Weather Blog

Blog originally posted April 23, 2012

What do you do if you're a group of science-minded middle and high school students who want to study the effects of a solar flare?

If you're part of Dr. Tony Phillips' Earth to Sky Calculus class in Bishop, California, you strap a rubber chicken to a weather balloon and send it 115,000 feet up to the Earth's stratosphere -- right on the front door to outer space.

Originally published March 5, 2012

UK photographer James Appleton had a dream: To capture the beauty of the Northern Lights in the same photograph as the awesome power of a volcano.

And when the Fimmvorduhals volcano began erupting in Iceland -- one of the world's best places to see the Northern Lights -- he knew he had to make a very challenging but ultimately rewarding trek to capture both events simultaneously.

Scott's Note: I am taking a little time off so I'll be posting a few of my past blogs to fill in the gap.

Blog originally posted Feb. 7. 2012

How would you like to live in a place that not only has a stunning view of the Gulf of Mexico, but creates its own weather?

Check out this photo of individual fog wisps climbing over a line of tall waterfront condos, taken Sunday afternoon by JR Hott of Panhandle Helicopter in Panama City, Florida.

Even though technically, for Seattle at least, temperatures have been near to even a little above average since the start of February, if you ask around, many would say this spring is well on its way to being the third in a row and fourth of the past six that have gone down as cold and rainy with the frequent cloudy, drizzly days.

Well, long range models suggest this spring is about to make an about-face and warm things up a bit.

The first inkling will be much warmer weather expected for the middle of next week, with highs expected to climb well into the 60s if not some 70s amid plenty of sunshine.

Thousands flock to the Skagit Valley each April during their annual tulip festival to see the breathtaking rows and rows of colorful tulips and other flowers.

As you might imagine, playing host to the world means keeping a keen eye on the weather for all the incoming guests, while at the same time crossing fingers that Mother Nature provides the need sun and rain to make the tulips their very best.

I always wondered if the weather in March and April affected how the tulips would grow each year -- if it's sunny and warm for too long or if it rains for four weeks straight, can it damage the bulbs or, worse yet, wipe out the show? Can you gauge how well and how long the tulips will remain in bloom based on the weather leading up to and during the festival?

Every April, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival draws people from around the world to marvel at the brilliant and colorful display of flowers that grace the region's farmlands.

How did this spot tucked into the northwester corner of Washington become the national capital of tulips and an international sensation? By being blessed with some ingenious farmers and the perfect climate for growing tulips.

"The cool, maritime climate that encompasses this area is perfect for bulb growth," said Brent Roozen, with Roozengaarde Flowers & Bulbs, one of the two main farms in the Skagit Valley that grow tulips.

The Skagit Valley sits roughly on par with the latitude of another famous tulip paradise: Holland. While that country is about 250 miles closer to the North Pole, Holland and the Skagit Valley have remarkably similar climates:

Did you know it was 46 degrees Tuesday afternoon on Orcas Island but a whopping 55 degrees in Renton at the same time?

You know who doesn't care? Texas. Or Oklahoma.

The two states provided the battleground for winter and summer Tuesday afternoon as a monster cold front sliced the states in half, leaving the east side dealing with summertime heat while just a few hundred miles away, it was cold enough to snow.

It's a chilly April evening and fans bundle up as the temperature hovers around 55 degrees, but as Jesus Montero steps to the plate, that 55 will feel more like 71 degrees this year -- or maybe even warmer.

No, the Mariners didn't install a super heater in the stadium, but what they did do is move the fences in for the 2013 season.

Last year, I posted a blog asking the question if our chilly spring was an added factor in the team's offensive struggles. The conclusion was basically: not really, but I did find some interesting data on how cold weather affects home runs.

That got me to wondering this year: With the fences moved in, would that really lessen the impact of Seattle's typically cooler spring and summer climate in relation to the rest of the league?