Washington Weather - Daily Weather pics and reports! (Vancouver: air quality, smog)

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Algiz

WOW! Clearly Vancouver, WA (not BC) and for sure South of Seattle is the place to live in the PNW region unless you're totally into long stretches of gray.

I live just up from Seattle, and I've been cradled in dense fog quite a while. I drove to the airport on Sunday morning, and the fog was so bad that despite having driven this road countless times back home after dropping off people, I almost missed getting on I-5 because the sign was obscured by the super dense fog. If I didn't know to get immediately into the far left lane asap, I would have ended up going home via 405. Anyone going back to Seattle from the airport knows what I'm talking about.

Here's what I've been seeing since at least last Saturday, but I think this fog began a bit earlier, can't remember. So yeah, it SO looks like Vancouver WA is where to live unless you love the gray in all its glory. I mean, we get a week without rain in winter, Ah! Taking the dog for a walk is easier w/o the mud, but then we have to wend our way through fog so thick it feels like cutting through foam - three winters.

This is a photo down my front drive. I can't see the tops of my trees, and it's "cleared" now that it's almost 1:00 pm. In the morning when I go out with my dog, it's thick to the ground. Eerie, but cool.

Attachment 234491

Wow, this is one of the big surprises for me in this daily weather thread. I had always heard there really wasn't much difference between the weather in the greater Portland area which includes Vancouver, WA and Seattle. Statistics also show very similar annual rainfall totals which are not very high compared to PNW coastal regions. However, generalized statistics usually do a poor job of reflecting microclimates and other nuances of living in one area vs. the next.

More fog and gray is harder to quantify and is more of a 'boots on the ground' experience. I'm also starting to wonder if this winter has been more of the exception than the rule? But my intuition and experience with southern locations, even if only a couple hundred miles away, is that they will be a little warmer and have a bit more sun. In this case, its simply that the fog we get in the AM lifts and gives way to sun by the afternoon. As a consequence, this may be one of the longest string of sunny days in January I've seen during my relatively short time living here. The overall total days with sun in January have far surpassed those without.

Last night got down to freezing temps and this AM was icy and foggy. However, that began clearing ~ 10:30 AM and danced with the sun until around noon until it completely cleared up. Starting to clear in the AM pic:







Midday clearing which gave way to more blue skies and sun:









Derek

[MtnSurfer]

Here's the long range forecast for the next two weeks in Vancouver. This also looks fairly similar to Seattle, BTW. If this is even remotely accurate it means many more days of winter sun ahead. Keep in mind, I'm also a glass half full guy. So, a partly cloudy day should more accurately be translated into a partly sunny day which I actually prefer over sunny all day all-the-time. The later is boring by contrast. I enjoy some clouds and variation in the sky.





Derek

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Wow, this is one of the big surprises for me in this daily weather thread. I had always heard there really wasn't much difference between the weather in the greater Portland area which includes Vancouver, WA and Seattle. Statistics also show very similar annual rainfall totals which are not very high compared to PNW coastal regions. However, generalized statistics usually do a poor job of reflecting microclimates and other nuances of living in one area vs. the next.

More fog and gray is harder to quantify and is more of a 'boots on the ground' experience. I'm also starting to wonder if this winter has been more of the exception than the rule? But my intuition and experience with southern locations, even if only a couple hundred miles away, is that they will be a little warmer and have a bit more sun. In this case, its simply that the fog we get in the AM lifts and gives way to sun by the afternoon. As a consequence, this may be one of the longest string of sunny days in January I've seen during my relatively short time living here. The overall total days with sun in January have far surpassed those without.

Your thoughts were my reason for for posting this thread, to see actual reports from people.

I have long said that people's memory of weather is very very flawed. I can only say this because I think I have a good memory.

We have a lot of grey in winter.... but it also clears. The grey day is often also the sunny day if you just wait.

We have fog this morning, but I predict by this afternoon, we will see periods of sun and blue sky. Which way should that day be remembered?

Are we pessimists or optimists?

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by Algiz

WOW! Clearly Vancouver, WA (not BC) and for sure South of Seattle is the place to live in the PNW region unless you're totally into long stretches of gray.

I live just up from Seattle, and I've been cradled in dense fog quite a while. I drove to the airport on Sunday morning, and the fog was so bad that despite having driven this road countless times back home after dropping off people, I almost missed getting on I-5 because the sign was obscured by the super dense fog. If I didn't know to get immediately into the far left lane asap, I would have ended up going home via 405. Anyone going back to Seattle from the airport knows what I'm talking about.

Here's what I've been seeing since at least last Saturday, but I think this fog began a bit earlier, can't remember. So yeah, it SO looks like Vancouver WA is where to live unless you love the gray in all its glory. I mean, we get a week without rain in winter, Ah! Taking the dog for a walk is easier w/o the mud, but then we have to wend our way through fog so thick it feels like cutting through foam.

This is a photo down my front drive. I can't see the tops of my trees, and it's "cleared" now that it's almost 1:00 pm. In the morning when I go out with my dog, it's thick to the ground. Eerie, but cool.

Attachment 234491

This is my experience too, north of Seattle. And everyone I know, even out at Snohomish/Monroe and Bellingham is having the same crappy gray, foggy winter experience. Vancouver must be in some kind of banana belt. And this isn't completely unusual. We've had really gray years before especially in the 1990s.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

Your thoughts were my reason for for posting this thread, to see actual reports from people.

I have long said that people's memory of weather is very very flawed. I can only say this because I think I have a good memory.

We have a lot of grey in winter.... but it also clears. The grey day is often also the sunny day if you just wait.

We have fog this morning, but I predict by this afternoon, we will see periods of sun and blue sky. Which way should that day be remembered?

Are we pessimists or optimists?

The fog doesn't clear in the afternoon everywhere, pessimist or optimist- it doesn't care!

[Diana Holbrook]

That’s why we need pictures to prove it. One way or the other.

Here’s our fog this morning… I’ll report back this afternoon. You do the same! :-)

If the sun comes out take a picture! If it doesn’t take a picture of that.

Exact location often does matter. We’re in a river valley and we’re often the last ones to clear up. We’ll often leave our house and within five minutes we’re in blue skies.

[Diana Holbrook]

FWIW.... I actually love foggy mornings. We usually only get fog when it is clear above and not windy. Clear above means it's not raining. Not raining and not windy... is all good. I can be outside in fog. I don't find fog gloomy.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

FWIW.... I actually love foggy mornings. We usually only get fog when it is clear above and not windy. Clear above means it's not raining. Not raining and not windy... is all good. I can be outside in fog. I don't find fog gloomy.

It's packed with bad air from the inversion trapping pollution. There's an air stagnation advisory. Unless you've lived in these day long inversions of smelly fog, you probably don't get it. It's not a nice clean fog like a marine layer that burns off in the afternoon.

https://www.kuow.org/stories/air-sta...n-january-2022

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by mayfair

It's packed with bad air from the inversion trapping pollution. There's an air stagnation advisory. Unless you've lived in these day long inversions of smelly fog, you probably don't get it. It's not a nice clean fog like a marine layer that burns off in the afternoon.

https://www.kuow.org/stories/air-sta...n-january-2022

Yeah - I understand that's what's going on right now this week and it does make a difference. Not unheard of, but not normal damp fog. Believe me though, when I say that in years where we have been pummelled with wind storm after wind storm, I have welcomed a good stagnant air advisory. It's winter.... Some unpleasant thing or another is likely in the forecast. Some times we have to count our blessings even if we didn't know they are blessings.

We don't have power outages going on, we're not shoveling snow, and we're not flooded. OK I'll take fog.

That’s how I look at it anyway.

On edit… afterthoughts - There’s a lot of weather around the country that kills people or wrecks their stuff. I’ll take a little bit of fog.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

Yeah - I understand that's what's going on right now this week and it does make a difference. Not unheard of, but not normal damp fog. Believe me though, when I say that in years where we have been pummelled with wind storm after wind storm, I have welcomed a good stagnant air advisory. It's winter.... Some unpleasant thing or another is likely in the forecast. Some times we have to count our blessings even if we didn't know they are blessings.

We don't have power outages going on, we're not shoveling snow, and we're not flooded. OK I'll take fog.

That’s how I look at it anyway.

On edit… afterthoughts - There’s a lot of weather around the country that kills people or wrecks their stuff. I’ll take a little bit of fog.

This is all very interesting stuff related to different local experiences in WA. I also love the fog in the AM when it clears by afternoon like we've had this week.

Today we started with clear skies in Vancouver and it has continued and will throughout the day. BTW, I don't think Vancouver or Portland are 'banana belts' by any stretch of the imagination. lol





Derek