by Eric Degerman
Herald staff writer
Most of us heading into the backcountry are constantly in search of an edge, whether it be lighter camping gear, tastier freeze-dried food or sensing the approach of a storm.
C. David Whiteman, a Battelle staff scientist in the Atmospheric Sciences Technical Group for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has just used his expertise to help not just hikers but anyone understand and, in some cases, forecast weather.
It's available in his book – Mountain Meteorology: Fundamentals and Applications, published by Oxford University Press, $39.95.
Whiteman, 54, will be signing copies of the recently published book at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Barnes & Noble at Columbia Center mall. The book is also available via Amazon.com.
"I find that when I hike, I get more enjoyment if I can start to recognize things like the wildflowers," Whiteman said. "There's never been anyone who has done that for mountain weather, and I thought it would be nice to have the people who read the book be able to recognize the weather features around them and help them predict."
At 355 pages, this is no guidebook to toss in your backpack. Rather, it's a textbook that sent me back to school and those days of fat day-glo yellow highlighter pens. Don't let the size of this hardcover intimidate you because Whiteman makes weather, especially those mesmerizing graphics on the Weather Channel, easier to comprehend.
"I'm hoping to do an edition that can be more of a pocket book and focus a little more on the outdoor enthusiast who does hiking, climbing or whatever, " he said.
The book was written for use by the Forest Service, the National Weather Service and the Army, but the clearly written text, easy-to-follow charts and diagrams, along with many fascinating color photographs, make this a nice reference book for home use. Whiteman credits Kathy Kachele of Lockheed Martin Services Inc. in Richland for the graphics and artwork. Whiteman's wife, Johanna, did a masterful job of editing and preventing the work from turning into a dry scientific paper. "It was very hard for me to write for a nontechnical audience, " he said.
Sometimes, you might even chuckle. In the side margins are quotes from unnamed elementary school students ("The wind is like the air, only pushier") and a famous malapropism from baseball great Yogi Berra – "You can observe an awful lot by just watchin'."
The timing of Mountain Meteorology couldn't have been better for me with a hiking trip to Mount Rainier National Park just around the bend. In fact, the book's cover photo is of an altocumulus-stacked lenticular cloud circling Mount Rainier.
Clouds are the most obvious weather indicators, and Whiteman classifies them and provides photo examples. One sign of changing weather at Mount Rainier comes in cloud caps, a form of lenticular clouds that touch the mountain top. The wispy cap clouds over Columbia Crest on a clear day are an early sign of moist air – and perhaps a storm – arriving from the Pacific Ocean in a day or two.
Another way to follow the weather patterns in the back country is to apply the Buys-Ballot Rule, named after a 19th century Dutch scientist. "If the wind aloft blows into your back, low pressure will be on your left … and high (pressure) on your right." In this case, Whiteman describes how to chart the movement of the pressure cells by following the path of jet airplane contrails or clouds.
My main interest, of course, is being able to decipher warning signs of weather systems approaching Rainier, but my zest for trivia tripped me up in this book.
Early on, Whiteman details North America's major mountain ranges, including the Appalachians. I discovered that the highest recorded winds on the earth's surface in history are 231 mph atop New Hampshire's Mount Washington (6,288 ft), which also experiences an average of 310 foggy days annually.
Many times while hiking, my wife and I have tried to envision a time centuries ago when skies over the Cascades must have been crystal clear and deep blue.
Whiteman's book explains that natural hydrocarbon emissions from forests produce haze, and the Great Smoky Mountains were named for this bluish haze. That moniker came well before the Industrial Revolution.
Although the book's title centers on mountains, Whiteman touches on virtually every weather-related phenomenon, including fog, electrical storms (it takes five seconds for the sound of a lightning strike to travel one mile), how wind exacerbates hypothermia and frostbite, and what factors into the heat index.
Whiteman received a bachelor's degree in physical science from Colorado State University, a master's degree in meteorology from the University of Michigan and his doctorate in atmospheric science from CSU. He's also an editor of the Journal of Applied Meteorology and an adjunct associate professor of environmental science at Washington State University.
It's important for the public to know that there are lots of people (at Battelle) like me who are working on projects in other parts of the country that are not related to the nuclear industry," Whiteman said.
The result is a culmination of a 35-year-old dream and five years of diligence. And the payoff is a book for hikers, campers, farmers, pilots, firefighters and anyone who watches TV to see what the weather forecast is for tomorrow.
Whiteman can be reached via his Web site at www.pnl.gov/atmos_sciences/Cdw.
Eric Degerman can be reached at 582-1509 or via e-mail at edegerman@tri-cityherald.com.
About the book: Mountain Meteorology by C. David Whiteman. Oxford university Press. 355 pages. $39.95.
-Eric Degerman Tri-City Herald, page B6, Sunday, August 20, 2000