Washington State is Losing Its Signature Views. Can We Restore Them?

Meteorologists really care about views:  there is nothing we love better than a expansive vista of clouds and mountains.   And Washington State is the home of some of the most stunning viewpoints in the nation, often located on local peaks or near major water bodies.  

But inaction by State government, either deliberate or not, is resulting in the loss of some of the best viewpoints in the State, mainly because of the growth or encroachment of trees.   A bit of judicious pruning could fix the situation in a few hours, something advocated in this blog.   Let me give you a few examples.

Historically one of the grandest view of our region, and perhaps the best in the State, has been found at the top of Mount Constitution on Orcas Island (see map).

A stone tower built on the summit by the WPA during the 1930s used to provide a stunning 360° view, with the lofty height of the Olympics, Vancouver Island, Mount Baker and the Cascades, the islands of the San Juans, and Puget Sound surrounding the lucky visitors.   One of the great views of the world.

Unfortunately, the trees around the summit have been left to grow and the views to the south, west, and north have been lost or severely degraded.  To appreciate the loss, here is an information sign on the top of the summit structure, showing the vast and impressive scene to be enjoyed (at least several decades before).  The problem:  you can't see any of it today because the trees have grown up.

Or perhaps you have enjoyed the hike to the top of West Tiger 3 near Issaquah, one of the most popular hikes in the State and only 30 minutes from Seattle (see map).  The view from the top used to be amazing, with the entire Sound laid out below you.

But, again, trees have been allowed to grow, wiping out nearly the entire view (see below)

Or what about Chuckanut Drive, south of Bellingham?   It WAS the most beautiful coastal drive in the State with amazing views of the San Juan Islands (see map).

 You guessed it.   Trees have been allowed to grow, blocking the stunning views.

Now I could give you many more examples, but you get the point.  One of the reasons that folks love living in Washington State and why tourists like to visit are our amazing views of the water and mountains.  But we are losing many of our most precious viewpoints because the State seems to have a policy of letting trees grow, even if such growth is robbing us of some of the most uplifting and inspirational views.

Is there a policy not to protect views?  To always let trees grow?   Is ANYONE in State government responsible for ensuring that views are maintained?   I love trees as much as anyone, but views are important and it would be a shame if future generations are robbed of the views that many of us have valued and savored over the years.  Let's do something about it.  And if you know some other good examples, please leave a comment or email me.

June Gloom in May

June gloom came early this year, with a transition in mid-May to the typical June low clouds, sprinkles, and occasional sunbreaks.    Actually, this kind of weather in late May is not that unusual.   Here is a plot of Seattle-Tacoma temperatures for the past four weeks (with normal highs and lows shown as well).   Above normal temps through May 15th, and then a switch was flipped, with most days not even reaching the normal highs.

East of the Cascades, shielded from the low-level marine air by the Cascades, the transition was not as profound, as shown by temps at Pasco in the Tri-Cities.  Conditions have been very close to normal during the past two weeks, which is good for agriculture and those worried about wildfires.

Visible satellite imagery tells the story another way.   Take a look at the visible image from 12:30 PM on Thursday.  Classic late spring pattern, with a huge field of low clouds over the eastern Pacific.  Look closely and you will see the low clouds pushing to the Cascade crest, with coastal California from San Francisco southward socked in.

Why the low clouds?  Blame high pressure!  Yes, you have read that correctly.   Here is the surface pressure and wind forecast for 2 PM on Thursday.  A big area of high pressure over the eastern Pacific centered due west of the CA/OR border.

Why does high pressure offshore produce gloomy conditions west of the Cascade crest?

Many reasons!   First, simple pressure differences.  With high pressure offshore and lower pressure inland, low level cool air gets pushed into western Washington and Oregon.  

Next, high pressure is associated with sinking air aloft, something meteorologists call subsidence.  Now the sinking has to decrease near the surface.   Sinking air causes warming, so there is more warming aloft.  With more warming aloft, a stable layer or an inversion (temperature increasing with height) can occur.    In fact, if we look at the vertical sounding at Quillayuate (on the WA coast) on Thursday at 5 PM, that is exactly what happened at around 800 hPa--roughly 4000 ft (red line is temperature, blue dotted line is dew point).  Below the inversion the air is nearly saturated (temp and dew points are nearly on top of each other).  A stable layer aloft allows a layer near the ocean surface to moisten and get full of low clouds.

But as in those late-night commercials,  I have to say: WAIT, there's more!  The high pressure results in northerly flow along the West Coast, moving cooler water from the north southward and resulting in upwelling of cooler water from below to the surface near coast (particularly from southern Oregon down to central CA)--see sea surface temperature plot from yesterday below.   Cool water helps cool the air to saturation, enhancing clouds!

So high pressure  offshore gives us sustained, cool, cloudy weather.   Generally not that much rain--often just some light drizzle and sprinkles.   But hopefully enough to discourage Californians from moving up here (although our increasing traffic is our new secret weapon in that regard).

Now some of you might think that May or June gloom is going to decrease under global warming.

 Think again.   Some of our latest regional climate simulations suggest that global warming could make it worse!  (see graphic below of change in March-May low clouds, between 1990s and 2090s)  Blue is increasing low clouds.  Why?  Because the interior of the continent heats up faster than the ocean and warming temperatures causes lowering pressures.  So the onshore pressure gradient increases under global warming, result in enhanced marine air influx west of the Cascade crest.

 Another good reason why you should support the carbon tax initiation, I732, and do what you can to reduce your carbon footprint.