more. What are your do's and don't's for tailgating at a WSU football game?

Washington State won't play its first true home game until Week 3 of the season. That makes the game more than six weeks away, but that doesn't mean people aren't already getting prepared. Tailgating season is right around the corner and depending on how into it you are, the preparations may have already begun.

The first WSU game I ever attended, a fan told me "tailgating isn't an act, it's an art." People take it very seriously. There are tailgating rankings and even websites devoted to tailgating news.

With the way Washington State played football during the last decade, the tailgate was often times the highlight of gameday. I know there are several CougCenter members who are weekly tailgators, so let's use this opportunity to create a master guide of sorts to tailgating in Pullman. Tricks of the trade, must haves, whatever comes to mind. Even beyond the guide, what are some of your staples of a tailgate? Food you always make, drinks you always have, even music you always play.

What's your guide to tailgating in Pullman?http://www.cougcenter.com/2014/7/28/5945945/wsu-cougar-football-washington-state

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Photos: Majestic thunderstorm lights up over Mt. Hood

Majestic thunderstorm forms over Mt. Hood Photos of a dramatic thunderstorm taken in the Columbia River Gorge July 22, 2014 at sunset. Photos are courtesy Darlisa Black, Starlisa.net.

click link above for photo series of storm development

http://www.komonews.com/weather/blogs/scott/Photos-Majestic-thunderstorm--269084221.html

Why Seattle doesn't see Eastern Wash. wildfire plumes until the afternoon

By Scott Sistek Published: Jul 30, 2014

Local social media posts have been perking up each afternoon noting tall plumes of clouds over the Cascades. What you're seeing are smoke and the "pyrocumulus" clouds created by the wildfires burning in Eastern Washington. The heat from the fires is its own engine for creating rising air that cools and condenses into clouds.
But why don't we normally see those clouds over here until the afternoon?

There is a bit of an inversion in play in Eastern Washington, caused by sinking air aloft from high pressure and cooler air forming near the ground at night from clear skies allowing the day's heat to radiate back into space.

The morning weather balloon launched in Spokane Wednesday showed the temperature at the surface was 63 but was a whopping 84 degrees at 3,000 feet. It was a little warmer in Central Washington near the wildfires this morning, but you get the idea. Wildfire Plume over Eastern Washington

But as the day -- and the ground -- warms up, eventually this process reverses and the lid goes 'poof' allowing the hot air and smoke to roar to the skies, creating a vertical plume visible across much of the state.

amazing video of wildfire smoke movement http://www.komonews.com/weather/blogs/scott