Heavy Northwest And Southeast Rain – September 17, 2021

National Weather Forecast

Whatever is left of Nicholas will continue to produce some heavy rain across the central Gulf Coast and bring in additional tropical moisture to the region. Scattered showers and storms are possible stretching into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. A cold front in the central U.S. will produce storms. Meanwhile a system moving into the Pacific Northwest will cause showers and maybe some higher elevation mixed precipitation.

There will be two areas of heavy rain across the nation through the first half of the weekend. The first is down along the central Gulf Coast, where continued tropical moisture (some from Nicholas) will produce an additional 1-5” of rain from Thursday through Saturday leading to potential flash flooding. The second is in the Pacific Northwest where the first good rain in a while will occur. Some areas at higher elevations will receive over 3” of rain – and yes, rain, not snow.

Here’s a closer look at the Northwest. Seattle and Portland are expected to get at least a third to two-thirds of an inch of rain Friday into Saturday. Between June 15th and September 15th only 0.13” of rain had fallen in Seattle with 0.08” in Portland, with both cities seeing their driest 6/15-9/15 on record.

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Unusual Snowfall in Greenland

More from NASA Earth Observatory: “Hurricanes are known for their destructive wind, rain, and storm surge. Hurricane Larry delivered more than that. On September 12, 2021, the storm’s remnants dropped abundant snowfall on Greenland just as the summer melt season was coming to an end. Snowfall amounts on that day are visible in the map above, as represented by the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model. Snowfall amounts are shown as millimeters of water, as opposed to snow depth, for the 24-hour period. Fifty millimeters of water is equivalent to about 200 millimeters (8 inches) of snow, assuming the snow has a density of 250 kilograms per cubic meter. Like other weather and climate models, GEOS uses mathematical equations that represent physical processes (like precipitation and cloud processes) to calculate what the atmosphere will do. Actual measurements of physical properties, like temperature, moisture, and winds, are routinely folded into the model to keep the simulation as close to measured reality as possible.”

Can Germany – Europe’s biggest carbon polluter – clean up its act?

More from Marketplace: “That climate change has figured prominently in the national election campaign now underway in Germany is hardly surprising. Devastating flash floods that killed almost 200 people there this summer have focused even more attention on the issue in a country already reputed to be one of the most climate-conscious in the world. Around 50% of electricity in Germany comes from renewable energy sources, and the government in Berlin has signed up to some of the most ambitious decarbonization targets, including net-zero emissions by 2045 — five years earlier than most other developed economies.”

Los Angeles County supervisors vote to end oil, gas drilling

More from The Hill: “Los Angeles County’s board of supervisors on Wednesday voted 5-0 to end new oil and gas drilling and phase out existing drilling infrastructure, potentially closing nearly 2,000 sites. The unincorporated L.A. County area contains some 1,600 active and idle wells, according to the motion. Most of these are part of the Inglewood Oil Field, the biggest urban oilfield in the U.S. The motion specifically cites community health problems associated with proximity to oil drill sites. It points to a June study published in the journal Environmental Research, which found living near active or inactive oil wells in the county correlates with major reductions in both pulmonary and lung functions. Separately, it cites a 2018 report by the county Department of Public Health indicating these adverse effects can persist as far as 1,500 feet away.”

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– D.J. Kayser