is the PNW drying up? (Alger: moving, rich, horse)

[jbgusa]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

It gets dry every summer. Always has, probably always will.

And I don't know about getting warmer. There is a petrified tropical forest just outside of Bend Oregon, so maybe it isn't global warming, maybe it is returning to normal after a long cold spell.

I think it's more likely random. Every summer, just about, a high-pressure ridge sets up somewhere and just sits. Summers such as 1988, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2005, and 2010 were basically one long heat wave in the Northeast albeit with a few breaks. In 2001 chunks of these highs kept on sliding east, creating short but intense heat spikes. That's why the sky was so blue on September 11, 2001 until something ruined it. Early that summer New York City hit 103°, quite hot for mid-August. This summer the West, especially the Northwest are the targets, and western Texas is on the cool side of the ridge.

It moves around from summer to summer.

[rkcarguy]

I think the warmer weather on average is going to make for more wild swings in weather, we will probably see more heavy precipitation events and flooding this fall.

[Taz22]

If the expectation is more rain in winter and hotter, dryer summers, it’s bad news. Winter already has a ton of rain and we don’t need hotter, dryer summers than we already have. The climate is already off balance. At first I wanted to blame El Niño or La Niña for the extra rain and sizzling hot, dry summers. It’s easy to feel shortchanged, since I moved here specifically for the gorgeous summers. Pleasant summers are becoming a thing of the past that others got to enjoy in previous decades.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

It gets dry every summer. Always has, probably always will.



And I don't know about getting warmer. There is a petrified tropical forest just outside of Bend Oregon, so maybe it isn't global warming, maybe it is returning to normal after a long cold spell.

I have never heard of a petrified TROPICAL forest in Bend. Yes, lots of petrified forests from various lava flows, but NOT tropical.

[Ruth4Truth]

I keep checking the weather reports for Seattle, when people say it's really hot, but I only get normal temps for this part of the summer. I was expecting to see temps in the 90's, but only mid-to-higher 80's have come up, except for one extreme period earlier this summer. it's typical of Seattle to be in the 80's and even touch 90 from mid-July through August. Cool temps during that period aren't typical, though there occasionally are cool summers, but when those occur, Seattleites usually complain, feeling cheated of their warm summer.

The odd thing now is, that these normal late-summer temps now result in "excessive heat warnings". There never were any such warnings back in the 80's, but there was summer water rationing, a sign of dryer times to come.

[509]

Originally Posted by flyingsaucermom

I have never heard of a petrified TROPICAL forest in Bend. Yes, lots of petrified forests from various lava flows, but NOT tropical.

from history.org

The “trees of stone” are a reminder of the fact that central Washington was once vastly different from what it is today. About 15 million years ago, during what geologists call the Miocene Period, the region was wet and humid, dominated by swamps and shallow lakes surrounded by forests. Moisture-loving trees such as swamp cypress grew on the edges of the lakes, while deciduous trees such as ginkgo, maple, walnut, oak, sycamore, and horse chestnut flourished on the hillsides. Higher elevations supported thick stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, and spruce.

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

I keep checking the weather reports for Seattle, when people say it's really hot, but I only get normal temps for this part of the summer. I was expecting to see temps in the 90's, but only mid-to-higher 80's have come up, except for one extreme period earlier this summer. it's typical of Seattle to be in the 80's and even touch 90 from mid-July through August. Cool temps during that period aren't typical, though there occasionally are cool summers, but when those occur, Seattleites usually complain, feeling cheated of their warm summer.

The odd thing now is, that these normal late-summer temps now result in "excessive heat warnings". There never were any such warnings back in the 80's, but there was summer water rationing, a sign of dryer times to come.

I think I’ve been saying this too :-). With the exception of our earlier heat wave that was a little higher than normal, this is a pretty normal summer! Maybe even wetter than normal. Our pasture stayed greener longer this year than in some years past. I could tell that from pictures in my Facebook memories.

It seems the only thing that’s constant is that people will complain about the weather and say it was never like this before.

Here’s what I think the truth is: When you’re young, hot weather is a good thing! it means swimming and playing in the sprinklers! it meant hanging out at the lake all day for me! Kids tolerate it well and have fun in it. That we grow up to be crabby adults posting on forums doesn’t mean the weather has changed... it means we have. We are less heat tolerant when we actually have jobs and have to work in it and get chores done. It’s not as fun then to have 80 and 90° temperatures. At least until we hit that magic age when we all suddenly want to go to Yuma…

On edit... Still working on the theory :-)

[jertheber]

I've lived in Washington for most of my 76 years, summers were never in the eighties and nineties for any length of time and high temps just weren't very common. The freeway medians in some years got some browning in late August but the rains usually showed up by early fall. But I can honestly say that I've never seen plant life so dried and burnt by the summer sun, and this year we've got a ton of burnt up Hydrangea, Doug Firs, Mambo grass, Hosta, not to mention that most of my neighbors have given up watering and have left their lawns to die out.

The heat comes early now, and stays later than in the past, so yeah, I'd say the west has been drier these past four or five years. The severe browning on the west sides of the Doug Firs is the most alarming observation, and rarely seen on the west side of the Cascade range until this summer. Just the fact that we didn't have or need air conditioning in the PNW is a clue to the changes in Washington weather. Every new apt or home being built here today has AC.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by 509

from history.org

The “trees of stone” are a reminder of the fact that central Washington was once vastly different from what it is today. About 15 million years ago, during what geologists call the Miocene Period, the region was wet and humid, dominated by swamps and shallow lakes surrounded by forests. Moisture-loving trees such as swamp cypress grew on the edges of the lakes, while deciduous trees such as ginkgo, maple, walnut, oak, sycamore, and horse chestnut flourished on the hillsides. Higher elevations supported thick stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, and spruce.

Humidity alone does not equal tropical.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by jertheber

I've lived in Washington for most of my 76 years, summers were never in the eighties and nineties for any length of time and high temps just weren't very common. The freeway medians in some years got some browning in late August but the rains usually showed up by early fall. But I can honestly say that I've never seen plant life so dried and burnt by the summer sun, and this year we've got a ton of burnt up Hydrangea, Doug Firs, Mambo grass, Hosta, not to mention that most of my neighbors have given up watering and have left their lawns to die out.

The heat comes early now, and stays later than in the past, so yeah, I'd say the west has been drier these past four or five years. The severe browning on the west sides of the Doug Firs is the most alarming observation, and rarely seen on the west side of the Cascade range until this summer. Just the fact that we didn't have or need air conditioning in the PNW is a clue to the changes in Washington weather. Every new apt or home being built here today has AC.

Where in WA did you live, though? The 80's were a dry decade, relative to the past, and the summers especially. And summers were HOT for about 6 weeks. If plants are dryer than what you've seen in the past, it's probably due to the dry season starting in May and running through September, which is a change from the past. Throw in an early heat wave or two in May and June, as has become the norm in the last decade or more, and you'll have rainforest trees and plants struggling by mid-summer.