UW professor dissects Northwest weather
One of the clichés concerning Pacific Northwest weather is this: If you don’t like it, just wait five minutes – it’s bound to change.
Here’s another: In Seattle, when the weatherman says there’s a 20 percent chance of rain, it usually means that it’s going to rain 20 percent of the day.
A new book from the University of Washington Press helps separate the clouds of myth surrounding regional weather patterns: “The Weather of the Pacific Northwest” (336 pages, $29.95 paper) by Cliff Mass, a UW professor of atmospheric sciences.
Here are some of the questions that Mass answers: Why does the Northwest have localized rain shadows? What is the origin of the hurricane force winds that often buffet the region? Why does the Northwest have so few thunderstorms?
And, of course, why is it so hard to predict Northwest weather?
“The book uniquely includes solid scientific rigor in explanations that help to unravel the many mysteries and curiosities of the weather in the Pacific Northwest,” says Brad Colman, a forecaster in the Seattle office of the National Weather Service.
Mass’ book, Colman says, “provides an unsurpassed opportunity to interested laypersons and weather enthusiasts not only to learn about the many weather events that occur in the Northwest but also to understand the meteorological principles that are at the root of their existence.”
Which means there’s a good chance – surely better than 20 percent – that all you amateur meteorologists will like it.
For more information, go online at www.washington.edu/uwpress.
Plethora of prizes
Brandon Schrand and Robert Wrigley are the latest University of Idaho faculty members to win Pushcart Prizes for their writing.
Schrand, coordinator of UI’s graduate program in creative writing, won for his essay “Eleven Ways to Consider Air,” which was published in the literary journal Ecotone.
Wrigley, a creative writing professor, won for his poem “Lichen,” which appeared in the journal Meridian.
UI faculty members have won nine Pushcarts in all. The prizes celebrate the best literature published by the nation’s small presses.
Steves to speak
Rick Steves, author of the best-selling travel guidebook series, will speak at a special screening of the film “Marijuana: It’s Time for a Conversation,” which will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at the Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave.
The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.
To reserve seats, e-mail rsvp@aclu-wa.org. Or call (206) 624-2184.
Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public.
Book talk
•Tinman Book Club (“The Abstinence Teacher,” by Tom Perrotta), 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Tinman Gallery, 811 W. Garland Ave. Call (509) 325-1500.
•Friends of the Cheney Community Library Book Discussion Group (“Suite Française,” by Irene Nemirovsky), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Cheney branch of Spokane Public Library, 610 First St., Cheney. Call (509) 235-4490. Discussion leader: Debi Roccanova.
The reader board
•Chuck Lehman (“The Big Woods: A Novel of Love, Intrigue and Civil War”), reading, 12:30 p.m. today, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.
•Susan Nipp (“Mudgy & Millie”), signing, 1-3 p.m. today, Coeur d’Alene Hastings, 101 E. Best Ave. Call (208) 664-0464.
•J.R. Nakken (“Stream and Light”), signing, 1-2:30 p.m. Friday, Auntie’s Bookstore; signing, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Saturday, On Sacred Grounds, 12212 E. Palouse Highway. Call (509) 747-6294.
•Deby Fredericks (“Too Many Princes”), signing, 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
•Tina Friedman (“Sandpoint: A Small Town with a Big Heart”), signing, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
•Greg Rowley (“Golf Naked: The Bare Essentials Revealed”), signing, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Coeur d’Alene Hastings.
•David Atchison, Marie Weber (“The Adventures of Black Bart: An Encounter with Regret”), signing, 2-3 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.