Surprise 11″ of Cascade Concrete. I swear the minute I hit send on my last blog I got a notice that there was more very cold air coming. In fact it turned out to be a little colder than the latest cold snap we’ve recorded since 1960. Thats a LONG time ago, especially in weather […]
Author: Paul Bonine
La Nina being La Nina but drier- when will it end?
I’ve spent a great deal of my life monitoring the weather,in Oregon its a great distraction and there is always a ton to learn. I tend towards catastrophism which means that I always compare any slight catastrophe to the worst case scenario. Its my way of putting things in perspective. As we all know peoples […]
2nd hottest summer of all time.
Too damn hot. Meteorological summer is defined as June-July-August according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This past summer will go down in history for two main reasons. The June heatwave was a historical event that exceeded EVERYTHING we’ve recorded here in 150 years. The colossal heatwave of June 25-29 was an event that […]
The new normals are in, we’ve been living in zone 9
Every ten years the National weather service tallies what are known as normals. They are the averages for climate for each specific recording location. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this years numbers. They represent the climate averages from 1991-2020. ( Our previous record was 1981-2010 ). The NOAA uses these thirty year records to not only […]
40 year ice storm pummels PDX
Sleetpocolypse ’21 I felt like a headline would provide more description and context than I can writing prose. But we’ve just been through the worst freezing rain event since the early 1980’s. Thats a long time and you need to put that in to context when thinking about the damage in your garden. Luckily, this […]
We could have a real winter- La Nina 2020
The national climate prediction center has shown that a moderate La Nina has formed in the tropical Pacific. That has large implications for our weather this winter. Traditionally, La Nina is best known in our region for wetter, colder winters and there is a greater possibility of an arctic outbreak as well as low elevation […]
Covid and the garden- Thank you!
I’ve worked in the nursery industry, non-stop from 1992 until the present. I’ve seen every kind of weather that you can even conceive. I’m not surprised by the weather anymore. (But I do know what is Oregon and what is not.) I’ve gone through retail booms and busts and Great Recessions, and the beginning of […]
Happy mild summer (so far)
The Second half of meteorological summer: Well, contrary to the constant predictions of the NOAA climate service that we would be warmer than normal this summer that has yet to pan out. In fact, we had a much wetter than normal June and it was not lost on anyone when June gloom lasted into the […]
Beautiful Mother’s Day for gardening.
Happy Mothers Day Mom couldn’t ask for better weather this weekend for gardening. Following some fairly substantial rain the temperatures this weekend will push the mid 80’s and that means things will grow and fast. The soil temperature is approaching 60ºF which is optimal for growth. Here are four shrubs to focus on this week. […]
Highlighted shrubs 4.8.20
Highlighted shrubs and Trees for April 8, 2020 Here are five of my favorite shrubs available this week from Xera Plants. Please post questions in the comments. Paul. Argyrocytisus battandieri Moroccan Pineaple Bloom Not easy to find this is a cool shrub for hot dry locations and average soil with little water once established. Large […]