seattle waterfront Ap
If you're bored this winter and you can't figure out why, take a look out the window. It might be the boring Seattle weather. (AP Photo/file)

Boring winter in Seattle for extreme weather lovers

BY Tim Haeck  on February 18, 2013 @ 11:10 am (Updated: 12:02 pm - 2/18/13 )

If you're bored this winter and you can't figure out why, take a look out the window. It might be the boring Seattle weather.

"We haven't had anything extreme or interesting," said University of Washington atmospheric scientist Cliff Mass. "No snowstorms here in the lowland, no windstorms, really of any magnitude and no real flooding."

Mass got several complaints about the tame weather so he helped put together a Seattle Winter Excitement Index (SWEI) based on temperature, snow and other winter weather components.

"How many times the temperature has gotten really warm, above 60 or below 25 or how often the winds get to 30 knots, or more, how often we get one inch of snow in a month, things like that," explained Mass.

What he found was that this has been the most uninteresting winter weather season since records have been kept. Actually, a tie with 1963.

"People enjoy a big storm. I mean there's something very basic, very religious about it and they're just not getting it this year," said Mass.

What does it mean? "Nothing," said Mass.

"The mistake that a lot of people make is they look at a particularly boring winter or they look at a winter with some interesting weather and assume that that has to do with global warming or something changing, but at this point, there's no reason to think that anything very unusual is happening," Mass concluded.

Sometimes our weather is interesting and sometimes it's just plain boring.

Tim Haeck, KIRO Radio Reporter
Tim Haeck is a news reporter with KIRO Radio. While Tim is one of our go-to, no-nonsense reporters, he also has a sensationally dry sense of humor and it will surprise some to learn he is a weekend warrior.
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Comments (11)


  • Add A Comment

  • cw1997 wrote...
    Must Be A
    February 18, 2013 2:08 pm
    Slow news day...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • O-town listener wrote...
    My opinion..
    February 18, 2013 2:13 pm
    People are mainly horrible drivers for the first couple days after the weather changes.. Maybe someday a scientist with nothing to do will study it and let me know if I'm right or not cause I definately won't. But mainly, if it was rainy yesterday and sunny today, people will be horrible drivers. If it was sunny yesterday and rainy today people will be horrible drivers.. If it has been rainy for 3-4 days people aren't bad (at least, in comparison) and the same goes for if it has been sunny for 3-4 days. Even if it has been snowy for 3-4 days people get not so bad, again, comparitively.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • clevesside wrote...
    As only a native would know.....
    February 18, 2013 2:25 pm
    ...no news is always good news. If you miss California, go back to Santa Anas, winter drenches, freeway firestorms, and Ma Nature's urban heatwave. Our natural "excitement" here is ours alone.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    Driving: It's liberals
    February 18, 2013 2:44 pm
    They think they are really smart, they also think they can drive. Neither could be further from the truth. Just look at the panic when you have 2 Priuses and 2 Subaru's pull up to a 4-way stop. You'd think you just asked these people to send a man to the moon. Nope, you asked them to do something that requires 5 brain cells, 2 more than what each of them have. It is surprising however since they were able to get their Obama 2013 sticker on their car perfectly level. Strange...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rangerhawk wrote...
    "there's no reason to think that anything very unusual is happening"
    February 18, 2013 6:36 pm
    Run Tim, Run!!! Are you crazy writing that around here! Grab what you can and flee to safety before the Warmers surround your house with pitchforks and bio-fuel torches!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sweetpea123 wrote...
    Jinx
    February 18, 2013 7:00 pm
    You just had to say something eh? Now we'll have snow, snow and more snow! I can live w/ boring, I detest trying to compete w/ the ice jockeys who either don't know how to drive in the stuff, or think they are invincible when driving in the stuff and cause more problems. Boring, I will take any day.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    Bring on
    February 18, 2013 7:46 pm
    the Snow!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }