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Sorry, no winner again this week. Here is my weekly weather quiz question just one more time. How long can a lightning bolt be? Here is the correct answer. Recent research from Vaisala-GAI’s LDAR and LDAR II lightning detection networks show that lightning can travel 60 miles or more. The longest bolts start at the front of a squall line and travel horizontally back into clouds trailing behind the squall line. The longest bolt they have seen to date was 118 miles long in the Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX area. Since 3-D lightning measurements are relatively new, scientists are learning more every day and these numbers may change. I’ll have a new weekly weather quiz question for you starting next Monday. Please remember to post your answer as a comment by clicking on “no comments /comments” in the upper right hand portion of this page under the caption, then add your comment. The first person to post the correct answer will win a week of free personalized weather forecasts tailored to your needs. The answer has to be a comment to win. An email answer will not count.
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Advisories: NONE AT THIS TIME.
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The Jet Stream airflow will continue to send storm systems our way producing more rain. A frontal system will slide through today increasing the clouds and the chance of rain. Another frontal system will bring rain Monday and Tuesday, then things will dry out for a few days as high pressure at the surface (shown as blue “H”) and high pressure aloft combine to clear out the clouds.
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Forecast for the Umpqua Basin including Roseburg: Mostly cloudy with rain tonight (0.20 in. of rain possible), rain likely (60%) Monday AM, rain (0.20 in. of rain possible) in the afternoon, rain and breezy (wind: SW 15-25 mph shifting to W 10-15 mph at night) Monday night (0.40 in. of rain possible), AM rain, showers likely (60%) Tuesday afternoon (under 0.10 in. of rain possible), mostly cloudy in the evening and partly cloudy and colder with a slight (20%) chance of showers Tuesday night lows 55-39 highs 72-62 warming to 66 Tuesday. Partly cloudy Wednesday, mostly clear Wednesday night, mostly sunny Thursday, partly cloudy at night, mostly cloudy with a (30%) chance of rain Friday, a slight (20%) chance of rain Friday night, then mostly cloudy with a (30%) chance of rain Saturday highs 72-65 warming to 67 Sunday lows 45-42. (seasonal averages high 67 low 45)
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Forecast for the South Oregon Coast including Coos Bay and North Bend: Mostly cloudy with rain tonight (0.50 in. of rain possible), rain Monday (0.40 in. of rain possible) and breezy (wind: S 10-15 mph increasing to 20-25 mph with gusts to 40 mph in the afternoon), rain (0.90 in. of rain possible) and windy (wind: SW 20-30 mph gusts to 45 mph decreasing to SW 10-15 mph late) Monday night, mostly cloudy with AM rain, a good (50%) chance of coastal rain in the afternoon and rain likely (60%) Tuesday afternoon inland, partly cloudy and colder with a slight (20%) chance of inland showers in the evening and mostly cloudy with patchy fog late Tuesday night, partly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of evening coastal showers, mostly cloudy with areas of patchy fog late at night, mostly cloudy with patchy AM fog, mostly sunny in the afternoon, then mostly clear with patchy fog late Wednesday night lows 56-46 highs 61-56 warming to 63 Wednesday. Patchy AM fog, mostly sunny Thursday, partly cloudy at night, mostly cloudy with a (20%) chance of rain Friday, a slight (20%) chance of rain Friday night, then mostly cloudy with a (20%) chance of rain Saturday through Sunday highs 65-60 warming to 62 Sunday lows near 47. (seasonal averages high 61 low 46)
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Forecast for the Cascades of Lane County: Mostly cloudy with rain tonight (0.50 in. of rain possible), rain Monday (0.25 in. of rain possible), rain and breezy (wind: SW 15-25 mph gusts to 40 mph) Monday night (1.00 in. of rain possible), cloudy with showers Tuesday, partly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of evening showers, partly cloudy and colder Tuesday night, partly cloudy Wednesday AM, mostly sunny in the afternoon, then partly cloudy Wednesday night snow level above 8,000 ft. tonight through Tuesday, 6,000 ft. Tuesday night, free air freezing level 11,000 ft. Wednesday, then 12,000 ft. Wednesday night lows 44-30 warming to 36 Wednesday night highs 54-46 warming to 56 Wednesday. Mostly sunny Thursday, partly cloudy at night, a mix of clouds and sun with a slight (20%) chance of rain Friday, mostly cloudy with a (40%) chance of rain Friday night, a mix of clouds and sun with a (40%) chance of rain Saturday, mostly cloudy with a (40%) chance of rain at night, then a mix of clouds and sun with a (40%) chance of rain and snow Sunday free air freezing level 13,000 ft. Thursday, 12,000 ft. Thursday night, snow level above 8,000 ft. Friday and Friday night, 6,500 ft. Saturday, 6,000 ft. Saturday night, then falling to 4,500 ft. Sunday highs 67-42 lows 39-29.
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**Because weather forecasting is a combination of science, intuition, and timing there can be no absolute guarantees that individual forecasts will be 100% accurate. Nature is in a constant state of flux and sudden unexpected weather events can happen.
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Get your local Eugene-Springfield news on-line at Eugene Daily News.com
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