MOUNT RAINIER
GEOLOGY & WEATHER
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Good Morning!
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Today is day 79 of 2024 and
day 171 of Water Year 2024
Welcome to morageology.com! This site is an externally-accessible clearing house of static, real-time, non-real-time, and archived Mount Rainier geologic and geomorphic data used for geohazard awareness and mitigation. All data provided on this site are publicly-accessible non-sensitive scientific information collected by geologists at Mount Rainier National Park. Individual datasets are provided here for informational use only and are not guaranteed to be accurate or final versions - all data should be considered provisional unless otherwise noted.
TODAY'S DEBRIS FLOW HAZARD
9-DAY FORECAST TREND:
LLLLLLLLL
LATEST PARADISE WEATHER
As of: 03/19/2024 02:00 AM

46.4° F
Wind: W (267°) @ 4 G 7 mph
Snow Depth: 131 in (78% of normal)
24-hour Precip: 0.00 in

[ Observation | Forecast ]
LATEST LONGMIRE WEATHER
As of: 03/07/2024 05:00 PM

36° F
Snow Depth: 8 in (25% of normal)
24-hour Precip: 0.00 in

[ Observation | Forecast ]
WINDY.COM PRECIPITATION RADAR
MOUNT RAINIER VICINITY
FORECASTED SNOW PACK
AT PARADISE (5,400')
[ More Info ]
Mowich Face seen during an aerial reconnaissance flight (from a photo by Scott Beason on 02/10/2020)
LATEST EARTHQUAKES:
Earthquakes in the last 30 days near Mount Rainier
:
35

LAST 5 EARTHQUAKES:

  1. Mon, Mar 18, 2024, 13:43:07 GMT
    20 hours 49 minutes 27 seconds ago
    18.925 km (11.760 mi) W of summit
    Magnitude: 0.2
    Depth 7.5 km (4.7 mi)
    View More Info

  2. Mon, Mar 18, 2024, 12:58:35 GMT
    21 hours 34 minutes ago
    0.671 km (0.417 mi) NNE of summit
    Magnitude: -0.4
    Depth 2.2 km (1.4 mi)
    View More Info

  3. Sun, Mar 17, 2024, 06:50:39 GMT
    2 days 3 hours 41 minutes 56 seconds ago
    14.087 km (8.753 mi) WNW of summit
    Magnitude: 0.1
    Depth 8.3 km (5.2 mi)
    View More Info

  4. Sun, Mar 17, 2024, 02:00:36 GMT
    2 days 8 hours 31 minutes 58 seconds ago
    12.076 km (7.504 mi) W of summit
    Magnitude: 0.2
    Depth 7.0 km (4.3 mi)
    View More Info

  5. Fri, Mar 15, 2024, 13:13:50 GMT
    3 days 21 hours 18 minutes 45 seconds ago
    20.723 km (12.877 mi) SSW of summit
    Magnitude: 1.3
    Depth 4.1 km (2.5 mi)
    View More Info

MISC:
Currently, this site has approximately
18,455,733
total data points in its database!
 
1 RANDOM PUBLICATION AND THE 5 LATEST PUBLICATIONS ADDED TO THE DATABASE:
  1. Rodgers and Roberts (2016) Soil survey of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
    Mount Rainier national Park is centered around an active volcanic peak in the Cascade Mountain Range, in western Washington State. Mount Rainier was named in honor of Captain Peter Rainier. It is the second highest and most glaciated peak in the conterminous United States, rising to an elevation of 4392 meters above sea level. The park consists of 95,231 hectares, covering the eastern portions of Pierce and Lewis Counties. It is approximately 100 kilometers southeast of Seattle, Washington, and is bounded by Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to the west and north, Gifford Pinchot National Forest to the south, and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest to the east. About 3 percent of the park is designated as a national historic landmark district and 97 percent is designated as wilderness. The park preserves a wild and rugged landscape in the Pacific Northwest. Mount Rainier National Park receives approximately 2 million visitors per year. There are several readily accessible entrances to the park during the peak season in summer. The most widely used entrance is the Nisqually Entrance, along Washington State Route 706, at the southwest corner of the park. This is the only vehicle entrance that is open year round, and it is the main access to the Longmire and Paradise areas. Other entrances include the Mowich and Carbon River Entrances at the northwest corner of the park; the White River Entrance at the northeast corner and the Chinook Pass Entrance on the eastern boundary, both of which are along Washington State Route 410; and the Ohanapecosh Entrance, along Washington State Route 123, at the southeast corner. A long and diverse geologic history has resulted in a variety of landforms, soils, and dramatic topography. Numerous waterways, including the Nisqually, Puyallup, Carbon, White, and Cowlitz Rivers, start their journey to the Pacific Ocean on the flanks of Mount Rainier. A complex mosaic of mountainous topography and varied climatic conditions produce a diverse regional ecology of temperate rainforests, mountain forests and meadows, and alpine parkland. The park also has a rich cultural history that spans thousands of years. This soil survey is an initial soil resource inventory. No previous National Cooperative Soil Survey inventory of the soils in the park has been conducted.
  2. Hagen (2024) Weather Summary: Mount Rainier National Park - Water Year 2023
    The North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) Inventory and Monitoring Program monitors climate in order to compare current and historic data to understand long-term trends, to provide data to model future impacts to park facilities and resources, and to provide park staff with information needed to make management decisions. This brief summarizes climate data collected and notable weather events that occurred during water year 2023 in Mount Rainier National Park. Water year is defined as the period from October 1 to September 30 of the following year, to encompass a full cycle of precipitation accumulation.
  3. Hagen (2023) Weather Summary: Mount Rainier National Park - Water Year 2022
    The North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) Inventory and Monitoring Program monitors climate in order to compare current and historic data to understand long-term trends, to provide data to model future impacts to park facilities and resources, and to provide park staff with information needed to make management decisions. This brief summarizes climate data collected and notable weather events that occurred during water year 2022 in Mount Rainier National Park. Water year is defined as the period from October 1 to September 30 of the following year, to encompass a full cycle of precipitation accumulation.
  4. Hagen (2022) Weather Summary: Mount Rainier National Park - Water Year 2021
    The North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) Inventory and Monitoring Program monitors climate in order to compare current and historic data to understand long-term trends, to provide data to model future impacts to park facilities and resources, and to provide park staff with information needed to make management decisions. This brief summarizes climate data collected and notable weather events that occurred during water year 2021 in Mount Rainier National Park. Water year is defined as the period from October 1 to September 30 of the following year, to encompass a full cycle of precipitation accumulation.
  5. Jaeger (2024) Streamflow permanence in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
    Streams that flow throughout summer ("permanent" streams) provide critical habitat for aquatic species and serve as an important water supply. Streams that go dry seasonally or only flow after rainfall or snowmelt are a natural feature of mountain systems, including Mount Rainier National Park. However, in years with substantially less than normal snowfall, like 2015, more streams go dry, resulting in less water for Mount Rainier National Park infrastructure and unknown consequences for stream ecology.
  6. Conrick and Mass (2023) The influence of soil moisture on the historic 2021 Pacific Northwest heatwave
    During late June 2021, a record-breaking heatwave impacted western North America, with all-time high temperatures reported across Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alberta. The heatwave was forced by a highly anomalous upper-level ridge, strong synoptic-scale subsidence, and downslope flow resulting in lower-tropospheric adiabatic warming. This study examines the impact of antecedent soil moisture on this extreme heat event. During the cool season of 2020/21, precipitation over the Pacific Northwest was above or near normal, followed by a dry spring that desiccated soils to 50%–75% of normal moisture content by early June. Low surface soil moisture affects the surface energy balance by altering the partitioning between sensible and latent heat fluxes, resulting in warmer temperatures. Using numerical model simulations of the heatwave, this study demonstrates that surface air temperatures were warmed by an average of 0.48°C as a result of dry soil moisture conditions, compared to a high-temperature anomaly of 10°–20°C during the event. Air temperatures over eastern Washington and southern British Columbia were most sensitive to soil moisture anomalies, with 0000 UTC temperature anomalies ranging from 1.2° to 2.2°C. Trajectory analysis indicated that rapid subsidence of elevated parcels prevented air parcels from being affected by surface heat fluxes over a prolonged period of time, resulting in a relatively small temperature sensitivity to soil moisture. Changes to soil moisture also altered regional pressure, low-level wind, and geopotential heights, as well as modified the marine air intrusion along the Pacific coast of Washington and Oregon.

View More Publications...

LATEST UPDATES AND SITE NEWS:
August 5, 2019 Tahoma Creek Debris Flow
Posted on Wed, Aug 14, 2019, 17:00 by Scott Beason. Updated on Wed, Aug 14, 2019, 17:00

The 32nd recorded debris flow in Tahoma Creek occurred on August 5, 2019, between 6:44 PM PDT (8/6/2019 01:55 UTC) - 8:10 PM PDT (8/6/2019 03:10 UTC), as observed on the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network's (PNSN) Emerald Ridge (RER) seismograph. The event began as a sudden and significant change in the primary outlet stream from the terminus of the South Tahoma Glacier. This change caused a surge of water to go over loose, steep and unconsolidated sediment-rich areas just downstream of the terminus. Debris flow deposits were observed approximately 4 miles downstream at the Tahoma Creek Trail trailhead (an area affectionally known in the park as 'barrel curve'). The event is still being investigated... a good photo set (with a few videos) is available here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mountrainiernps/sets/72157710161403356/. If you would like to view more information about the event, click here: http://www.morageology.com/geoEvent.php#145. If you were in the area of the South Tahoma Glacier or Tahoma Creek on the evening of August 5 and/or morning of August 6, and have any interesting observations, please send them to Scott Beason.

New Camp Schurman weather station added!
Posted on Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 14:17 by Scott Beason. Updated on Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 14:17

A new weather station has been added to morageology.com. Click the following link to see hourly data from Camp Schurman on the NE side of Mount Rainier's volcanic edifice at 9,500 feet: http://waterdata.morageology.com/station.php?g=MORAWXCS.

Longmire RSAM Down
Posted on Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 05:00 by Scott Beason. Updated on Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 05:00

The Longmire (LON) seismograph has been reporting ground vibrations from a construction project in the area near the seismograph. In order to prevent erroneous debris flow alerts, the RSAM (debris flow detection) analysis has been disabled. The system will be restored once the construction project has been completed.

LATEST CASCADES VOLCANO OBSERVATORY WEEKLY UPDATE:

CASCADES VOLCANO OBSERVATORY WEEKLY UPDATE
U.S. Geological Survey
Friday, January 5, 2024, 1:47 PM PST (Friday, January 5, 2024, 21:47 UTC)


CASCADE RANGE (VNUM #)
Current Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL
Current Aviation Color Code: GREEN

Activity Update: All volcanoes in the Cascade Range of Oregon and Washington are at normal background activity levels. These include Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams in Washington State and Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters, Newberry, and Crater Lake in Oregon.

Past Week Observations: During the past week, small earthquakes were detected at Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens. All monitoring data are consistent with background activity levels in the Cascades Range.



The U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory and the University of Washington Pacific Northwest Seismic Network continue to monitor Washington and Oregon volcanoes closely and will issue additional notifications as warranted.

Website Resources

For images, graphics, and general information on Cascade Range volcanoes: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo
For seismic information on Oregon and Washington volcanoes: http://www.pnsn.org/volcanoes
For information on USGS volcano alert levels and notifications: https://www.usgs.gov/programs/VHP/volcano-notifications-deliver-situational-information



CONTACT INFORMATION:

Jon Major, Scientist-in-Charge, Cascades Volcano Observatory, jjmajor@usgs.gov

General inquiries: vhpweb@usgs.gov