From Cliff Mass:
Heavy Rain in Our Mountains: The Revenge of Lono
During the past months, warm rain has often buffeted our mountains. The Cascade snowpack on January 1 is about 50% of normal and skiers are unhappy, with a number of local ski areas still closed (such as Alpental and Snoqualmie East). National Weather Service flood advisories have become a way of life.
Most of the warm rain events are associated with what meteorologists call, atmospheric rivers, plumes of warm, moist air moving northward out of the tropics and subtropics. Ours generally come from around Hawaii, thus their usual name, the Pineapple Express.
But WHY is this happening? And I mean why, not how. The answer is clear. The Northwest has angered Lono. And things won't get better until we satisfy him.
Who is Lono, you might ask?
Lono is the Hawaiian god of storms, clouds, and rain. Hawaiians describe him as the "akua po'o huna i ke ao lewa" or the the god whose head is hidden in the clouds. As you can see from this picture, Lono has not been happy lately. And he is angry at us.
As a scientist, I had to convince myself that Lono is behind our problems. First, there is the obvious fact that our warmth and rain have been coming directly from his realm, something evident in the satellite and moisture images I have shown on this blog.
A lot more at the site - Cliff outlines some of the reasons why Lomo might be angry at us and then, Cliff took one for the team and flew to Big Island and:
I went straight from the Kona Airport to an ancient heiau. I will not describe my supplications to Lono, but they were extensive and heartfelt.
We will see what happens - be sure to keep Cliff in your prayers for what he is having to endure - spending time on Big Island at this time of year when in the Northwest, he could be merrily shivering and dodging raindrops with the rest of us. Now that is SCIENCE dammit!
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