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August 2011 Sunshine Analysis – Olympic Rain Shadow vs. Downtown Seattle

Our eleventh monthly study examines the month of August, 2011 and sunshine data from three different weather stations, one located in Sequim, one in Port Angeles, and one in Seattle. August in the pacific northwest is typically high summer with plentiful sunshine, little precipitation, warm temperatures, and frequent marine layer influence. Sometimes in late August we may see an early fall storm pass through.

This August was definitely high summer with only two hundredth of an inch of rain falling on the beach is Sequim. This was a *very* welcome change from the abnormally stormy and cool months that characterized 2011. It also served as a great month to see if the North Olympic topography has any benefit in terms of sunshine vis-a-vis Seattle in high summer months. 

Data showed that all locations recorded dramatically more bright sunny days than any month this year, with Port Angeles leading the way at 21. Seattle had 17 and Sequim had 16 bright sunny days; however, Seattle had 3 cloudy days, while Sequim and Port Angeles had only 1.

The data confirmed our suspicion that in a sunny summer month, the rainshadow effect would be at its seasonal minimum.

Study Highlights:

• Port Angeles was 1.09 times as bright as Seattle; Sequim was 1.06 times as bright as Seattle.

• Port Angeles saw an average of 3.85 hours of bright sun per day, compared to 3.47 hours/day in Sequim, and 3.27 hours/day in Seattle.

• Port Angeles recorded its 4th month in a row with slightly more overall solar radiation than the Sequim location, likely due to its higher elevation and lower incidence of maritime fog.

Detailed Study Findings

The Port Angeles site recorded 21 mostly sunny days, to Seattle's 17 mostly sunny days.

On average for the month, the Sequim site had 2.58 hours of clear sunny skies per day, where as Port Angeles had 3.06 hours, and Seattle had 2.65 hours. In terms of pure solar radiation, the Sequim site for the month recorded 1.11 times as much overall solar radiation as Seattle, but only 98% of Port Angeles

• During a typical summer month, rain shadow areas recorded only slightly more light than the urban Seattle area.

• Port Angeles exceeded Sequim in sunny days and in total sunshine.

• If you are feeling you are living in a dreary neighborhood in the eastern Puget Sound or Cascade foothills, take a road trip to the Olympic rain shadow, and you will likely see *a lot* more light, especially during the darker months and stormy periods.
  

Study Methodology

This study was conducted by examining incident solar radiation. Solar radiation is measured in watts per square meter. This measurement is directly related to illuminance, a measure of how much light falls on a given area.

We used data from three different weather stations.

The first station, the Sequim station, is located on the roof of a single story home on Jamestown Beach Rd, in Sequim, directly on the shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This location may be very close to the epicenter of the Olympic Rain Shadow. As with many locations on the Dungeness plain in Sequim, this one is not shaded by tall trees, nor does it have any hills affecting its exposure. When the sun rises in the morning, it clears the horizon almost immediately as the areas to the south and east are open water. When the sun sets in the evening, it sets to the west, over the Dungeness plain, so stays above the horizon for quite some time. The Sequim location uses a Davis Instruments Vantage Pro 2 with optional solar sensor. This station measures solar radiation every 2 minutes and records the average over 10 minutes.

The second station is in downtown Port Angeles, at Lincoln High School. The school's Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 Plus sensors are mounted on the rooftop of the high school,  about a mile southwest of ferry dock to Victoria B.C. at an elevation of about 200 feet. There is excellent exposure clockwise from northeast to southwest and good exposure for the other directions. The sensors record solar radiation every five minutes. Special thanks to Peter Alexander, his math classes, and Lincoln High School for the data and support..

The third station is atop the Atmospheric Sciences Department building of the University of Washington, in the University District of Seattle. This seven story building is not in the classical Olympic Rain Shadow area, but is still slightly shadowed by the Olympics. Given that the sensor is located atop a tall building, this location has ideal exposure and receives maximum solar radiation. This station records solar radiation every minute. Data was retrieved by downloading public information from the University of Washington’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences website.

For purposes of this study, skies were defined as follows:

“Clear Sunny” sensors record at least 60% of the maximum radiation possible for that day of that year
“Bright” sensors record between 20% and 60% of the maximum radiation for that day of that year
“Gray” sensors record between 50 w/m^2 and 20% of the maximum radiation for that day of that year
“Dark Gray” sensors record between 1 and 49 w/m^2

Days were categorized as follows:

"Mostly Sunny Day" over ½ the day had at least “bright” skies, with at least 22% of daylight hours “clear sunny”.
"Partly Sunny Day" over ½ the day had at least “bright” skies, but less than 22% of daylight hours “clear sunny”.
"Overcast Day" over ½ the day had gray or dark gray skies, but at least 22% of daylight hours “gray”.
"Dreary Day" daylight hours predominately dark gray, with less then 22% of daylight hours “gray”.

Data was aggregated, analyzed, and graphed using Microsoft Excel.