climate
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9/27/2008
When you rate the climate of Bellingham, you must take in the geographical area that Bellingham is in.
Bellingham is actually situated on the western side of a bowl or pocket as follows:
1. The north side of the Bellingham area is the British Columbia, Canada / Washington/United States border. Sixty miles north of Bellingham the Frazier River comes out of Central British Columbia,Canada and into the Straits of Georgia.
The northern and eastern sides of the lower Frazier River are ringed by the high mountains of the Northern Cascades,
The west side or delta of the Frazier River empties into the north part of the Puget Sound.
The southern side of the Frazier River is a fairly flat area intermixed with trees and open spaces for great farming and dairies. This type of area continues to just south of the town of Bellingham.
2. The eastern side of the Bellingham area is ringed by the Cascades Mountains with Mt. Baker (10,775 ft.) as its signature mountain.
3. The southern side of Bellingham area is blocked by a western arm of the Cascades that is called Chuckanut Mt.
Situated near the eastern side of Chuckanut Mountain is lake Samish. North of Lake Samish is the I-5 Lake Samish off ramp which is the highest point on I-5 from the Canadian border to the Oregon border.
3. The western side of the Bellingham area is Bellingham Bay. Bellingham Bay is a part of the North Puget Sound.
When the wind comes from a Westerly direction into the Bellingham area it has no place to go as the Bellingham area is ringed by mountains.
When the wind comes from a north to south direction during the winter, the wind comes straight out of the Frazier River Canyon. This can lead to minus degree temperatures and very strong winds. This combination of the strong winds and the cold temperatures can lead to very low chill factors.
There are no winds usually coming from the east.
The rain clouds usually come off the Northern Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Alaska. When the rain clouds hit the Bellingham area (300 feet) they start to lift due the surrounding mountains. This lifting causes the rain clouds to loosen their rain down on to the Bellingham area.
You also must remember that there is over 1,000,000 people living in the Lower Frazier River area. This many people, cars, etc. living in a bowl, creates a lot of pollution which has no place to go. When the winds come down the Frazier River Canyon then the pollution is swept out to the sou
WALLY | Bellingham, WA