We had above normal precipitation in December but nearly all fell as rain, even at high elevations. Over the last few years, adequate snow cover in the mountains provided important water for rivers and aquifers. Right now the question could be, Where's the Snow?
Our first winter storm is moving away. It will probably hit the west coast in about 5 days. It brought some heavy rain and caused some flooding. A roof of a gas station collapsed and the Waiau power plant had 2 generators go offline that resulted in rolling blackouts. More rain is expected tomorrow from a second system but we will only get the tail end of it, most of that will be falling on the ocean, but it will bring some rain to parts of the state. Then it should clear up for the weekend.
Nothing compared to the tornadoes and snowstorms sweeping across the mainland. I hope you are all safe and dry.
Nothing compared to the tornadoes and snowstorms sweeping across the mainland. I hope you are all safe and dry.
It is 58 degrees now and will probably drop to 57 by 7 a.m. This is the coldest day so far. There are still showers intermittently from the passing cold front. There is a light rain now. I know nothing compared to what you are used to. It's much colder than I like it to be. I don't have heat and I have to find my long sleeved sweat suit. I am glad I don't have to deal with blizzards or tornadoes. I hope you are all keeping safe and warm.
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Abruptly gone from unseasonably mild to nighttime hard frost (-10C) and it's forecast to stay below freezing day & night for at least a week. There will be much 'nipping in the bud'. It will be interesting to see how the few plants make out, that I hoped were hardy enough to overwinter At least I'm sure the garlic, and prob. kale, will survive; curious about the broad beans. I've put row cover on them but a light snowfall on top has bent them near horizontal.
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imafan, that Arctic blast is already here. To lots of Canadians our -10C might seem mild for winter but this is Canada's SW 'temperate raincoast' where we're accustomed to seeing daffodils in February. Extended Arctic blasts are hard to take. I wish I'd kept the long johns & down parka I had when I lived inland, 500 miles north.
AppleStar, we went right past the single digitS' to double that, below zero F. It was -12⁰f (-24⁰C) this morning.Vanisle_BC wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 12:47 pm... long johns & down parka I had when I lived inland, 500 miles north.... Abruptly gone from unseasonably mild to nighttime hard frost (-10C) and it's forecast to stay below freezing day & night for at least a week. There will be much 'nipping in the bud'. It will be interesting to see how the few plants make out, that I hoped were hardy enough to overwinter At least I'm sure the garlic, and prob. kale, will survive; curious about the broad beans. I've put row cover on them but a light snowfall on top has bent them near horizontal.
Yesterday, I woke up to 0⁰f (-18⁰C). No snow had been left on the ground with our previous warm days. We are at some kind of deficit regarding snowcover and Freeze Dried.
That day the sun rose at 7:35 in a pale blue sky and was shining brightly All Day. And yet, the temperature didn't rise to 1⁰f (-17⁰C) until 11:30! (It made it to 2f [still 17C] shortly thereafter. All Through the Daylight Hours, the wind was blowing in double digitS' mph. Windchill was terrible. North South valleys were really channeling that air blowing out of the Canadian Rockies. Just over some of those Rocky Mountains into Montana ... not only was it worse wind yesterday but this morning, Helena was -31⁰f (-35⁰C).
It's a little calmer outdoors right now.
VanIsle, I imagine our lack of snowcover will be especially hard on many plants. But, my failed attempts to raise broadbeans was caused by the characteristic sudden turn to Summer heat (& some of that dryness we are experiencing now). Yes, I think that Scotch kale should be okay. I remember the first time that I grew kale. The snow cover was good that Winter but we had several days when the daytime temperatures stayed in negative double ...
digitS' Fahrenheit
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No that was Prince George, not Whitehorse. PG is about a 10-hour drive from the US border and Whitehorse is another 1000 miles. At one time, from Vancouver I dealt with a supplier in Nashville. Then they announced they were opening an outlet in Canada - Montreal - so the shipping distance would be much shorter. When I checked I believe Montreal was really a couple of hundred miles further away than Nashville.
It 's 62 degrees tonight will be going down to maybe 57 degrees. I need more than an extra blanket. But , I don't have winter clothes either. Winter clothes in Hawaii is an umbrella and a jacket. It did not warm up until 11:30 a.m. and the temperature never got to 80 degrees. It got breezy again in the afternoon and the temperature has been going down since then. But, no rain today. I actually had to water. More rain expected in a couple of days.
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It started snowing about 2:30 pm, and it has barely accumulated in 3 hours, mostly on the cars. Supposed to snow well into the morning - time will tell how much, but it's not supposed to get too deep around here, but I'll find out tomorrow if it switched to rain.
Update - as of 11:30, I am officially no longer in a snow draught! It had snowed just over an inch, though it might switch over to sleet or rain, later on. It finally started accumulating on my walks, and it's up to about half an inch there. First time for "measurable snow" in 715 days.
Update - as of 11:30, I am officially no longer in a snow draught! It had snowed just over an inch, though it might switch over to sleet or rain, later on. It finally started accumulating on my walks, and it's up to about half an inch there. First time for "measurable snow" in 715 days.
It is 75 degrees. It has been warmer the last two days, but the day temperature is still below 80 degrees. Today there is some lite rain but a lot of wind gusting up to 50 mph. Some plants got knocked over. The wind has been coming through the jalousie windows blowing up the blinds and curtains. We have a high wind warning till 6 p.m.
Another front is approaching from the west. We are only getting the tail of it and it is not going to bring a lot of rain about .10 of an inch. The major part of the storm will be impacting the Pacific Northwest probably in a day or two. I can see it on the GOESWEST satellite imagery. Looks like the West Coast is getting all of our rain. Our El Nino forecast is for 50% of normal rainfall. This is our rainy season.
Another front is approaching from the west. We are only getting the tail of it and it is not going to bring a lot of rain about .10 of an inch. The major part of the storm will be impacting the Pacific Northwest probably in a day or two. I can see it on the GOESWEST satellite imagery. Looks like the West Coast is getting all of our rain. Our El Nino forecast is for 50% of normal rainfall. This is our rainy season.
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I only had about 1½" of snow, but it changed to freezing rain, and a freezing layer formed on my snow, on the walks and my car, which made it harder to remove. It was still coming down when I started getting it off, and it was still sleeting a little when I finished. I salted everything, and came inside, after just 35 minutes, but seemed like much longer. Tomorrow is supposed to get much colder, and very windy, and I hopefully won't be going outside to do anymore of this.
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Coldest weather in 30 years -7° f this morning. We had 7" of snow Monday and 50 mph wind Saturday.
Channel 2 national weather said, TN received all there yearly snow fall in 1 day.
Channel 2 national weather said, TN received all there yearly snow fall in 1 day.
Last edited by Gary350 on Thu Jan 18, 2024 9:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
It is 66 degrees now at 8:39 p.m. What a difference a day makes! The wind knocked over a few plants and the ground is covered with leaves that were blown off the tree. Today it was a little warmer and the wind was back to less than 10 mph, but they are still not trades. It was cool and sunny. Nothing like the weather you are getting across the country. I haven't see so many minus numbers.
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Seven days with temperatures in single digitS' or below 0° Fahrenheit (-18°C). Four of those days were below zero and one day, it did not rise above 2°f (-17°C). It was 5f (-15C) this morning but, it's warming over the next few days, we are told.
A little more snow is on the way. We had about 7" yesterday. There's a chance of freezing rain tomorrow afternoon. Please. Let it not amount to anything!
None of this is unusual for January except the arrival of the cold with so much wind and, essentially, no snowcover.
Steve
A little more snow is on the way. We had about 7" yesterday. There's a chance of freezing rain tomorrow afternoon. Please. Let it not amount to anything!
None of this is unusual for January except the arrival of the cold with so much wind and, essentially, no snowcover.
Steve
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It's slowed down enough that I went out to clear the snow around 3:50 pm, and had it done in less than an hour. There was over 4", but it wasn't freezing up, like it did last time, so it cleared quickly. Originally, it wasn't supposed to be stopping until around 10 pm (!), and I would have been out there close to that, but when I went out, they had moved that back to 6 pm, and it had almost stopped, when I finished, going over the walks one last time, then putting the salt down, one last time. I re-filled the bucket with calcium chloride, and I still hadn't spent an hour out there. It's still 31°, but the high tomorrow is supposed to get to just 25°, with bad wind chills. I won't be going out there tomorrow, barring any emergency!
Update - it started snowing lightly again, lightly coating my car, but it finally stopped around 6:30, so I went out and brushed it off - the walks stayed just wet, from the salt. If I had left it there, it would have been a frozen sheet tomorrow.
Update - it started snowing lightly again, lightly coating my car, but it finally stopped around 6:30, so I went out and brushed it off - the walks stayed just wet, from the salt. If I had left it there, it would have been a frozen sheet tomorrow.
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Sun has been up behind dark gray clouds for 2 hours it is still 7° here. High today 20°. Everything is still white, garden looks like all snow.
WE both have some type of diarrhea sickness it keeps us running to the toilet with diarrhea gas explosion. Maybe we ate contaminated food they keep talking about on TV. We don't feel very sick but I can feel stomach going round and round. TV talks about certain name brand, meat, cabbage, salad, trash it don't eat it.
WE both have some type of diarrhea sickness it keeps us running to the toilet with diarrhea gas explosion. Maybe we ate contaminated food they keep talking about on TV. We don't feel very sick but I can feel stomach going round and round. TV talks about certain name brand, meat, cabbage, salad, trash it don't eat it.
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Yes, also Quaker Oats has recalled a bunch of stuff. I didn’t know there could be salmonella contamination in dry cereal and snack type foods. Fortunately none of these were at our house except one bag of unopened “Munchees” that’s not within the listed expiration date, but we tossed it anyway.
https://www.fda.gov/media/175442/download?attachment
https://www.fda.gov/media/175442/download?attachment
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It is 74 degrees at 10:28 a.m. The wind is picking up in front of the next system. The skies are mostly cloudy. Just as I was going out to water this morning it started to rain. It wasn't much but I will go out later and check the garden later. I uncovered the strawberries this morning because they are flowering. I don't know if the bees will come out today. They don't like wind or rain. In any case, I will have to cover the strawberries before the end of the day to keep the other stuff out. They are looking good now. They do well in the tower garden, but they get attacked by birds, beetles, white flies, aphids and snails. So, I grow them under an insect barrier. But it is not self pollinating and that is a problem when using barriers.
It is warming up at 8:17 a.m. It is 65 degrees now, up from 62 last night. It sprinkled a little yesterday when I was watering the yard and it has been breezy, knocking pots over. I did get out to mow the weeds and finish watering.
The atmospheric river is hitting California now. The thing about what we call Kona Lows are that they come from different directions. The winds come from different directions (for us it is anticyclone). The moisture rises from the south because of the loss of the prevailing easterlies. When the fronts hit, the winds are light so, the front stalls and while it doesn't always dump a whole lot of rain at one time ( it can if you are in a bad place), the rain rarely stops and the soil eventually gets so saturated as one wave of storms follow another that trees fall, mud slides, and rivers and streams can change course as debris blocks their egress. The storms are slow moving because it is not being driven by the wind. There can be very high winds at hurricane speeds, but it is inconsistent and it is not sustained at any level to drive such a large storm through. You just have to wait it out. For us, that takes 3-4 days, then we get a couple of days of drier weather before the next wave comes. We usually only get the tail of it, and it still causes a lot of damage, worst of the storm is usually North of us, and it hits the continent in about 5 days.
The atmospheric river is hitting California now. The thing about what we call Kona Lows are that they come from different directions. The winds come from different directions (for us it is anticyclone). The moisture rises from the south because of the loss of the prevailing easterlies. When the fronts hit, the winds are light so, the front stalls and while it doesn't always dump a whole lot of rain at one time ( it can if you are in a bad place), the rain rarely stops and the soil eventually gets so saturated as one wave of storms follow another that trees fall, mud slides, and rivers and streams can change course as debris blocks their egress. The storms are slow moving because it is not being driven by the wind. There can be very high winds at hurricane speeds, but it is inconsistent and it is not sustained at any level to drive such a large storm through. You just have to wait it out. For us, that takes 3-4 days, then we get a couple of days of drier weather before the next wave comes. We usually only get the tail of it, and it still causes a lot of damage, worst of the storm is usually North of us, and it hits the continent in about 5 days.
Dismal ...
It doesn't look like California's weather will be coming, or its impact will be diffused before it arrives. Rain, yes. A sprinkle every day for a week and continuing – never much more than 1/10th of an inch and usually less. I'm trying to remember the last time I saw the sun. It may have been on the 27th or 28th, the last time we made it through a day with only some clouds and no rain.
Unusually warm, if I can call it that. It made it above 45°f (7°C) on those days but hasn't since. Overnight, it goes not down to freezing until this morning, when it just hit the freezing mark. Only a very short thermometer would have been required. The forecast has it just a little bit colder and the rain may start off in the AM with snow but the afternoon temperature and rain should eliminate any being left around at this elevation.
The nearest mountain Snotel monitor shows a recent steady loss of snow depth and water equivalency. All nearby monitors are showing less than 75% of normal and, a few, less than 50%. If there is a continuing of a little precipitation each day and the temperatures do cool, we have a chance to build a little mountain snow depth, of critical importance for the warmer and drier months ahead.
Steve
It doesn't look like California's weather will be coming, or its impact will be diffused before it arrives. Rain, yes. A sprinkle every day for a week and continuing – never much more than 1/10th of an inch and usually less. I'm trying to remember the last time I saw the sun. It may have been on the 27th or 28th, the last time we made it through a day with only some clouds and no rain.
Unusually warm, if I can call it that. It made it above 45°f (7°C) on those days but hasn't since. Overnight, it goes not down to freezing until this morning, when it just hit the freezing mark. Only a very short thermometer would have been required. The forecast has it just a little bit colder and the rain may start off in the AM with snow but the afternoon temperature and rain should eliminate any being left around at this elevation.
The nearest mountain Snotel monitor shows a recent steady loss of snow depth and water equivalency. All nearby monitors are showing less than 75% of normal and, a few, less than 50%. If there is a continuing of a little precipitation each day and the temperatures do cool, we have a chance to build a little mountain snow depth, of critical importance for the warmer and drier months ahead.
Steve
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A little above average today - mid to upper 40s, and the 3rd day in a row I haven't seen a cloud in the sky! Back to average tomorrow, but then the temp starts rising, up to maybe 60° Saturday though they say that might be the next chance for rain we have, though not any inches plus, like we kept getting in January.
It is 62 degrees at 7:20 a.m. There is a light drizzle and the skies have a very thin cloud cover. The sun has a soft orange glow. Winds are calm. It is very beautiful and the birds are singing, well some are more like squawking and courting. The expected high today is 79 with a 40% chance of showers. Most of the rain now is falling on the ocean. I will be watering the yard today.
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Woke up to sleet pounding the side of the house before dawn and thought it will turn to rain, but turned to steady snowfall instead … finally tapered off in the last hour or so.
Nothing stuck to street or bare ground, but accumulated no more than an inch or so on roof, cars, garden furniture and structures, grass and garden beds.
Nothing stuck to street or bare ground, but accumulated no more than an inch or so on roof, cars, garden furniture and structures, grass and garden beds.
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It rained starting in later Monday evening, into Tuesday morning, and shortly after 6:30 am it switched to snow. Continued until after 11 am, when it stopped, and sun came out shortly after that. Temp went from mid 30s to about average, in mid 40s. (Today lower than avg, staying in the 30s). The snow only covered cars and lawns - nothing on walks and streets. Snow was all gone by 2:30 pm. Here's a photo around 10:30, when it was still snowing, though you can't really see it, as the camera is focusing on the screen mesh!
Winter not over, but no shoveling needed here...yet. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
When I checked my straight sided "rain gauge bucket", it looked like I got a little over 1¼" total, including the snow, which was also a little over an inch.
Winter not over, but no shoveling needed here...yet. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
When I checked my straight sided "rain gauge bucket", it looked like I got a little over 1¼" total, including the snow, which was also a little over an inch.