Charlie Phillips
- Nov 26, 2022
Sunrises, Sunsets and Solstices
We all know the shortest day of the year is the winter solstice. The 2022 winter solstice will fall on December 21, and Seattle will only...
Charlie Phillips
- Oct 23, 2022
The 2022–2023 Winter Forecast
The 2022–2023 Winter will be the third consecutive winter with a La Nina in the Tropical Pacific. During a La Nina, the...
Charlie Phillips
- Mar 28, 2022
La Niña Persists in Pacific
Most La Niñas and El Niños peak in December or early January. In fact, El Niño was first called “El Niño de Navidad” (translated from...
Charlie Phillips
- Sep 2, 2021
Record Drought Impacting the Pacific Northwest
The Western US is currently experiencing some of the most severe drought conditions on record. You can see it in the brown grass across...
Charlie Phillips
- Feb 1, 2021
Reviewing the January 12–13, 2021 Windstorm
Late on January 12th and early on January 13th, a surprise windstorm ravaged the Pacific Northwest, knocking out power to 559,000...
Charlie Phillips
- Dec 2, 2020
La Niña Strengthens, Good Ski Season Expected
If you looked east across Lake Washington on one of our few sunny days this past month, you’ve probably seen the gorgeous, snow-tipped...
Charlie Phillips
- Nov 1, 2020
The Blob Reaches Our Shores
The “Blob” first entered the Pacific Northwest meteorological lexicon way back in 2014, when UW atmospheric sciences professor and...
Charlie Phillips
- Oct 1, 2020
Fire and Wind
If you told me that a Labor Day windstorm brought 12 consecutive hours of sustained hurricane-force winds to Timberline ski resort on Mt....
Charlie Phillips
- Sep 1, 2020
La Niña Arrives, Blob Strengthens
Global sea-surface-temperature (SST) anomalies as of 8/14/2020. Note the massive Blob in the A Northeast Pacific and a developing La Nina...
Charlie Phillips
- Sep 1, 2020
The Fire Outlook for 2020
This article missed the June issue by just a few days, and we felt it was important enough that we print it in September; we can already...
Charlie Phillips
- May 2, 2020
Less Traffic: Cleaner Skies?
With the substantial decrease in travel due to stay-at-home orders in response to the coronavirus, many urban areas have seen declines in...
Charlie Phillips
- Apr 1, 2020
Will Spring Slow the Coronavirus?
One of the most well-known aspects of influenza, more commonly known as the ‘flu,’ is that it occurs in yearly, seasonal outbreaks, with...