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gb
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gb
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PostTue Dec 27, 2016 9:23 am 
I am sure everybody is aware that it may get colder the end of the weekend. Normally (especially the last couple of decades) one would expect the cold to last a day or two and then moderate rather quickly. Not this time. If weather maps are accurate the cold looks to persist all next week with mountain temperatures (west side) 0-15F; then just as the cold slides off to the south and east, another wave begins to follow another low as it drifts southward along the coast. This would be yet another outbreak and some more lowland snow. We haven't seen this kind of pattern in decades. Perhaps reminiscent of 1968-69 when Seattle remained below freezing for ten days straight (it also snowed 60 some inches that winter) or November of 1985 at the very least. By the end of the week the cold weather makes it's way past San Diego. While we freeze (if we weren't wearing our new mitts) the Bering Strait and Greenland bask in typical Seattle mid-November weather.....a huge loop in the jet stream.

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treeswarper
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PostTue Dec 27, 2016 9:57 am 
Ah, memories of the '68' cold snap. We kids had a blast but had to go in and thaw out more frequently. There weren't any scary messages to stay indoors and we built a major (for kids) ski jump in our yard, without any adult supervision. eek.gif Our parents had a different experience. Mine took turns getting up and starting up the cars during the night and made sure our water did not freeze. My horse had a very shaggy coat and never took cover in the shelter. We hit -24 I think. My Methow friends say it got to -40 at the Winthrop fish hatchery--and then the thermometer....broke. We had a lot of snow on the ground, which probably helped protect the water pipes. Our next door neighbors pipes froze so they were getting water at our house. That was in the Wenatchee area. Bovine calves had ears frozen off and orchards were killed off. It hit during Christmas break so we didn't miss any skool.. down.gif Hope it doesn't repeat, but that would kill bad bugs and maybe thin the human herd (persuade the less hardy to move elsewhere) winksmile.gif a bit.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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wildernessed
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PostTue Dec 27, 2016 10:05 am 
eek.gif I have worn my MH Absolute Zero parka and Flight down pants to walk the dogs at times lately, there have been some brutal temps in the valley.

Living in the Anthropocene
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Malachai Constant
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PostTue Dec 27, 2016 10:21 am 
68-69 was great at UW couple feet of snow on the ground most all of January classes cancelled massive snowball fights on Greek Row. Great skiing at pass bottomless powder. We were only car on freeway in a car without a functions heater, breath froze on windscreen and piled up on dash. Better shape now after 3 years in Ottawa. Snow car 4- Runner with chains, aggressive winter tires, block heater, windscreen shield, compressor, and shovels. Bring it on!

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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puzzlr
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PostTue Dec 27, 2016 11:05 am 
Great stories up.gif

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mbravenboer
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PostTue Dec 27, 2016 11:34 am 
brrr, that will take some courage to go out! It's the first nice clear period, so already planning how to survive that!

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treeswarper
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PostTue Dec 27, 2016 11:35 am 
I seem to recall '78'-'79' having a long spell of cold, but not as cold as '68'. I worked at White Pass that winter. I shared a house on the east side of the pass with friends and our house was one of the few that didn't have the pipes freeze up. We had a steady "stream" of friends dropping in to use the shower.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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trestle
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PostFri Dec 30, 2016 8:36 am 
78-79 was a great winter, we had snow at sea-level for several weeks and I learned how to x-country ski as a wee lad on my own farm. Mom made a huge score of gear at a garage sale and there were extras for my friends. One of my best memories.

"Life favors the prepared." - Edna Mode
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Foist
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PostFri Dec 30, 2016 12:22 pm 
gb wrote:
If weather maps are accurate
That is a big "if." Weather forecasts more than a week out are less reliable than predicting simply based on historical averages.

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Brushbuffalo
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PostSun Jan 01, 2017 3:06 pm 
treeswarper wrote:
We hit -24 I think. My Methow friends say it got to -40 at the Winthrop fish hatchery--and then the thermometer....broke
Yes, that winter produced the all-time minimum temperature officially recorded in Washington. On December 30, 1968 both Winthrop and Mazama had -48°F.

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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Mega-Will
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PostSun Jan 01, 2017 5:41 pm 
gb wrote:
While we freeze (if we weren't wearing our new mitts) the Bering Strait and Greenland bask in typical Seattle mid-November weather.....a huge loop in the jet stream.
Currently in Nome:
This one's actually been pretty nice. We've warmed up solidly above zero and gotten some snow, but no freezing rain or way above freezing temps to cause havoc on the roads and make the rivers dangerous. Those "polar vortex" events of the last few years have been awful up here. Only in Alaska do they close the schools when it warms up and rains...

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treeswarper
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PostSun Jan 01, 2017 6:03 pm 
The official weather forecast said less than one inch of snow for last night. This was the Barbie Gauge at 6 AM in the new snow. We still had old snow on the ground. Add about 3 more inches and that's what we have so far. It is still snowing. Oh, and 33 degrees.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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boot up
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PostSun Jan 01, 2017 6:52 pm 
high of 15degF and a low of about -1degF for most of the upcoming week here. Just an inch or two of fresh stuff covering the driveway and sidewalks this morning, with just a couple inches or less predicted for each day this week. I still have glaciers in the yard from that earlier Big Dump. I now realize we pretty much have to survive without snowplows on residential streets here, so I am expanding my snow clearing to include a launch pad on the street in front of my house, so I can back out and get going forward without high centering on snow, if it builds up. Launch pad avoids a thick sheet of ice on the street in front of the house.

friluftsliv
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gb
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PostMon Jan 02, 2017 8:15 pm 
Looks like it's a little cool on top of Mission Ridge today even with the sun. 0F with wind gusts to 81mph. I turned down a chance to ski (not at MR) today. The "if" in the weather models makes it look as if we just miss having a continuing period of cold weather and snowfall. But just miss. The GFS (which apparently has been the outlier in predicting an earlier end to the current cold snap is now settling into a consistent forecast pattern. Another low drops right along the coast but then is forecast to stall west of Washington and elongate E-W, bringing in warmer air from the Pacific. Meanwhile very cold air once again invades SW British Columbia after the weekend. How far south the cold air extends depends on the shape and configuration of the area of low pressure and it's location and track. If it tracks along the Canadian border we stay on the warm side as currently forecast. If it were to track inland along the Columbia it would be a different story early next week. Bellingham could see another outbreak possibly. Anyway it is a sort of nip and tuck situation because of the proximity of arctic air in SW BC and the apparent position of a low pressure system off the coast. Although I have no recollection, this must be very similar to the pattern in our very coldest winters.

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Get Out and Go
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PostMon Jan 02, 2017 8:57 pm 
Well, Mission Ridge won today's prize for new snow at 39" in the last 24 hours. Temperatures were brutal on top, -2 most of the day. Hit the Trail and I had some exhausting turns, mainly on the lower chairs. smile.gif In my 20 years of skiing at Mission, that was the biggest snowfall I had seen. And yes, I did wear my BD Mercury Mittens with a hand warmer and toe warmer by the thumb in each one. up.gif

"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go." (Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart) "Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry. Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky." (Thanks, Tom Petty)
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