Washington Weather - Daily Weather pics and reports!

[MechAndy]

Another view.

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

Nice lazy morning here.
Very calm and peaceful.
Looked up from my coffee and saw we had visitors again.

Diana do your birds hang out together?
That is a hunting perch.
I’m not sure what to make of this odd behavior unless there is a nest somewhere here.
We can’t see all of our treetops here.

I think they do often hang out together except this time of year. Most eagle pairs should have young eaglets in the nest right now and while they’re young one of the parents is always at the nest. And good reason too. Just yesterday afternoon and ours had to fend off an attack by a hawk who was after the baby.

Your pair there may be a new couple who are still courting this year. Or maybe their eaglet is now old enough to leave alone for a little while.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by dav51lin

it will soon be that we have had 7 months of winter weather this has been the worst ever so called spring- just more winter no spring

Meanwhile, the Colorado forum has a thread up about the endangered Colorado River, and what that means for the water supply for 7 states, and the electrical generating capacity for several states.

Count your blessings. Wallow in your blessings; you never know how long you'll have them.

And remember: more rain means less fire.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

It depends what type of astronomy pics. I shoot widefield astro-landscapes. Here's a few examples form here in the PNW.



There are great websites covering all the basics from equipment, to technique to post processing in additions to books, classes, etc... It really depends what type you are attempting to capture - Deep Space or Widefield. Regardless, if you enjoy the stars, you'll have fun learning to capture them. You can never stop learning.

Derek

Those stargazing photos are ones you've taken since moving to the PNW? I ask, because I remember you had a couple on your website, back when you were a CA resident. I guess it's a fun subject to capture. Do you read star charts, to know when the optimal times are to capture certain formations?

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Those stargazing photos are ones you've taken since moving to the PNW? I ask, because I remember you had a couple on your website, back when you were a CA resident. I guess it's a fun subject to capture. Do you read star charts, to know when the optimal times are to capture certain formations?

Hi Ruth, yes, I took those photos after moving here. And you're correct about ones I've shot in other places including CA. I've been fascinated with the night sky for a while now.

There are lots of resources including apps to plan for the right nights to shoot. Here's a great resource with my favorite 2022 chart. HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH THE MILKY WAY + 2022 VIEWING CHART!

Lastly, here's another one from Cannon Beach which has great dark skies since its far enough away from big city light pollution like most of the PNW coast.





Derek

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

And remember: more rain means less fire.

That sounds like it would be true, but it's not always. More rain now means cheatgrass (invasive plant) in Eastern WA grows faster and that is fuel for summer fires once the weather dries out. Since WA has a Mediterranean type climate with summer drought, lots of rain in the spring can actually cause more fire danger later by increasing plant growth.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by mayfair

That sounds like it would be true, but it's not always. More rain now means cheatgrass (invasive plant) in Eastern WA grows faster and that is fuel for summer fires once the weather dries out. Since WA has a Mediterranean type climate with summer drought, lots of rain in the spring can actually cause more fire danger later by increasing plant growth.

That's an interesting and seemingly contradictory thing. Obviously, more rain is generally a good thing especially when dealing with drought conditions like we are in eastern WA. Though greatly improved after recent rains, the eastside is still under drought.



-- https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Curre...onitor.aspx?WA


With regards to spring rain affecting fires, it both helps and hurts in some locations. It helps the forests keeping trees less dried out while causing more fuel in some of the drier areas out east. Alternatively, without the rain you would have more severe draught with less fuel to burn.

Can Rain Cause More Fire?

Derek

[MtnSurfer]

Today was a wild day of mixed weather with rain off and on and then clearing in the afternoon. Here are a few pics from an afternoon paddle that ended in a colorful sunset.





















Derek

[MtnSurfer]

Some pics from today's pleasant spring weather in Vancouver.














Derek

[Botev1912]

The Portland area definitely has more sun than the Seattle area and even more than places north of Everett. This spring has been the worst I can remember. There hasn't been a single 70F day in May and only one year (1962) in history never reached 70F in May.