How Can You Look Away?

A lag in blogging is a sure sign of fair weather here in the Pacific Northwest. Toward the end of last week, when the nimbus clouds were in retreat, it was all I could do to work inside. I brought my books and laptop out onto the back deck, but they were no competition for what was going on upstairs:

April Roars In

  Yesterday afternoon the clouds out-did themselves with the help of the high winds and setting sun. I had been sitting inside most of the afternoon, but around 6 p.m. noticed the light coming in looked "wierd." My front yard was bright with sun, but there were dark, ominous looking clouds in the sky to the east. I stepped out my front door and did my "Holy Cumulonimbus Sky Monster, Batman! yelp, grabbed the car keys and camera and zipped over to an open field near my house to get the big view (above and below).

  The clouds--cumulus congestus and cumulonimbus with anvils--are the result of a dramtic clashing of cold air aloft and sun-warmed air down below. The warm, moist (dare I say "spring" air) created powerful convection and the beautiful display of cumulus clouds.  As they rose toward the bottom of the stratosphere, they "flattened out" and swept horizontally by the high winds.

   University of Washington meteorologist Cliff Mass also took note of the drama and offers a more scientific explanation, some interesting satellite images, and a BIG storm warning on his excellent blog: Cliff Notes   

This photo shows the low cumulonimbus clouds, turrets, and the enormous anvil in the southern sky around 6 p.m.  I just couldn't take my eyes off it as it moved across the sky. I felt I was watching a tidal wave in the form of a cloud.

This close-up of the anvil shows a wispy "curtain" of clouds, which reminded me of a whale's baleen. I think it is actually rain or hail--but I'm not sure. I am sure it's not baleen.

Full Frontal Drama

Full Frontal Drama in the Skies Thursday

Here's the text to explain what happend in Olympia last night (Thursday) according the National Weather Service station at the Olympia Airport in Tumwater.

"SYNOPSIS...A STRONG FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH WESTERN

WASHINGTON THIS EVENING. RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT WILL SPREAD

INLAND THIS MORNING. RAIN WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES IN THE MOUNTAINS

WITH WINDY CONDITIONS ALONG THE COAST AND OVER THE NORTHWEST

INTERIOR. THE SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO PASS LEVEL BY FRIDAY AND

REMAIN LOW THROUGH THE WEEKEND. UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE

UNTIL SUNDAY AS WEATHER SYSTEMS SPIN OUT OF THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH

OFFSHORE. THE TROUGH WILL MOVE THROUGH WESTERN WASHINGTON ON SUNDAY.
ANOTHER WET FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL ARRIVE MONDAY. THE UNSETTLED WEATHER
WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK."

Here's the link to these frequently updated forecast discussions. This is for 98501, but you can type in your zip code and get similiarly detailed forecasts...and even some cloud information! Olympia Weather

Friday 2 p.m.

I assumed this curtain was rain falling from the eastern edge of the cloud above.

In fact it was hail--a lot of it--falling on my neighborhood four miles away. My dog lapped up what fell on our deck.