Book review: The Weather of the Pacific Northwest
Book review: The Weather of the Pacific Northwest
The book on Northwest weather has just been published. I mean _the_ book. “The Weather of the Pacific Northwest by Cliff Mass. For any person who is not a weather expert but would li
The book on Northwest weather has just been published. I mean _the_ book. "The Weather of the Pacific Northwest by Cliff Mass. For any person who is not a weather expert but would like to understand our fascinating and confusing weather, this is your book. It is written for us lay persons but is technically advanced. For weather experts, this book will still explain phenomena that you were not sure about.
Being a weather nut myself, and having served several years in the Air Force Weather Service, I find this book a must have for fun reading or reference. I haven't written a book review since college but will try here.
13 simple chapters make up the book. Each is about a unique and easy to identify subject with the longest of 33 pages on Windstorms. How appropriate for our NW. Floods also gets its own chapter. Each chapter is illustrated with unique charts, tables, photos and graphs. Unique because virtually all seem to be by the author and are perfectly colored or constructed so we can actually understand them These are not your average weather diagrams.
The book dispels myths. For instance, one table compares Seattle annual rain and cloudy days with East Coast cities. It is almost hard to believe the numbers. But Cliff is a professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Washington and a leader in weather research in the Northwest. We can trust his numbers. We can trust all that we read in this book. This stuff is solid. All aspects of our local weather are covered such as sea breezes, coastal weather, mountain weather, and even the evolving weather.
Lake Whatcom and Bellingham are in the book in several places. He briefly explains the 1983 rains that caused devastation around the lake. He has graphics that nicely explain the freezing north wind we get here in Whatcom County - the one we are going to experience for the next few days. He explains the causes of many specific storms over the decades and connects them to the weather patterns.
For weather freaks like myself, he has a wealth of technical specifics that provide insights to recurring and historical weather incidents. If you just enjoy knowing what the weather is doing without having to work to hard to learn, you will also enjoy this book. The author includes descriptions of most of the major NW storms over the past century. The Columbus Day storm of 1962, the devastating north wind across our county on Dec 28, 1990, and the Feb 13, 1979 Hood Canal Storm.
I'm writing this while the soft snow falls outside the window. This is fun. I'd like to curl up and read the chapter on snowstorms. The book is focused west of the Cascades for Washington and Oregon. There is enough of the eastern parts to give us a good idea how it all ties together. But this is really for all of us who live on the wet side.
The price is $30. Village Books (an advertiser on this site) is sold out but expects a new shipment in this week or by Monday at the latest. In time for Christmas. I thank Pam for loaning her copy to me for this review. I have my name on the list at Village Books - as can you. Mine is for the relative I buy a book for each Christmas with the challenge being a book he has never heard of but is fascinating. This book was only published in November. I should be safe. Then I will get my own copy.
A side note. Bill McCallum's neat charts on our Whatcom County weather will resume and we will post the entire 12 months of 2008. You can see some of the early ones by searching the category 'Science + Weather'.
Being a weather nut myself, and having served several years in the Air Force Weather Service, I find this book a must have for fun reading or reference. I haven't written a book review since college but will try here.
13 simple chapters make up the book. Each is about a unique and easy to identify subject with the longest of 33 pages on Windstorms. How appropriate for our NW. Floods also gets its own chapter. Each chapter is illustrated with unique charts, tables, photos and graphs. Unique because virtually all seem to be by the author and are perfectly colored or constructed so we can actually understand them These are not your average weather diagrams.
The book dispels myths. For instance, one table compares Seattle annual rain and cloudy days with East Coast cities. It is almost hard to believe the numbers. But Cliff is a professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Washington and a leader in weather research in the Northwest. We can trust his numbers. We can trust all that we read in this book. This stuff is solid. All aspects of our local weather are covered such as sea breezes, coastal weather, mountain weather, and even the evolving weather.
Lake Whatcom and Bellingham are in the book in several places. He briefly explains the 1983 rains that caused devastation around the lake. He has graphics that nicely explain the freezing north wind we get here in Whatcom County - the one we are going to experience for the next few days. He explains the causes of many specific storms over the decades and connects them to the weather patterns.
For weather freaks like myself, he has a wealth of technical specifics that provide insights to recurring and historical weather incidents. If you just enjoy knowing what the weather is doing without having to work to hard to learn, you will also enjoy this book. The author includes descriptions of most of the major NW storms over the past century. The Columbus Day storm of 1962, the devastating north wind across our county on Dec 28, 1990, and the Feb 13, 1979 Hood Canal Storm.
I'm writing this while the soft snow falls outside the window. This is fun. I'd like to curl up and read the chapter on snowstorms. The book is focused west of the Cascades for Washington and Oregon. There is enough of the eastern parts to give us a good idea how it all ties together. But this is really for all of us who live on the wet side.
The price is $30. Village Books (an advertiser on this site) is sold out but expects a new shipment in this week or by Monday at the latest. In time for Christmas. I thank Pam for loaning her copy to me for this review. I have my name on the list at Village Books - as can you. Mine is for the relative I buy a book for each Christmas with the challenge being a book he has never heard of but is fascinating. This book was only published in November. I should be safe. Then I will get my own copy.
A side note. Bill McCallum's neat charts on our Whatcom County weather will resume and we will post the entire 12 months of 2008. You can see some of the early ones by searching the category 'Science + Weather'.
