The Weather of the Pacific Northwest

As a kid, I would determine the weather for each day by looking out the window onto Puget Sound and seeing if the wind was from the North (shorts and T-shirt) of from the South (rain jacket required). This seemed a straight-forward way to handle things and it served me well. Imagine my surprise when I went to college in the Mid-West and then onto the East coast and weather changed wildly during a given day, didn't obviously depend upon the wind direction - and what's with this 'humidity' during the summer months - who's bright idea was that?!?While I realized that the NW was blessed with mild, temperate weather (no humidity!), clearly my understand of NW weather left something to be desired.Mass's book provides a clear, concise and informative presentation of the weather of our beloved Pacific NW - not just the 'whats' but also the 'hows' and 'whys'. And the book do so in an engaging manner, allowing the reader to come away from each segment with an understanding that will stand him/her in good stead next time the neighbors complain about the weather! You'll learn all the bits and pieces of NorthWestern weather, such as - spoiler alert - it really does rain more often on the fourth of July! The book is filled with lovely diagrams and pictures that demonstrate the points made in the text - and the book, itself, is well crafted andruggedly constructed - dare I say, hot tub proof?Get the facts! The more you know....And, finally, I have the tools to lustily 'critique' the weather forecasters on TV in the same fashion as I critique the rest of the news cast - watch out Mr. Steve Pool - I'm onto you now!

As someone who's lived in the PNW all his life I can safely say this isthe book to purchase if you want to understand the weather here.I'd argue places like Portland, Oregon with the Coast range, theCascade range, and the Columbia River gorge has some ofthe most complex major metropolitan city weather dynamicsin the U.S. Specifically come Winter. To give an exampleas the city I live in.I'm a pretty hardcore weather buff with a BS in science, asecond BS on the way in Computer Science, a frequentvisitor of weather blogs, and an owner of the AmbientWeather WS-1400-IP weather station. Most never get intoweather this much but if you really want to get the fundamentalsdown? Look no further, you will get many times its price point.An easy recommendation for transplants just moving to thePNW wanting to know more about why the weather is the wayit is here in the PNW for seasoned weather buffs alike.

Those of us who live in the Pacific Northwest, especially those who watch the skies and try to understand our crazy weather, have been given a great resource in this book. I have taken many science classes over the years, but I think the hardest subject to understand is the science of weather. Cliff Mass makes it clear for the lay person, without interjecting unnecessary terms and jargon. I have lived through many of the violent storms of the Puget Sound region, but now I understand the conditions that give rise to those events. Not only is the book clear without condescension, it is beautiful. The illustrations, graphs, and photos are worth the price of it. I have read the text avidly, and the pictures make it perfect for the coffee table. Now I don't just tell Seattle rain jokes, I am actually proud of our "convergent zones" and Stampede Gaps. If you live here, get the book.

Enjoyable, coffee table kind of book. Gives a good idea of regional weather features. Lots of space is devoted to unusual weather events, which is a must read if you plan to buy a house in the region.Enough background is provided, so no special knowledge is required. The downside of this is that quite a bit of space is taken up by explanations of general principals and phenomena.There is a short chapter on "reading the sky" towards the end, and the appendix contains some useful resources, but I expected more practical information on how to interpret the current weather situation.In addition to reading this book, I recommend following the author's blog, which appears to be updated whenever there is an interesting weather situation.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest and you are interested in our weather - and how can you not be? - this is the book for you. Cliff Mass gets you interested by giving a history of some of our most noteworthy storms. The Columbus Day storm, The Inauguration Day storm, The Hannukah Eve storm, etc. For example: Why was the damage from the Hannukah Eve storm so much more extensive than the damage from the Columbus Day storm? Why are our storms not called hurricanes when we get them with hurricane force winds? This book also gives you the science behind our weather in easy to understand language with great illustrations. I only hope that Cliff will come out with another version someday that will remind us of events like the December 2008 "100-year" snowstorm that happened after this book was published.

I have become a real fan of Cliff Mass, reading his blog whenever he posts. Finding out he had a book -- well, I ordered it immediately and was not let down. This book is really interesting and fun. You don't have to be a weather geek like me to appreciate it. Lots of great illustrations and explanations and it gets really specific to Washington/Oregon/BC weather. It's a great reference to whatever weather is going on [right now] and answers a lot of your questions. A good read -- I finished it in 2 days, but keep going back to it when the weather is always doing something interesting. I think required reading for any true Northwest resident.

Good general book. If your heading out there should be useful.