Weather Extra: High Pressure Causes Intense Weather

here on cbs news bay area we obviously have a local focus on the bay area and that definitely applies to weather extra but in this week's edition of weather extra we need to start off talking about alaska specifically juno alaska you don't need me to tell you that the last 40 days or so have been very dry and very warm we've been missing out on all the rain and if you've wondered where's all the rain going it's all been going to juno alaska the rain that should have been coming here for us has been going up there so much so that if you just look at what's happened in juneau alaska for the month of january rainfall january 2022 it was the rainiest january on record for our friends up north in juneau alaska probably more than they needed or wanted and a little more than was manageable for them at times but it fits the pattern of what we've been watching certainly for all of january and now definitely going into this early part of february that's a snapshot of the storm track going into this first full week and towards the middle of february look where all the rain's going once again it's all pointed at the same place it's all going to juno they just had their rainiest january here we are in february and they're taking it again you know there's a steering pattern in the atmosphere and out here in the pacific which is responsible for that because it's also been dominating our weather that big blocking ridge of high pressure and i've shown this so much in the forecast over the last six weeks because it is the dominating factor in the winter storm track here in california that big blocking ridge of high pressure which has been steering all the storms to juno but as we go into this first full week of february and towards the middle of february as we start to get into this really warm spell of temperatures now as we start to approach the middle of the month that ridge is doubling down this is a unique way of looking at it but it's a climate analysis showing this part of the pacific specifically for this time frame going into february 9th february 10th and analyzing how out of the ordinary the strength of that ridge of high pressure is and when you get into those shades of deep red on there the scale down here shows you that over the climate record analyzing that part of the pacific for this time frame of february that is the strongest blocking ridge of high pressure that's ever been recorded there so we know it's already set up shop for most of the winter but now as we go into february it's doubling down it's intensifying so much so that at least for that period of time it's the strongest it's ever been this does not bode well for us going into february there's already a little bit of a price to be paid here for the fact that that ridge has been set up for much of january and you can see it in a very unique signature when you look at california over the last 30 days particularly the temperatures and when we rank the temperatures see the scale over here where it gets up into 100 for deep red the areas on the map that are in the deep red registered the highest temperatures for that 30-day period on record at least going back for almost the last 50 years since we've been able to analyze that part of california climatologically in this way let's come in for a close-up look because i want you to see the north bay mountains that's the area on this map that's actually in that shaded level there up to 100 in other words the warmest for that 30-day period the north bay mountains you can actually see how the colors align perfectly with the mycomas mountains up there and the mountains around napa just had the warmest 30-day stretch on record since the climate records have been able to track this for almost the last 50 years or so that's pretty significant particularly when you consider the fact that we've now had to start saying more often we're not out of fire season even in february why are we not out of fire season that image probably helps explain that better than just about any other and as long as that ridge of high pressure sits out there off the coast of california it continues to allow these offshore wind events to happen and the offshore wind events have really been hitting the north bay mountains if we go back to that time frame when that dominant ridge of high pressure off the coast the strongest on record for that blocking ridge of high pressure right off the coast while that's happening that's allowing the atmosphere to develop these offshore winds that keep hitting the north bay mountains with those dry offshore winds coming from the central valley and working their way out to the coast those are the warmer winds that then downslope they dry out the mountains 40 mile an hour gusts on the north bay mountains while the rest of us aren't really experiencing much wind at all that's how you dry the mountains out even more so it's not just that they've been warm that period of time was also the driest for the north bay mountains on record and now we keep putting the hairdryer on it as long as that pattern holds off the pacific and we keep getting those offshore winds we're taking a landscape which is already at record levels for being warm and dry and we keep drying it out a little more that's a problem that dominating ridge of high pressure is the classic signature for drought in california you can get ridges of high pressure out there and it wouldn't be a problem but when they set up shop continually as they have this winter and then double down on intensity as you go into a month you were hoping would bail you out you start to have some significant concern and that's where we stand now we need that rich to break down you might have heard the term ridiculously resilient ridge it's a term that's been coined for a pattern like this hopefully this comes to an end by the time we get to late february or march and that's going to be the focus for a lot of our forecasting on first alert weather that's this week's weather extra paul hagen will be in next week with another

Channel: KPIX CBS SF Bay Area

Views: 7,616

Keywords: Weather, Darren Peck, Record Rainfall, High Pressure, Intense Weather, Bay Area, Alaska

Id: 0kjCEwMRO6I

Length: 6min 3sec (363 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 08 2022