Reflection 1: Bellingham and Seattle, WA


         Seattle is a mere 90 miles south of Bellingham. It sits in a very similar location and is affected by the same topography as well as the same fronts and air masses.

http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/washington/map

        To the east of both locations is the large mountain range of the Cascades. Maritime Polar air masses come from the north Pacific and create large amounts of precipitation caused by the orographic uplift of the Cascade Mountains. Both locations are affected by these weather events. Very rarely are either city affected by Polar Continental air masses because the Cascades create a wall to the east.  The amount of annual precipitation is very similar as well as the average temperatures.  Both Seattle and Bellingham are affected by the Pineapple Express which is an event that brings heavy precipitaion to northwestern Washington caused by the mixing of the Polar Jet Stream and the Tropical Jet Stream.

Precipitation Comparison: Seattle (top) vs. Bellingham (bottom)

http://www.pae-engineers.com/sustainable-design/strategies-techniques/SDC-climate-considerations.php

Average Precipitation- Bellingham

http://www.city-data.com/city/Bellingham-Washington.html

  http://charliesweatherforecasts.blogspot.com/2011/09/similar-forecast-and-variations-in.html      

        Above show the yearly precipitation averages for all of Washington. Seattle and Bellingham are very similar. Seattle looks like it gets slightly more precipitation than Bellingham. This is most likely because Seattle is affected by the Puget Sound Convergence Zone that blow off the Olympic Mountains. This causes an increase in precipitation in Seattle. In Bellingham, the same phenomena occur but Bellingham is too north so all that it receives is increased winds from the funnel that is the Straight of Juan de Fuca just north of the Olympic Mountains. 

Air Masses of the Pacific Northwest

Bellingham, WA and the pacific northwest is mainly affected by air masses that have originated in the Pacific Ocean. Maritime Polar air is brought down by the by the Polar Jet Stream and is directed through the area frequently in the winter and summer months. The Cascade Mountains to the east for a barrier that protects the coastal areas from the continental polar air coming from Canada. Very rarely does an air mass from Canada reach Bellingham. In the summer months the area is sometimes influenced by the Hawaii'an High causing clear skies and warm weather. the air masses mix very well together because of the similarities they share.  During La Nina and infrequently in winter the Tropical Jet Stream wanders north and mixes with the Polar Jet Stream causing the "Pineapple Express" to hit northern Washington and causing heavy precipitation. 

                                          

                                  http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/edu/k12/.JetStreams

Mid latitude cyclones of the area are caused mostly by cold polar fronts moving south from the Aleutian Low in the North Pacific. The air masses that move into the area are slowed by the mountainous topography to the east and due to orographic uplift, produce large amounts of precipitation. Winds are increased in the area due to a funneling effect of the Vancouver Island Mountains and the Olympic  Mountains to the east. The air is funneled through the Straight of Juan de Fuca increasing wind speeds.  

http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/satelliteusnational/euanoroestesatelite_large.html?clip=undefined&region=undefined&collection=localwxforecast&presname=undefined

Pineapple Express: https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_module.php?currentPage=showAll&id=904

References:

The Weather Channel (2011). http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/satelliteusnational/euanoroestesatelite_large.html?clip=undefined&region=undefined&collection=localwxforecast&presname=undefined

Bach (2004). Northwest Washington Climate. Western Washington University. 

Bellingham, Washington is located on the Pacific Ocean in northwestern Washington state, just south of the Canadian border. It is a maritime climate positioned between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountains. The average temperatures range from in the 30s to the 70s (degrees F) throughout the year where August is the warmest month and December is the coldest month. . The town’s average yearly precipitation is 35.32 in and its average snowfall is 13.7 in. November seems to be the wettest month for Bellingham while July seems to be the driest month.  The record high for Bellingham was in 1990 with a temperature of 91 degrees F and the lowest temperature on record was in 1985 with a temperature of four degrees F.  Because Bellingham is located in a maritime climate, its estimated Bowen Ratio is going to be around 1/10 (the ratio being  BR=H/LE, H being the sensible heat flux and LE being the Latent heat flux).

Source:  http://www.city-data.com/city/Bellingham-Washington.html

The above graphs show the  average temperature, precipitation and snow fall per month in Bellingham.

Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary

Period of Record : 12/1/1949 to 12/31/2005

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
Average Max. Temperature (F)	43.4	47.8	51.1	56.5	62.3	66.8	71.2	71.4	67.0	58.3	49.7	44.6	57.5
Average Min. Temperature (F)	31.6	33.9	36.0	39.9	45.3	50.4	53.2	53.2	48.1	42.0	36.8	33.3	42.0
Average Total Precipitation (in.)	4.58	3.37	3.01	2.61	2.17	1.76	1.18	1.40	1.85	3.51	5.08	4.80	35.32
Average Total SnowFall (in.)	5.1	1.7	1.8	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.9	4.0	13.7
Average Snow Depth (in.)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

(Source:  http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wabell)

When looking at the Global Equilibrium Energy Balance Interactive Tinker Toy (GEEBIT), the Earth currently has an average surface temperature of 58.9 degrees F. If the albedo of the planet is changed from 0.306 to 0.206, the temperature changes to 76.7 degrees F. With an albedo of 0.406 the temp drops to 39.1 degrees F. If the greenhouse gas levels change just 10% from 1 to 1.1 the temp goes up to 63.9 degrees F and if lowered to 0.9 then the temp drops to 53.8 degrees F.  This of course is a global model so the results will likely vary from location to location but one could assume that the overall increase of decrease in temperature would affect Bellingham similarly. http://icp.giss.nasa.gov/education/geebitt/

References:

City-data.com (2011). Bellingham, Washington. http://www.city-data.com/city/Bellingham-Washington.html

The Weather Channel (2012). Monthly Averages for Bellingham, WA. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/USWA0028

Desert Research Institute (2005).  BELLINGHAM FCWOS AP, WASHINGTON (450574). http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wabell