Flows are generally
from the west of the site, with more northwesterly flow during the summer
when the Pacific High is off the coast of northwestern U.S., and more
southwesterly flow during the winter when the Pacific High has retreated
southward.
Figure 1. Normalized
residence in January (left) and August (right)
Figure 2 illustrates that flows are normally from west
during the best visibility days, while the easterly and southerly flows are
important in the worst days. Figure 3 indicates that flows are more often
from northern California, Southwest Canada, and east of the site from
Wyoming in the worst OC days.
Figure 2. Normalized residence in 20% best (left) and
20% worst visibility days (right)
Figure
3. Difference (left)
and ratio (right) of normalized residence time in 20% worst OC days and all
days
For an in depth discussion on the role of meteorology
at Spokane see the Meteorological
Discussion section.
