The Weather of the Pacific Northwest - Softcover

Mass, Clifford

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0295988479 ISBN 13: 9780295988474

Publisher: University of Washington Press, 2008

Synopsis

The Pacific Northwest experiences the most varied and fascinating weather in the United States, including world-record winter snows, the strongest non-tropical storms in the nation, and shifts from desert to rain forest in a matter of miles. Local weather features dominate the meteorological landscape, from the Puget Sound convergence zone and wind surges along the Washington Coast, to gap winds through the Columbia Gorge and the “Banana Belt” of southern Oregon. This book is the first comprehensive and authoritative guide to Northwest weather that is directed to the general reader; helpful to boaters, hikers, and skiers; and valuable to expert meteorologists.

In The Weather of the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington atmospheric scientist and popular radio commentator Cliff Mass unravels the intricacies of Northwest weather, from the mundane to the mystifying. By examining our legendary floods, snowstorms, and windstorms, and a wide variety of local weather features, Mass answers such interesting questions as:

o Why does the Northwest have localized rain shadows?

o What is the origin of the hurricane force winds that often buffet the region?

o Why does the Northwest have so few thunderstorms?

o What is the origin of the Pineapple Express?

o Why do ferryboats sometimes seem to float above the water's surface?

o Why is it so hard to predict Northwest weather?

Mass brings together eyewitness accounts, historical records, and meteorological science to explain Pacific Northwest weather. He also considers possible local effects of global warming. The final chapters guide readers in interpreting the Northwest sky and in securing weather information on their own.

About this title

From the Publisher

"Cliff Mass has written an excellent, clear and comprehensive survey of weather in this region covering the origin and incidence of all major weather phenomena in the Northwest from rain to wind to snow to drought to optical illusions. Weather, as Cliff makes abundantly clear, is not just a source of griping or amusement or awe in this region, but often a life and death matter." - David Laskin, author of Rains All the Time and The Children's Blizzard

"The book uniquely includes solid scientific rigor in explanations that help to unravel the many mysteries and curiosities of the weather in the Pacific Northwest. It provides an unsurpassed opportunity to interested laypersons and weather enthusiasts to learn not only about the many weather events that occur in the Northwest but also to understand the meteorological principles that are at the root of their existence." - Brad Colman, NOAA/National Weather Service

About the Author

Cliff Mass , professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington and weekly guest on KUOW radio, is the preeminent authority on Northwest weather. He has published dozens of articles on Northwest weather and leads the regional development of advanced weather prediction tools.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Washington Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0295988479
• ISBN 13: 9780295988474
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 281