On Thursday, Aug. 13, 7 p.m. at Woodman Hall join Professor Emeritus of Geology Dr. Ian Lange for a close look at Mt. Baker, a favorite centerpiece of our regional landscape. An ice-covered, dormant stratovolcano, Mt. Baker has been intermittently active for 1.3 million years. Dr. Lange will discuss its geologic setting, its eruptive history (it last erupted in the 19th century), current activity and the major threat posed in an eruption: massive mudflows (lahars). Dr. Lange is a Professor Emeritus of Geology at the University of Montana and has taught geology classes at the undergraduate and graduate level. This is an exceptional opportunity to take a closer look at this spectacular volcano, a mountain that doesn’t sleep.

Then rain or shine on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 7 p.m. at Woodmen Hall, the summer night on Lopez belongs to popular meteorologist and science celebrity Dr. Cliff Mass. We are all fascinated with weather, and Mass is the go-to guy when it comes to predicting Northwest weather events. For his Lopez appearance he will discuss the future of weather forecasting, its current technology and how weather forecasting will change during the next few decades, particularly with the influence of global warming. Mass is a University of Washington Professor of atmospheric sciences, renowned Seattle weather commentator and a fellow of the American Meteorological Society, but it is his forecasts and blogs frequented by many of us that make him a favorite regional scientist and weather icon.  The Lopez Bookshop will have his popular book “The Weather of the Pacific Northwest” for sale at the event, and he will be available for signing.  New to Mass? Take a listen at kplu.org/term/weather-cliff-mass then join us for a truly fun evening featuring our favorite topic: predicting the weather!

These programs are brought to you by Friends of the Lopez Island Library and the San Juan Islands National Monument as part of the SOL series (Science on Lopez). The series’ first program two weeks ago, Professor Donn Charnley’s “Geology of Lopez Beaches,” drew a crowd of almost 200, so come early for a good seat or plan well and bring your own chair.  Both programs will be held at Woodmen Hall.