Weather

[Ray and Susan Huff]

As we transition from Fall to Winter, I thought it would be a good idea to share our current weather conditions.   

If you are heading to the Pacific coast to escape the mountain snow, think again.  It probably won't snow, but temps along much of the Oregon coast are dropping below freezing tonight.  We live in SW Oregon, about 50 miles inland; elevation about 275 feet.  This morning we woke up to 38 degrees.  It's currently 9pm PST and the thermometer is already below freezing.

Stay warm!

Update: Nov 9 (Monday) temp was 27 degrees; most of Oregon was below freezing with snow on the central Cascade passes; this morning (Tuesday) it was 42.  One nice thing about Oregon - these cold spells don't usually last long.  Oregonians say, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes" 😏

Edited November 10, 2020 by Susan Huff

[Jim_Oker]

I see 6-11" of snow in the forecast for Snoqualmie Pass, over which I-90 travels an hour east of Seattle, for between tomorrow evening and Wednesday morning, and then  the  National Weather Service's "forecast discussion" for the area  speaks of a much  stronger  weather system  coming through toward the weekend with snow levels rising above and dipping below pass level - likely a very messy driving mix if this forecast holds. The calendar may say fall but it's getting wintry in  the mountains here  in WA  for sure. 

[BackofBeyond]

78 -  sunny today = rain next few days - fall will be back come weeks end.  70 days, mid 40 nights - until turkey day - it always turns about that time....... 

[Mike and Carol]

55 minutes ago, BackofBeyond said:

78 -  sunny today = rain next few days - fall will be back come weeks end.  70 days, mid 40 nights - until turkey day - it always turns about that time....... 

Warm here, too.  We should also have cooler weather by months end.  My son just sent me a picture from his back porch in Durango, he’s got the snow shovel out and it’s still coming down.

 

[ShallowGal]

Just more of this nonsense here.

[Moonlight Mile]

8 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:

Warm here, too.  We should also have cooler weather by months end.  My son just sent me a picture from his back porch in Durango, he’s got the snow shovel out and it’s still coming down.

 

Oh my that is SO beautiful! (I love snow!)

[Jim_Oker]

A few flakes fell on  us while doing a hike up  a small mountain near Issaquah  WA  late this afternoon. We were only about 1,200 above sea level. Looks like snow is starting to come down  in the  Cascades - I90 is described merely as "traction tires  advised" thus  far by our state DOT,  with "snow  and slush on the roadway. Hopefully this  week's weather becomes  what we  skiers  call  a "base building event"  - i.e that this snow sticks around until more piles on top,  and  so on  and so forth. Instead  of being washed  away by a "pineapple express"  next week. One  never knows  here at this  time of year, but those of us who think snow are happy to  hear  meteorologists calling for a "La nina" climate regime this winter,  which often gives us colder  temperatures  and better snowpack. 
 

In any case,  if your plans have you  coming  over out mountains, check the  WSDOT pass reports ! 

 

[Ray and Susan Huff]

11 hours ago, Jim_Oker said:

A few flakes fell on  us while doing a hike up  a small mountain near Issaquah  WA  late this afternoon. We were only about 1,200 above sea level. Looks like snow is starting to come down  in the  Cascades - I90 is described merely as "traction tires  advised" thus  far by our state DOT,  with "snow  and slush on the roadway. Hopefully this  week's weather becomes  what we  skiers  call  a "base building event"  - i.e that this snow sticks around until more piles on top,  and  so on  and so forth. Instead  of being washed  away by a "pineapple express"  next week. One  never knows  here at this  time of year, but those of us who think snow are happy to  hear  meteorologists calling for a "La nina" climate regime this winter,  which often gives us colder  temperatures  and better snowpack. 
 

In any case,  if your plans have you  coming  over out mountains, check the  WSDOT pass reports ! 

 

Oregon road cams can be found at tripcheck.com

I remember when we welcomed the day when snow accumulation allowed the ski resorts to open (Washington and Oregon) - usually by Thanksgiving weekend.  Not so much any more since we traded skiing for kayaking, biking, hiking, and RV camping. 

I will never forget Mt. Baker . . . . 2 degrees with the wind blowing off the Sound; icy slopes and miserable lift rides.  I don't tolerate the cold well in my "Golden Years". 

Edited November 10, 2020 by Susan Huff

[Jim_Oker]

6 hours ago, Susan Huff said:

Oregon road cams can be found at tripcheck.com

I remember when we welcomed the day when snow accumulation allowed the ski resorts to open (Washington and Oregon) - usually by Thanksgiving weekend.  Not so much any more since we traded skiing for kayaking, biking, hiking, and RV camping. 

I will never forget Mt. Baker . . . . 2 degrees with the wind blowing off the Sound; icy slopes and miserable lift rides.  I don't tolerate the cold well in my "Golden Years". 

Thanks for the OR link. That's cold for Mt Baker - they get great snow depth but it is often quite close to 32 degrees up there due to the heavy  coastal influence (weather coming straight up the Nooksack valley). Baker is great on a nice weather day.  Not so great in a storm for the most part -  a lot of it is out in the open so any bad weather tends  to make it very hard to see. It's much easier to find visibility in the forest and along forested trail edges where  there is more directionality  to the light while in a cloud or blizzard. OTOH I love both Stevens  Pass and Snoqualmie Pass ski areas for stormy  weather lift skiing (and nearby forests for stormy  day ski  touring). 

Some of my  role models here in the WA backcountry skiing community are still  backcountry skiing as well as riding the lifts into  their 70s and 80s. I hope to maintain the  health and fitness required to follow their examples (one of the 80-somethings had a stroke which slowed him down but  he's still skiing a LOT just on more moderate terrain and fewer hours each day; and another of them has had a few surgeries for pretty  serious brain cancer but still  gets after it!). Shortly  after  my 55th birthday I  was  ski  touring with one of them,  and he did great on a fairly strenuous day  of up and downhill  skiing.  I asked  him "Frank - you  are  an inspiration. I hope to  be capable of doing half what  you  are able  to  when I  reach you  age.  What's your secret?"  He looked at me, smiled,  and said "I retired when I was  55!" I see  from Facebook  that Frank is still keeping quite busy as  he approaches 80, with  sailing, skiing, hiking, and biking at  levels that many thirty sometnings  would  find exhausting.  

Like NCEagle (another of us prospective owners)  I expect to  combine the Oliver and skiing, though perhaps not to the degree he's aiming for. And of course hiking, biking, etc

[Ray and Susan Huff]

6 hours ago, Jim_Oker said:

Thanks for the OR link. That's cold for Mt Baker - they get great snow depth but it is often quite close to 32 degrees up there due to the heavy  coastal influence (weather coming straight up the Nooksack valley). Baker is great on a nice weather day.  Not so great in a storm for the most part -  a lot of it is out in the open so any bad weather tends  to make it very hard to see. It's much easier to find visibility in the forest and along forested trail edges where  there is more directionality  to the light while in a cloud or blizzard. OTOH I love both Stevens  Pass and Snoqualmie Pass ski areas for stormy  weather lift skiing (and nearby forests for stormy  day ski  touring). 

Some of my  role models here in the WA backcountry skiing community are still  backcountry skiing as well as riding the lifts into  their 70s and 80s. I hope to maintain the  health and fitness required to follow their examples (one of the 80-somethings had a stroke which slowed him down but  he's still skiing a LOT just on more moderate terrain and fewer hours each day; and another of them has had a few surgeries for pretty  serious brain cancer but still  gets after it!). Shortly  after  my 55th birthday I  was  ski  touring with one of them,  and he did great on a fairly strenuous day  of up and downhill  skiing.  I asked  him "Frank - you  are  an inspiration. I hope to  be capable of doing half what  you  are able  to  when I  reach you  age.  What's your secret?"  He looked at me, smiled,  and said "I retired when I was  55!" I see  from Facebook  that Frank is still keeping quite busy as  he approaches 80, with  sailing, skiing, hiking, and biking at  levels that many thirty sometnings  would  find exhausting.  

Like NCEagle (another of us prospective owners)  I expect to  combine the Oliver and skiing, though perhaps not to the degree he's aiming for. And of course hiking, biking, etc

When I lived on Whidbey Island I skied mostly at Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass . . . once in a while, Crystal Mt.  We only skied one time to Mt. Baker (because it was closer) and, yes, it was 2 deg!  I think it was 1971 or '72.  Since moving back to Oregon - Hoodoo Ski Bowl and my favorite - Mt. Bachelor.  Skied at Mt. Ashland once, but didn't like it much.  My first time skiing was at Dodge Ridge in NoCA, while still in High School.  Came home from Christmas break with a torn ACL.  Oops!!!

I have not been skiing since my younger years, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!  I'm afraid it's been too long for me to be safe on the slopes now and I tend to be more cautious than when I was 20/30-something.  We do still stay active - hiking, biking, kayaking and I work out regularly.  My bucket list contains cross-country or snow shoeing.  Of course this is only if I could get my snow-hating husband to go along.

[Jim_Oker]

13 minutes ago, Susan Huff said:

I have not been skiing since my younger years, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!  I'm afraid it's been too long for me to be safe on the slopes now and I tend to be more cautious than when I was 20/30-something.

Just fwiw, the gear is dramatically different than back then. It is SO much easier to  learn and to ski well. The  ski shapes are so much easier to turn. And the bindings  release way more reliably. Not that  you should do it again if not motivated, but it's like the difference  between power and manual steering on a big truck. Or even more of a difference. It's still quite possible to tear ACLs (and  do tib-fib fractures, and get a head injury, ...). But the odds are much better now and more people are actually having fun doing it with the new gear. 

Edited November 11, 2020 by Jim_Oker

[Jim_Oker]

The big weather system approaching the PNW (after a few more moderate  systems  move  through) is expected  to  hit Friday  evening and  last into Wednesday. Travel over mountain  passes will  most likely  be difficult - I think  it's a fair bet I90 will  be  closed off and  on due to vehicle spinouts which seem more  and more common as folks keep moving to this  region. Looks like it will be a bit rowdy  out at the  coast as well. We may get power outages in the region due to  high winds dropping trees and big  limbs on powerlines,  though we did already  have one pretty  significant "wind pruning event"  already which  may help  a little. 

From the  National  Weather  Service Seattle  office  "forecast discussion":
 

Finally, behind this strong system Friday night enhanced westerlies
will give the Cascade a period of heavy snow--especially in the
morning so crossing the pass Friday night or Saturday morning will
probably be challenging and perhaps a bit dangerous. It is too early
to put up a winter storm watch or warning, but that will come soon
enough. 19

.LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...Saturday morning will
see strong onshore flow with heavy snow for the mountains. The coast
will still have heavy surf but the risk of coastal flooding will be
decreasing as pressures rise. After that, three potentially vigorous
weather systems are likely to affect the region into the first half
of next week so more smash mouth November weather is likely. We
might have to watch frontal systems early next week for more
significant impacts along the coast as there is a chance for other
deep lows to develop as they near the Pacific Northwest coast Sun-
Tue. 

[NCeagle]

Let it snow!  I have plans to ski Jackson Hole and Steamboat for a week each in February with some good ski buddies of mine - one of which is my wife  🙂  (not in the Ollie just yet!).  Last ski season was cut short by Covid.  Not looking good for this season with this recent spike, but I'm planning trips to keep my sanity.  @Jim_Oker I have also been fortunate enough to meet many 70+ year olds tearing up the slopes over the years, and I strive to "follow in their footsteps" too.

We are very much looking forward to picking up our Ollie a week from today and beginning our adventures.

 

[SeaDawg]

So, here in sw Florida,  it's windy, and rainy.  Storm to follow... 

[topgun2]

To Seadawg, all the other Oliver owners and the rest of those people living around and north of Tampa -

Be safe and good luck with this storm, Eta.  From what I hear, while it is not as powerful as some it is a bit slow moving,  Thus the potential for flooding is increased.  Also, after it passes over Florida it is scheduled to move up the east coast until it gets just past North Carolina.  While it is forecast to be slightly offshore it should cause flooding and fairly severe beach erosion.

Bill

[Patriot]

Our rain gauge this morning here in Western NC and it’s still raining...so glad we live up on a ridge.
Check the mailbox and the rain gauge, just me. 😂
 

 

Edited November 12, 2020 by Patriot

[SeaDawg]

This is a crazy, late season storm. Always tough to predict, that's why the spaghetti models have been so inaccurate.  

Just got off the phone with a friend in West Palm Beach. It gave them issues earlier this week. Still likely to be a problem.  It's big, and varies in power and path, typical of late season storms.

My heart goes out to the island communities,  like Cuba. They've had impact twice, from the same storm. And, lesser structures/building codes.

We've had Easterlies all day, pretty much. Clocking around, now, more southerly,  as the storm approaches.  Swirligig time for a few hours. At least the tide is with us, this time. I  think.

Edited November 12, 2020 by SeaDawg

[SeaDawg]

and, my brother in Minnesota had 10 inches of wet, heavy snow last night. Yuk.

[SeaDawg]

This late in the season,  it can't gather that much energy. It's a lot of wet, and wind.

[Mainiac]

This storm coming in...what time? What's it's ETA?

[SeaDawg]

17 minutes ago, Mainiac said:

time

1 to 3 am. ETA. 

we just lost power. The tesla battery took over main functions.

[Mike and Carol]

Hunker down....

[Jim_Oker]

Good luck to you and  your neighbors.

[Ray and Susan Huff]

7 hours ago, Jim_Oker said:

The big weather system approaching the PNW (after a few more moderate  systems  move  through) is expected  to  hit Friday  evening and  last into Wednesday. Travel over mountain  passes will  most likely  be difficult - I think  it's a fair bet I90 will  be  closed off and  on due to vehicle spinouts which seem more  and more common as folks keep moving to this  region. Looks like it will be a bit rowdy  out at the  coast as well. We may get power outages in the region due to  high winds dropping trees and big  limbs on powerlines,  though we did already  have one pretty  significant "wind pruning event"  already which  may help  a little. 

From the  National  Weather  Service Seattle  office  "forecast discussion":
 

Finally, behind this strong system Friday night enhanced westerlies
will give the Cascade a period of heavy snow--especially in the
morning so crossing the pass Friday night or Saturday morning will
probably be challenging and perhaps a bit dangerous. It is too early
to put up a winter storm watch or warning, but that will come soon
enough. 19

.LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...Saturday morning will
see strong onshore flow with heavy snow for the mountains. The coast
will still have heavy surf but the risk of coastal flooding will be
decreasing as pressures rise. After that, three potentially vigorous
weather systems are likely to affect the region into the first half
of next week so more smash mouth November weather is likely. We
might have to watch frontal systems early next week for more
significant impacts along the coast as there is a chance for other
deep lows to develop as they near the Pacific Northwest coast Sun-
Tue. 

Thanks for the warning   . . . . . going to Medford tomorrow to have my BMW serviced.  Glad it's tomorrow and not Friday.  

I hope the following week Mother Nature gets some of this nonsense out of her system as we'll be heading to Hohenwald the end of the month.

[Patriot]

Emptied a brimming full rain gauge this morning - 5” from this system so far. I emptied the gauge at 7 am, we’ll see how much more we get before it moves out at noon. The 1700 acre lake we live on has a lot of dead fall wooden limbs and debris scattered and floating around. Storms like this dump a lot of unwanted silt into the lake from the streams that feed it.