Heat Wave

We have had ten days in a row of above normal temperatures. This includes six days at 90 or warmer along with the all time record at Sea-Tac last Wednesday of 103.

The bright spot to the heat wave has to be the sunsets. I took this picture last week but with the smoke from recent fires on the Olympic Peninsula the sunsets have continued to impress.




This picture is from the hottest day every recorded at Sea-Tac. I was working that day and it was amazing to walk out from the air conditioned weather center on to the roof garden and feel the contrast. It was like a whole different world.



At the same time we had thunderstorms building over the Cascades as seen from the roof garden looking over Dexter Avenue.

Sound to San Juans

Now that the temperatures are soaring across the northwest I am dreaming of being back on the water. I spent some time on the water with my folks during my weekend. On Wednesday they picked me up after work on Lake Union, went through the locks and stayed at Shilshole Marina. It was nice to watch the sunset over the Olympics on a warm evening.




The next night we stayed in Port Townsend and then headed for Friday Harbor on Friday morning. We ran into some pretty thick fog crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Visibility ranged from about a mile to 100 feet at times. The fog was pretty thick but shallow. There was fog all around but we had blue sky overhead, it was like being in an arena.





It was warm Saturday morning in Friday Harbor as the sun rose on the eastern sky just north of Mt. Baker.



I had to work that night so I flew back on Kenmore Air and took this shot looking back over Shaw Island below and San Juan Island to on the left. The day already had a tropical feel and the clouds in the sky reminded me of the moisture in the atmosphere that would eventually help feed that evening's thunderstorms.

CLEAR NIGHT

This is the view from the roof garden at KING5 looking at the Space Needle and the moon on a clear night in Seattle.



I really like my camera. I took this picture about an hour later without a tripod.



Skies cleared out today as high pressure began building over the region. Clear skies tonight will lead to a chilly morning but we will see plenty of sunshine on Saturday with highs in the 70s.

CHANGES ON THE HORIZON

The majority of our weather comes from the west and today if you looked to the west you could see it coming. I took this picture around noon. Notice how the sky is sort of split in two. There was blue on the top part and white below. It made a pretty clear line in the sky.



The orange dot on the satellite image is about where I took the picture in Kirkland. It is looking across lake Washington at the city of Seattle. I drew an orange line on the satellite image where I believe to be the front edge of the clouds in the previous picture. The thin clouds to the east of the orange line are also visible in the previous picture.



Some of the thin clouds were thick enough to produce a halo around the sun. As expected the rest of the clouds moved in later in the day consuming the blue sky. These clouds are ahead of a weak weather system that is expected to bring Seattle at least a little bit of rain Wednesday.

MORE TRAVEL PICS

I spent a couple days in Madrid and having just arrived ready for a vacation Madrid’s El Retiro Park was a great place to grab a late afternoon siesta. This was the view from where I enjoyed a little rest and relaxation.



Watching the moon grow during my trip was great and a reminder of how wonderful the weather had been. This is the moon over Cordoba with part of the Roman Bridge in the foreground.




Here is another shot of the moon. This time I was sitting at an outdoor table in a plaza in Tarifa when I noticed the white moon nestled in the blue sky behind a yellow tiled building.



The sun was warm for futbol in Sevilla. Check out the top right corner of this picture. Notice the walls on each side of the section with police lining the isles of the visiting team. I am pretty sure this was for the their protection. It was very obvious this sport is serious business in Spain.

SPANISH SUNSHINE

Over the past couple of weeks I was missing out on the Seattle sunshine but I was fortunate to be traveling across the wonderful country of Spain. I enjoyed the great people and very pleasant weather.

I spent some time in Madrid and Barcelona, but I seem to be most captivated by the smaller towns. In Toledo some of the narrow lanes had canvas stretched out overhead to provide a little relief from the midday sunshine.



Tarifa in the southernmost point in Spain is famous for its wind. Kitesurfers swarm the beaches in the summer. This kitesurfer was harnessing wind on the Atlantic Ocean. Behind the land in the distance are the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar.



I took a day trip to Tangier, Morocco from Tarifa and enjoyed the blue sky behind the whitewashed buildings.




And a perfect end to the day in Ibiza.

WARM DAY, COLD WATER

It was four degrees warmer than average with a high of 70 at Sea-Tac. Meanwhile water temperatures are still very chilly. Sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and the Puget Sound are mainly in the upper 40s and lower 50s. Lake Sammamish is 59 degrees and it is a degree cooler in Lake Washington. Not bad IF you’re a turtle.



It is still cold enough that being on the water is much better than being in the water. My Folks and Brady were heading out as I was about to go get ready for work. Check out the Olympic Mountains. They really popped today, still a lot of snow up there. Remember it’s that melting snow that is feeding our rivers, streams and lakes.



Air temperatures for the rest of the holiday weekend will be in the upper 60s and lower 70s while that water will remain rather chilly.

For the latest lake temperatures:
http://green.kingcounty.gov/lake-buoy/default.aspx

For salt water temps start here:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/maps/NW_Straits_Sound.shtml