Inversion

Here's a current live webcam image from Seattle:

Now here's the current webcam image from Paradise:

It's 50 degrees in Seattle, and 55 degrees at my home in Eatonville. Here's our air quality camera at Paradise, looking down toward the valley. Note the current temperature: 58 degrees!

Now here's the explanation. A still from the current Seattle satellite image (you can clearly see snow-capped Mount Rainier in the center of the picture):

The clouds are coming in off the ocean, rising into the mountains... and evaporating. That's because it's colder at lower elevations than it is at higher elevations. Moisture condenses into clouds at cold temperatures and evaporates at warm temperatures. What we have here, folks, is a classic inversion!

The moral? When it's cloudy and cool in town, check the weather maps... and if we have inversion conditions, come up into the sunshine and volunteer!