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

Our fourth monthly study examines the month of January, 2011 and sunshine data from three different weather stations, one located in Sequim, one in Port Angeles, and one in Seattle. This January saw a uniquely dreary combination of cloudy dry days and warm, wet storms.  Most precipitation fell as rain even at high elevation, with a dramatic lack of new snow accumulation in the mountains. With a persistent ridge of high pressure diverting the passage of strong storms to the north and south of our area, the rain shadow engine was a bit short of fuel. Still rain shadow towns were brighter than urban Seattle, which was very dark, with 7 dreary days and 16  cloudy days.

Port Angeles and Sequim were quite similar in terms of overall sunshine and sunny days this month, with Sequim recording 24% more and Port Angeles 16% more sunshine than downtown Seattle.

What was especially interesting about this month, was the impact the weak weather pattern had on Sequim's overall sunlight. Sequim's overall sunlight was lower than that recorded in either November or December, and was only 89% of the month of December, during a period of increasing incident solar radiation.

Study Highlights:

• Sequim was 1.24 times as bright as Seattle; Port Angeles was 1.16 times as bright as Seattle.

• Sequim and Port Angeles recorded an average of about 1/2 hour of bright sun per day, compared to only 15 minutes per day in Seattle.

• Port Angeles recorded 6 sunny days, Sequim recorded 4 mostly sunny days, while Seattle recorded none.

Detailed Study Findings

The Sequim site recorded 4 mostly sunny days, to Seattle's 0 mostly sunny days. Seattle had 7 dreary days, compared to only 3 in Sequim, and 3 in Port Angeles.

On average for the month, the Sequim site had .55 hours of clear sunny skies per day, where as Seattle had zero hours. The Port Angeles site recorded .58 hours of clear sunny skies per day on average. In terms of pure solar radiation, the Sequim site for the month recorded 1.24 times as much overall solar radiation as Seattle, and 1.21 times as much as the Port Angeles site.

• In an atypically warm and cloudy winter month, rain shadow areas still recorded significantly more light than the urban Seattle area.

• The inactive weather pattern dramatically negatively impacted sunshine and sunny days in Sequim.

• The same weather pattern that produces snow in the Cascades/Olympics produces sunshine in Sequim.

• 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 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.