Dogs hate rain

Unhappy Northwest Dogs ⭐⭐

• Ok, maybe not all dogs hate rain but they don't seem to be in a hurry to get in the rain like they would a pond or water hose

• An atmospheric river is pointed at Oregon today, showing up on satellite

• The center for Western Weather and Water Extremes even forecasts the strength and impact of atmospheric rivers, giving this one a category 5 along the Oregon coast

• NOAA has an easy to read explanation on atmospheric rivers

• Flood watches are issued through Wednesday morning in western Oregon and western Washington with impacts of rising rivers and land slides

• A lot of water will fall with this warmer system, and higher amounts are expected for the coastal range as well as the Cascades

• Winds will gust 65-75 mph at the coast

• Sneaker waves happen with high surf here, dragging debris inland and surprising wave watchers

• The weather returns to regularly scheduled light rain later this week

Why Departure Highs are Neat ⭐

• If you look at this temperature map, you may first see orange and green colors of "cool" and "warm" highs today

• If you look at the numbers, you will find 40s and 50s across the middle of the country; the highs are almost the same

• This is why I love using departures to tell the story of national high temperatures; the change from seasonable averages can tell more about what to expect than the actual numbers

• Also, temperatures have different feels depending on the season, 55° is terrific in winter but brutal in summer in my experience

• Forecasting 10 to 30 degrees from climatological averages tells a lot about the weather ahead

⚡The billion dollar weather disasters of 2020 reveal a lot about the past year

⚡Here's a cute cartoon on warming oceans due to climate change

East vs West Christmas

Coal in the East ⭐⭐

• A winter storm is impacting the East Coast

• This storm comes with severe weather in the Southeast with a risk of gusty winds blowing around yard inflatables and some tornadoes

• It comes with snow just west of the Appalachians making travel for all but flying reindeer difficult

• Strong winds are also a problem in case electricity was not on your wish list to Santa

• Rain will be heavy and flash flood watches are issued across the Northeast

• To top it off, temperatures are chilly behind the storm with morning lows down in the teens

• Sorry East

Toys in the West ⭐

• A beautiful ridge has set up like a rainbow over the West

• Sure the dry weather ends later tomorrow, but by next week rain could even be into southern California

• Hazards-wise, there is not much in the forecast for the West

• Given drier conditions than after in the past three months, some rain would be welcomed

⚡ Everyone wants a white Christmas but with power on and roads clear.

⚡ NWS has a new radar page; I'm not sure I'm a fan of it and I might like the WRH data viewer instead.

Winter is... well, here

One Storm Leaves ⭐

• Typical of this time of year, storm systems are bringing winter storms from west to east

• One is bringing a few snow showers to the Northeast today

• Winds are gusty in the Northeast today as the system departs

Another Storm Enters ⭐⭐

• The next storm takes a common path, starting in the South and moving up the East coast

• The path of low pressure areas along the East Coast has a big impact on storms

• Snow, rain, coastal flooding, and wind can all be shaped by the path of the storm

• This system has a lot of questions for the Saturday track with potential for inland Northeast snow... or not

• Let the models do the talking, they are not in total agreement yet

⚡ Welcome to December, here is a map of the average coldest day of the year.

⚡ Is the sun setting early? Yes, yes it is.