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Rule Storm Chaser

Olympic Rainforest - Storm Chaser - Pacific Northwest

Forks, Washington, United States

Dramatic storm conditions — from atmospheric builds to active thunderstorms

No opportunities right now
Here’s what usually blocks matches

No Storm Chaser opportunities in the next 14 days

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Rule requirements (key thresholds)
Storm Intensity · ≥ 55.0% Cloud Drama Score · ≥ 55.0% CAPE · ≥ 1200.0J/kg Lifted Index · ≤ -2.0°C

Tip: Scroll down to the 72-hour table to see exactly which condition fails hour by hour.

Most common blockers (next 72 hours)
Storm Intensity 100% failing
CAPE 100% failing
Cloud Drama Score 76% failing

Currently

Real-time conditions
Cloud Cover47%
Wind Gusts0.5m/s
Precipitation Chance0%
Air Pressure1002.6hPa
CAPE0
Lifted Index14.1°C
Wind Gusts0.5m/s
Precipitation0.0mm

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in America/Los_Angeles

No opportunities in the next 10 days

See the blocker timeline below to understand which conditions are preventing matches.

What this forecast looks for

Plain-language explanation from the rule

This forecast tracks Pacific storm systems hitting the Northwest coast, identifying when conditions create dramatic photography opportunities while balancing safety considerations. We monitor storm intensity, wave height, wind patterns, and King Tide timing to predict optimal storm photography windows.

The Pacific Northwest receives powerful storm systems throughout fall and winter, creating spectacular wave action along its rugged coastline. These storms combine with the region's dramatic sea stacks, headlands, and coastal forests to produce compelling images. Winter "King Tides"—exceptionally high tides—amplify storm impacts.

What makes the Pacific Northwest special for storm photography:

  • Pacific storm power - Powerful winter systems bring dramatic wave action to exposed coastlines
  • King Tides - December-February extreme high tides create exceptional wave drama
  • Haystack Rock storms - Cannon Beach's iconic sea stack withstanding storm waves
  • Cape Disappointment - One of the most dangerous bar crossings offers dramatic lighthouse storm scenes

Cannon Beach becomes a premier storm photography destination during winter storm events, particularly during King Tides when waves can reach spectacular heights around Haystack Rock and the surrounding sea stacks. The combination of accessible beach, dramatic rock formations, and powerful Pacific swells creates world-class opportunities. Cape Disappointment at the mouth of the Columbia River offers lighthouse drama during storms—waves crash against the rocky headland while the historic lighthouse stands sentinel. Shore Acres State Park near Coos Bay features a protected viewing platform where photographers can safely capture massive storm waves exploding against the cliff face. The Olympic coast provides wilderness storm photography with sea stacks and rugged shoreline. Safety is essential—our forecast helps identify conditions that are dramatic but manageable, tracking when peak storm intensity has passed but seas remain photogenic. Never turn your back on the ocean, watch for sneaker waves, and maintain safe distances from surf.

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72-hour requirements breakdown

What passed or failed, hour by hour
0matching hours in the next 95 hours
OR logic: one branch per group is enough
Meets requirement
Misses requirement
Time
America/Los_Angeles
Storm Intensity
≥ 55.0%
Cloud Drama Score
≥ 55.0%
CAPE
OR1·B1
≥ 1200.0J/kg
Lifted Index
OR1·B2
≤ -2.0°C
Visibility
≥ 2500.0m
Wind Gusts
≤ 22.0m/s
Sat, May 23
06:000%48%0J/kg8.7°C24134m3.5m/s
07:000%45%0J/kg9.8°C24135m3m/s
08:000%37%0J/kg9.7°C24134m3.4m/s
09:000%36%0J/kg8.1°C24135m4.2m/s
10:000%49%0J/kg7°C24135m4.6m/s
11:009.8%59%0J/kg7.2°C24134m5.2m/s
12:000%43%0J/kg7.7°C24134m5.9m/s
13:000%20%0J/kg7°C24134m6m/s
14:0012%17%0J/kg7.4°C24135m6.1m/s
15:000%30%0J/kg8.1°C24135m6.8m/s
16:000%30%0J/kg8.4°C24135m6.2m/s
17:0013%39%0J/kg8.7°C24135m6.2m/s
18:000%36%0J/kg9.6°C24135m5.7m/s
19:000%82%0J/kg11°C24135m5.6m/s
20:0011%100%0J/kg11°C24135m6m/s
21:000%47%0J/kg11°C24134m1.8m/s
22:000%66%0J/kg11°C24135m1.7m/s
23:009.1%7.7%0J/kg11°C24134m3.6m/s
Sun, May 24
24:000%12%0J/kg12°C24134m2.4m/s
01:000%8.4%0J/kg12°C24134m3.9m/s
02:0011%12%0J/kg12°C24134m3m/s
03:000%8.9%0J/kg12°C24135m3.4m/s
04:000%53%0J/kg12°C24134m1.6m/s
05:009.8%42%0J/kg13°C24135m0.72m/s
06:000%71%0J/kg14°C24135m0.5m/s
07:000%60%0J/kg15°C24135m0.41m/s
08:009.8%15%1J/kg16°C24134m1.6m/s
09:000%14%0J/kg15°C24134m0.91m/s
10:000%30%0J/kg15°C24134m2.1m/s
11:0012%23%0J/kg15°C24134m2.4m/s
12:000%37%0J/kg14°C24135m2.4m/s
13:000%27%0J/kg14°C24134m2.5m/s
14:0012%30%0J/kg11°C24135m3m/s
15:000%40%0J/kg11°C24134m3.7m/s
16:000%42%0J/kg12°C24135m4.6m/s
17:0013%39%0J/kg13°C24135m4.8m/s
18:000%61%0J/kg13°C24135m4.1m/s
19:000%55%0J/kg13°C24135m4.4m/s
20:0013%59%0J/kg13°C24135m4.5m/s
21:000%64%0J/kg15°C24134m5.5m/s
22:000%57%0J/kg15°C24134m7m/s
23:0017%0.6%0J/kg13°C24134m9.8m/s
Mon, May 25
24:000%0.1%0J/kg14°C24135m7.3m/s
01:000%0%0J/kg16°C24134m11m/s
02:0018%0%0J/kg16°C24135m11m/s
03:000%0%12J/kg14°C12807m12m/s
04:0013%74%10J/kg14°C23392m13m/s
05:0037%73%0J/kg12°C23500m16m/s
06:0019%68%0J/kg10°C24134m18m/s
07:0018%64%1J/kg9.1°C24134m18m/s
08:0037%61%6J/kg8.1°C24134m15m/s
09:0034%52%8J/kg7°C6953m17m/s
10:0037%50%2J/kg6.5°C4813m16m/s
11:0045%61%54J/kg5.6°C6777m11m/s
12:000%49%32J/kg5°C24135m7.3m/s
13:000%34%19J/kg5°C23248m9.9m/s
14:000%46%27J/kg5°C20159m9.9m/s
15:0014%64%39J/kg4.8°C17584m9.3m/s
16:0013%45%44J/kg4.8°C16258m9.6m/s
17:0013%47%52J/kg4.5°C18122m9.2m/s
18:000%49%29J/kg4.6°C22004m8.4m/s
19:000%59%27J/kg4.6°C24135m8m/s
20:000%96%21J/kg5°C24134m7.8m/s
21:000%100%1J/kg5.8°C24134m4.9m/s
22:000%86%0J/kg6.4°C24134m3.7m/s
23:000%15%0J/kg6.3°C24135m2.3m/s
Tue, May 26
24:000%15%0J/kg6.2°C24134m2.2m/s
01:000%15%1J/kg6.5°C24135m2m/s
02:000%13%1J/kg6.8°C24134m1.5m/s
03:000%13%1J/kg6.8°C24135m1.2m/s
04:000%49%5J/kg6.9°C24134m1.5m/s
05:000%47%5J/kg7°C24134m1.1m/s
06:000%54%3J/kg6.9°C24134m1.3m/s
07:000%51%2J/kg6.8°C24135m1.7m/s
08:000%27%0J/kg6.5°C24135m3.6m/s
09:000%17%0J/kg5.3°C24134m3.6m/s
10:000%33%20J/kg4.6°C24135m4.1m/s
11:000%38%9J/kg4.3°C24134m4.1m/s
12:000%14%6J/kg4.2°C24134m3.8m/s
13:000%4%3J/kg4.2°C24135m3.5m/s
14:0011%2.5%0J/kg4.1°C24135m3.2m/s
15:000%4.5%0J/kg5°C24135m2.5m/s
16:000%2.7%0J/kg5.8°C24135m1.9m/s
17:0011%3.3%0J/kg6.7°C24135m1.2m/s
18:000%3.3%0J/kg8.4°C24135m1m/s
19:000%3.9%0J/kg10°C24135m0.89m/s
20:008.4%4.2%0J/kg12°C24135m0.73m/s
21:000%4.2%0J/kg12°C24135m0.8m/s
22:000%3.6%0J/kg11°C24135m0.87m/s
23:009.1%0%0J/kg11°C24135m0.94m/s
Wed, May 27
24:000%0%0J/kg11°C24135m0.94m/s
01:000%0%0J/kg11°C24135m0.93m/s
02:008.4%0%0J/kg11°C24135m0.93m/s
03:000%0%0J/kg11°C21048m1.5m/s
04:000%53%0J/kg11°C17960m2.1m/s
How to read: colored cells show whether each predicate requirement is met; highlighted rows mean the full rule matched (an opportunity). For OR groups, only one branch is required, so some OR-branch predicates can be ✕ even in a matching hour.

What does Cloud Drama Score mean?

Inputs that drive the score

This derived score summarizes multiple raw weather signals. The table below shows the supporting inputs hour by hour, so you can see what's pushing the score up or down.

Time
America/Los_Angeles
Air Pressure
hPa
CAPE
J/kg
High Clouds
%
Lifted Index
°C
Low Clouds
%
Mid-Level Clouds
%
Precipitation Chance
%
Rainfall
mm
Relative Humidity
%
Showers
mm
Simulated Reflectivity
dBZ
Solar Elevation
°
Total Cloud Coverage
%
Total Precipitation
mm
Wind Shear 0-3 km
m/s
Wind Shear 0-6 km
m/s
Wind Speed
m/s
Sun, May 24 Sunrise 05:29 Sunset 21:00
06:00
1003hPa 0J/kg 47% 14°C 3% 5% 0% 0mm 90% 0mm -20dBZ 3.9° 47% 0mm - - 0.27m/s
07:00
1003hPa 0J/kg 41% 15°C 2% 5% 0% 0mm 84% 0mm -20dBZ 13° 41% 0mm - - 0.15m/s
08:00
1003hPa 1J/kg 100% 16°C 10% 5% 0% 0mm 73% 0mm -20dBZ 23° 100% 0mm 8.7m/s 15m/s 0.96m/s
09:00
1002hPa 0J/kg 97% 15°C 5% 5% 0% 0mm 65% 0mm -20dBZ 33° 97% 0mm - - 0.93m/s
10:00
1002hPa 0J/kg 100% 15°C 5% 32% 0% 0mm 60% 0mm -20dBZ 43° 100% 0mm - - 2.4m/s
11:00
1002hPa 0J/kg 99% 15°C 0% 5% 0% 0mm 58% 0mm -20dBZ 52° 99% 0mm 11m/s 18m/s 2.9m/s
12:00
1002hPa 0J/kg 100% 14°C 3% 31% 0% 0mm 58% 0mm -20dBZ 59° 100% 0mm - - 3.2m/s
13:00
1001hPa 0J/kg 45% 14°C 5% 86% 0% 0mm 58% 0mm -20dBZ 63° 86% 0mm - - 2.5m/s
14:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 66% 11°C 48% 78% 0% 0mm 51% 0mm -20dBZ 61° 81% 0mm 15m/s 16m/s 2.8m/s
15:00
999hPa 0J/kg 98% 11°C 35% 94% 0% 0mm 55% 0mm -20dBZ 56° 99% 0mm - - 4.1m/s
16:00
999hPa 0J/kg 98% 12°C 20% 96% 0% 0mm 62% 0mm -20dBZ 47° 99% 0mm - - 4m/s
17:00
999hPa 0J/kg 75% 13°C 6% 100% 0% 0mm 64% 0mm -20dBZ 38° 100% 0mm 12m/s 17m/s 3.1m/s
18:00
998hPa 0J/kg 79% 13°C 64% 80% 5% 0mm 62% 0mm -20dBZ 28° 84% 0mm - - 2m/s
19:00
997hPa 0J/kg 100% 13°C 82% 100% 11% 0mm 60% 0mm -20dBZ 18° 100% 0mm - - 2.3m/s
20:00
996hPa 0J/kg 100% 13°C 68% 100% 16% 0mm 72% 0mm -20dBZ 8.3° 100% 0mm 12m/s 22m/s 1.7m/s
21:00
997hPa 0J/kg 100% 15°C 63% 100% 41% 0mm 79% 0mm -6.6dBZ -0.26° 100% 0mm - - 1.9m/s
22:00
996hPa 0J/kg 100% 15°C 57% 100% 65% 0mm 82% 0mm 6.7dBZ -8.5° 100% 0mm - - 2.2m/s
23:00
995hPa 0J/kg 100% 13°C 100% 100% 90% 0mm 78% 0mm 20dBZ -15° 100% 0mm 16m/s 20m/s 2.5m/s
Mon, May 25 Sunrise 05:28 Sunset 21:01
24:00
995hPa 0J/kg 100% 14°C 100% 100% 93% 0mm 73% 0mm 16dBZ -19° 100% 0mm - - 2.3m/s
01:00
995hPa 0J/kg 100% 16°C 100% 100% 97% 0mm 70% 0mm 12dBZ -21° 100% 0mm - - 3.2m/s
02:00
995hPa 0J/kg 100% 16°C 100% 100% 100% 0.03mm 67% 0mm 7.6dBZ -20° 100% 0mm 17m/s 24m/s 5.1m/s
03:00
994hPa 12J/kg 70% 14°C 100% 100% 100% 0.76mm 90% 0.01mm 15dBZ -17° 100% 0.44mm - - 5.3m/s
04:00
993hPa 10J/kg 15% 14°C 100% 100% 100% 0.31mm 93% 0mm 22dBZ -12° 100% 0.88mm - - 5.5m/s
05:00
991hPa 0J/kg 62% 12°C 91% 100% 100% 0.22mm 90% 0mm 29dBZ -4.5° 100% 1.1mm 22m/s 29m/s 7.6m/s
06:00
990hPa 0J/kg 0% 10°C 86% 100% 98% 0.13mm 87% 0mm 27dBZ 100% 0.13mm - - 8.1m/s
07:00
990hPa 1J/kg 0% 9.1°C 100% 100% 97% 0.05mm 84% 0mm 25dBZ 13° 100% 0.31mm - - 8.3m/s
08:00
990hPa 6J/kg 0% 8.1°C 98% 100% 95% 0.06mm 77% 0.01mm 23dBZ 23° 100% 0.31mm 17m/s 32m/s 7.7m/s
09:00
989hPa 8J/kg 0% 7°C 100% 100% 97% 2.1mm 89% 0mm 25dBZ 33° 100% 1.1mm - - 8.1m/s
10:00
990hPa 2J/kg 0% 6.5°C 100% 45% 98% 3.5mm 96% 0.01mm 27dBZ 43° 100% 4.2mm - - 6.7m/s
11:00
991hPa 54J/kg 58% 5.6°C 100% 98% 100% 2.1mm 97% 0.21mm 29dBZ 52° 100% 7.4mm 16m/s 29m/s 5.1m/s
12:00
992hPa 32J/kg 0% 5°C 78% 6% 95% 0.08mm 96% 0.05mm 26dBZ 59° 78% 0.63mm - - 3.7m/s
13:00
992hPa 19J/kg 0% 5°C 22% 0% 90% 0.02mm 87% 0.1mm 22dBZ 63° 22% 0.75mm - - 4.5m/s
14:00
991hPa 27J/kg 0% 5°C 18% 18% 85% 0mm 71% 0.25mm 19dBZ 62° 30% 0.94mm 4.4m/s 7.8m/s 6.3m/s
15:00
991hPa 39J/kg 0% 4.8°C 73% 28% 82% 0mm 70% 0.38mm 14dBZ 56° 73% 1.3mm - - 6.5m/s
16:00
992hPa 44J/kg 0% 4.8°C 82% 87% 79% 0mm 81% 0.35mm 9.2dBZ 47° 92% 1.7mm - - 5.4m/s
17:00
992hPa 52J/kg 0% 4.5°C 100% 100% 76% 0mm 86% 0.36mm 4.1dBZ 38° 100% 2.1mm 1.1m/s 5.5m/s 4.9m/s
18:00
992hPa 29J/kg 0% 4.6°C 99% 100% 58% 0.02mm 90% 0.23mm -3.9dBZ 28° 100% 0.25mm - - 3.5m/s
19:00
992hPa 27J/kg 0% 4.6°C 78% 96% 40% 0mm 91% 0.09mm -12dBZ 18° 97% 0.5mm - - 3.3m/s
20:00
993hPa 21J/kg 0% 5°C 51% 58% 22% 0mm 91% 0.03mm -20dBZ 8.4° 58% 0.63mm 0.96m/s 5.4m/s 2.9m/s
21:00
993hPa 1J/kg 0% 5.8°C 36% 32% 22% 0mm 95% 0mm -20dBZ 0.01° 39% 0.63mm - - 2m/s
22:00
994hPa 0J/kg 0% 6.4°C 54% 58% 22% 0mm 96% 0mm -20dBZ -8.3° 61% 0.63mm - - 2m/s
23:00
994hPa 0J/kg 0% 6.3°C 20% 5% 22% 0mm 95% 0mm -20dBZ -15° 20% 0.63mm 3.9m/s 5.3m/s 1.9m/s
Tue, May 26 Sunrise 05:27 Sunset 21:02
24:00
995hPa 0J/kg 0% 6.2°C 6% 5% 15% 0mm 96% 0mm -20dBZ -19° 6% 0mm - - 2.1m/s
01:00
995hPa 1J/kg 0% 6.5°C 19% 3% 7% 0mm 96% 0mm -20dBZ -21° 19% 0mm - - 2m/s
02:00
996hPa 1J/kg 0% 6.8°C 10% 0% 0% 0mm 95% 0mm -20dBZ -20° 10% 0mm 4.3m/s 4.1m/s 1.7m/s
03:00
996hPa 1J/kg 0% 6.8°C 19% 0% 0% 0mm 95% 0mm -20dBZ -17° 19% 0mm - - 1.4m/s
04:00
997hPa 5J/kg 0% 6.9°C 71% 0% 0% 0mm 95% 0mm -20dBZ -12° 71% 0mm - - 1.6m/s
05:00
997hPa 5J/kg 0% 7°C 85% 0% 0% 0mm 93% 0mm -20dBZ -4.4° 85% 0mm 3.8m/s 7.1m/s 1.1m/s
06:00
998hPa 3J/kg 0% 6.9°C 74% 0% 0% 0mm 92% 0mm -20dBZ 4.1° 74% 0mm - - 1.2m/s
07:00
999hPa 2J/kg 0% 6.8°C 28% 0% 0% 0mm 89% 0mm -20dBZ 13° 28% 0mm - - 0.92m/s
08:00
999hPa 0J/kg 0% 6.5°C 5% 0% 0% 0mm 79% 0mm -20dBZ 23° 5% 0mm 8.2m/s 3.8m/s 1.3m/s
09:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 0% 5.3°C 5% 0% 7% 0mm 66% 0mm -17dBZ 33° 5% 0mm - - 2.1m/s
10:00
1000hPa 20J/kg 0% 4.6°C 20% 0% 15% 0mm 64% 0.04mm -14dBZ 43° 20% 0mm - - 3.4m/s
11:00
1000hPa 9J/kg 0% 4.3°C 17% 2% 22% 0mm 61% 0.01mm -10dBZ 52° 17% 0mm 8.5m/s 8.4m/s 3.7m/s
12:00
1000hPa 6J/kg 0% 4.2°C 13% 3% 15% 0mm 67% 0.007mm -6.7dBZ 59° 13% 0mm - - 3.1m/s
13:00
1000hPa 3J/kg 0% 4.2°C 9% 4% 7% 0mm 73% 0.003mm -2.9dBZ 63° 9% 0mm - - 2.5m/s
14:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 0% 4.1°C 5% 5% 0% 0mm 79% 0mm 0.86dBZ 62° 5% 0mm 10m/s 12m/s 1.8m/s
15:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 0% 5°C 5% 5% 0% 0mm 84% 0mm -6.1dBZ 56° 5% 0mm - - 1.6m/s
16:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 0% 5.8°C 5% 4% 0% 0mm 90% 0mm -13dBZ 48° 5% 0mm - - 1.4m/s
17:00
1001hPa 0J/kg 0% 6.7°C 5% 4% 0% 0mm 96% 0mm -20dBZ 38° 5% 0mm 8.3m/s 15m/s 1.2m/s
18:00
1001hPa 0J/kg 0% 8.4°C 3% 3% 0% 0mm 96% 0mm -20dBZ 28° 3% 0mm - - 1.1m/s
19:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 0% 10°C 2% 1% 0% 0mm 96% 0mm -20dBZ 18° 2% 0mm - - 0.93m/s
20:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 0% 12°C 0% 0% 0% 0mm 96% 0mm -20dBZ 8.6° 0% 0mm 7.7m/s 14m/s 0.78m/s
21:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 0% 12°C 2% 0% 0% 0mm 96% 0mm -20dBZ 0.14° 2% 0mm - - 0.88m/s
22:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 0% 11°C 4% 0% 0% 0mm 97% 0mm -20dBZ -8.1° 4% 0mm - - 0.99m/s
23:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 0% 11°C 5% 0% 0% 0mm 97% 0mm -20dBZ -14° 5% 0mm 8.3m/s 13m/s 1.1m/s
Wed, May 27 Sunrise 05:26 Sunset 21:03
24:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 22% 11°C 4% 0% 0% 0mm 90% 0mm -20dBZ -19° 25% 0mm - - 0.96m/s
01:00
1001hPa 0J/kg 44% 11°C 2% 0% 0% 0mm 84% 0mm -20dBZ -21° 45% 0mm - - 0.82m/s
02:00
1001hPa 0J/kg 65% 11°C 0% 0% 0% 0mm 78% 0mm -20dBZ -20° 65% 0mm 6m/s 12m/s 0.69m/s
03:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 49% 11°C 2% 0% 0% 0mm 70% 0mm -20dBZ -17° 49% 0mm - - 1.3m/s
04:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 32% 11°C 4% 0% 0% 0mm 62% 0mm -20dBZ -11° 33% 0mm - - 2m/s
05:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 15% 12°C 7% 0% 0% 0mm 54% 0mm -20dBZ -4.3° 17% 0mm 6.3m/s 3.2m/s 2.7m/s
How to read: these inputs help produce the derived score; they are not requirements by themselves.

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