Whats the Weather like?

[The Q]

Sunny and very windy 60mph this morning slowly fading during the day as the tail end of Storm Henry, the 8th storm of the year clears through

[Pleater]

It isn't raining.
I must make a note in the diary.
To be accurate - not raining YET.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[OC Richard]

Washington state has a mountain range (the Cascades) running North-South through the middle of the state. West part of the state, near the ocean (think Seattle) has a moderate climate and plenty of rain in winter. The eastern half of the state has colder, more continental weather and we get snow regularly.

My son is in Ellensburg, attending Central Washington University.

He had an accident in Snoqualmie Pass... I read the police blog, they had 160 accidents in a 24 hour period. Not a single injury.

[Dughlas mor]

Richard, glad your son wasn`t injured. It`s I-90 that runs through Snoqualmie pass, relatively low at about 3000,` but it usually gets hammered a few times every winter with lots of wet, heavy, avalanche prone snow. The State Patrol, DOT, and avalanche control crews generally do a great job of keeping everyone safe, though it often involves shutting the highway down for many hours at a time. Go Wildcats!

[Blupiper]

My son is in Ellensburg, attending Central Washington University.

He had an accident in Snoqualmie Pass... I read the police blog, they had 160 accidents in a 24 hour period. Not a single injury.

Richard:

Hope your son came out of the accident well. Snoqualmie Pass (elev. 3022 feet) is always an adventure the first couple of snow events each late fall/early winter. Cold, dry air from the east meets wet, warm air from the west and -voila- a great deal of heavy, dense snow. Cascade concrete as it's known to the locals. Makes for hard driving if you don't have the particular skill set. The State Patrol and Dept of Transportation (DOT) do a great deal of snow management activities during snow events, up to and including closing the Pass for avalanche control (shooting down large accumulations in avalanche chutes near the I-90 roadway) and running the snowplows.

With Central Washington University only 100 miles from the bright lights, big city of Seattle, a lot of weekend road trips are taken by the CWU students (my son graduated from there last spring.) The better weather will bring road closures for the widening and straightening project that will be on-going the next couple of years (got to make it easier for the big SUV's to go 70 mph, meh.) These are mostly for an hour or so on weeknight evenings.

JMB

[Bruce Scott]

Hot!

[OC Richard]

Hot!

Hot!



Thanks for the good wishes about my son. It's what happens when a Southern Californian who has never driven in snow and ice meets the notorious Snoqualmie Pass.

Car totaled, he's fine.

Blupiper, so cool your son is a CWU grad!! In two years if all goes well my son will be too. Masters in Experimental Psychology

No trips to Seattle yet. His big road trip is to drive to Yakima for Indian food. Can't do that now, not until he buys a car.

[Jock Scot]

Gloucestershire, at the moment is enduring a severe gale and heavy rain, although its quite mild. Floods are beginning to form and trees are down.

[GrainReaper]

Been a week or two of 30s by day and 20s by night, largely windless with occasional dusting of snow that melts off in the sun.

Fairly ho-hum weather this winter, my 4year old son is rather irritated at the lack of sledding and snowman snow.

[neloon]

Gloucestershire, at the moment is enduring a severe gale and heavy rain, although its quite mild. Floods are beginning to form and trees are down.

Better get back to the Fort, Jock, before Imogen gets you
Alan