Columbia Weather Systems

 Today is the Winter Solstice, marking the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere. What's the weather like in your part of the world?

With a nod to the seasonal transition from Winter to Spring, Mark Nelsen, Chief Meteorologist at KPTV, presented his Winter Weather Recap at the Oregon AMS meeting last night. Mark summed up the first few months with his comment: “We’re used to being let down here if you like big winter weather.” And then we experienced one of the coldest Februarys on record with multiple snow events. From the initial forecasted snow non-event that was over-hyped by the media and led to outages of kale in Portland-area grocery stores, Mark offered a lesson for forecasters and media: “In today’s social media world, we must be very careful with weather information.” Shout-out to Kyle Dittmer of Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission who nailed the forecast for number of snow events at the Annual Winter Weather conference last October! View Mark’s presentation here.

Traveling for the holidays? Make sure to “Know Before You Go” and prepare for winter driving with the following tips: 🛬  Check road conditions. Call 511 or visit your state’s DOT website. 🌨  Get the weather forecast. Change travel plans if hazardous weather is expected. 🧰  Pack an emergency supply kit. Stock your vehicle with the follow items: Water, a mobile phone, charger, batteries, blankets, flashlight, first-aid kit, candle, high-calorie, non-perishable food, sand or cat litter for traction, shovel, scraper, and battery booster cables. 🚘 ✅  Ready your vehicle. Check your battery, wipers, coolant, and other systems affected  by cold temperature. Make sure your tires have good tread. Clear snow, ice or dirt from windows, lights and camera.

Nader photographed this sun halo on a chilly morning this week. The optical phenomenon occurs when sunlight refracts and reflects through small ice crystals in the atmosphere. “You could see the frozen particles right there in front of you floating in the air,” he said. Sun halos aren’t likely to impact your business operations, but if frosty winter conditions do – give us a call!

Every year, hundreds of emergency responders are struck, injured or killed while traveling and tending to traffic incident scenes. National Traffic Incident Response Week is November 11-17 and aims to bring awareness to this problem. As temperatures continue to drop, this is an especially important reminder to keep an eye on weather and road conditions before and while traveling and to  # MoveOverSlowDown  when approaching and passing an incident scene.

The event was held at OMSI in Portland Last weekend Nader and Gary represented CWS at the 26th Annual Winter Weather Forecast Conference hosted by the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society . Gary talks to attendees at the CWS booth. Over 300 weather enthusiasts gathered at OMSI to hear local experts. Here’s a recap: Mark Nelsen from KPTV and KPDX TV reviewed last winter’s weather, celebrating correct predictions and needling the incorrect ones. Jim Todd of OMSI filled us in on astronomical events of the last year, including launches by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Tyree Wilde from NOAA, Rod Hill from KGW-TV and Kyle Dittmer from the Columbia River Inter Tribal Fish Commission predicted warmer temperatures, with estimates of snowpack and the number of snow events in Portland varied. CWS is proud to participate with our local chapter of the AMS. We enjoy the monthly meetings, and the Winter Weather Conference is the highlight of the year! In case you missed ...

The 26th Annual Winter Weather Forecast Conference is coming up! Save the date for Saturday, October 27th at the  Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)  to hear Meteorologists from across the PNW give their predictions for the upcoming winter. The event is hosted by the  Oregon Chapter of The American Meteorological Society (AMS)  and is open to the public with all ages welcome.

Winter weather is upon us! Check out this freezing rain infographic. Be informed, and stay safe. Our recent addition of a Freezing Rain Sensor to be used with the Weather MicroServer is perfect timing for the upcoming season. #WeatherReadyNation #WRNAmbassadors