Weather & Climate

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Weather Eye: After a little more rain, get ready for some heat

May 27, 2021, 6:02am Clark County News

The rainfall this week was nice. In some locations it was heavy and in other areas on the light side. At the official rain gauge in Vancouver, we received slightly over one-half of an inch. I saw other reports out in Battle Ground and in our foothills of over an… Read story

FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2021 file photo, Curtis Morgan, the CEO of Vistra Corp., at table left, testifies as the Committees on State Affairs and Energy Resources holds a joint public hearing to consider the factors that led to statewide electrical blackouts, in Austin, Texas. Only days remain for Texas lawmakers to make good on promised overhauls following one of the largest power outages in U.S. history, when more than 4 million customers lost heat after an artic blast buckled the state's electric grid.

Texas missing chance to avert deadly blackouts, experts say

May 26, 2021, 8:57am Nation & World

Elzie Ford lost power in his freezing home for nearly a week during February’s catastrophic blackouts in Texas. By the time the 68-year-old widower was found on the floor, his hands were purpled with frostbite. He died the next day. Read story

Heavy winds and sea waves hit the shore at the Digha beach on the Bay of Bengal coast as Cyclone Yaas intensifies in West Bengal state, India, Wednesday, May 26, 2021. Heavy rain and a high tide lashed parts of India's eastern coast as the cyclone pushed ashore Wednesday in an area where more than 1.1 million people have evacuated amid a devastating coronavirus surge.

Cyclone lashes India, Bangladesh after 1.1M evacuated

May 26, 2021, 8:27am Nation & World

Heavy rain and a high tide lashed parts of eastern India and neighboring Bangladesh as a cyclone pushed ashore Wednesday in an area where more than 1.1 million people have evacuated during a devastating coronavirus surge. Read story

Policemen ask people to move to cyclone shelters as they patrol a beach in Balasore district in Odisha, India, Tuesday, May 25, 2021. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated Tuesday in low-lying areas of two Indian states and moved to cyclone shelters to escape a powerful storm barreling toward the eastern coast.

Thousands evacuated in India as strong cyclone approaches

May 25, 2021, 8:55am Nation & World

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated Tuesday from low-lying areas of two Indian states and moved to cyclone shelters to escape a powerful storm barreling toward the eastern coast. Read story

Weather Eye: Hurray for rain; holiday weekend likely to be warm

May 25, 2021, 6:04am Clark County News

Rain, rain go away, come back again another — hold on, wait! Sorry, wrong introduction, we need the rain, so we ask that it stay around, not go away. Goodness, I got carried away. Those showers Monday were delightful, and I could almost hear the plants and shrubs soaking it… Read story

As drought intensifies, California seeing more wildfires

California Gov. Gavin Newsom jumps out of a new Sikorsky S70i Black Hawk firefighting helicopter after arriving to highlight new firefighting equipment and his proposed $2 billion investment in wildfire and emergency preparedness at a press conference in McClellan Park in Sacramento County on Monday, May 24, 2021. (Renee C.

As California sinks deeper into drought it already has had more than 900 additional wildfires than at this point in 2020, which was a record-breaking year that saw more than 4 percent of the state’s land scorched by flames. Read story

Weather Eye: Chance of showers all week, but in small amounts

I spent an anxious noon hour Saturday looking out my window in the Salmon Creek area waiting for the morning cloudiness to depart. Finally, at 2 p.m., skies cleared — except for a few lingering clouds toward the Cascades — and we enjoyed blue skies and sunshine. Because the clouds… Read story

Houston area getting little of $1 billion in Harvey flood aid

$FILE - In this Aug. 27, 2017 file photo, people walk through floodwaters in Houston, Texas. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston. Houston area officials expressed shock and anger on Friday, May 21, 2021, after learning that their communities, which suffered the brunt of damage from Hurricane Harvey, would be getting a fraction of $1 billion that Texas is awarding as part of an initial distribution of federal funding given to the state for flood mitigation.$

Houston area officials expressed shock and anger on Friday after learning that their communities, which suffered the brunt of damage from Hurricane Harvey, would be getting only a small part of the $1 billion that Texas is awarding as part of an initial distribution of federal funding given to the… Read story