Chewbacca Defense

I had to read that 4-5 times before I was able to wrap my head around what you were saying. Luckily I found the video further down to confirm what I was reading.... Wow........just........wow..........

I guess I would be surprised if that happened, but I'm wondering if the precip rates are high enough so that the snow starts piling up faster than it melts off....probably needs to get a few degrees cooler. Looks like it is all snow now.....wet heavy snow but still snow

First full frost this morning, sitting at 28 this morning. The ice on the windshield was quite thick!

Yeah that was pretty crazy. My son made the same observation and I was joking with him that we brought Bellingham with us. We did catch one quick glimpse of the sun just east of Whitehall which just made it seem that much darker and miserable as we drove towards Bozeman

Drove back from Bozeman today, had rain on and off from Bozeman to Missoula, then very heavy rain west of Missoula. It cleared off by Lookout pass, where the temp was about 40, but it had clearly been snowing earlier in the morning. Fast forward to eastern Washington, and knew we would have to deal with a wind advisory for the Ellensburg area (it did not disappoint). As we get within about 10-15 miles of the Columbia River, I notice a big dust cloud being whipped up. Apologies for the poor pictures, between the sun angle and all the bugs on a 12 year old windshield it was tough to get a clear shot. As we got to the Columbia River, I figured out that the dust was from the area burned in the fire near Vantage this past summer. It was also interesting to see the wind hitting the water and kicking up instant white caps. I even saw what could be best described as a "dust devil" but instead of dust it was water (spray). The white patch on the river (right side of the picture) is where the spray got kicked up and started swirling. Once we got through the wind in Ellensburg we got to enjoy the convergence zone from Cle Elum solid down through North Bend, then off and on the rest of the way through about Lynnwood. Haven't seen that kind of heavy rain in a long time! We only drove through falling snow for about 1 minute as we crossed Lookout pass on Wednesday, then we had some graupel and wet snowflakes fall during the MSU/Cal Poy game Saturday afternoon. The rest of the time was just rain. Coming home today, the snow level was within about 1k feet of turning the rainy drive through Montana into a very snowy drive.

Had a soaker of a soccer game tonight. We play pretty much every week from February through mid-November, and we've been lucky this year, all but one of our games up until week have been dry. And the other wet game was nothing compared to tonight. Big fat raindrops fell during most of the first half, it stopped for about 10 minutes, then it started again with the wind kicking up from the north, with the big fat raindrops showing up for the last 10-15 minutes. The precip started up about 5pm, and I have .61 in the rain gauge at this point. We usually have a windstorm every year, but have come up blank for 2018. We have 3 more chances before winding down for the holidays.

Yeah I was really jealous of you guys up north. It was painful hearing about it going nuts 10 or so miles to the north (with no appreciable change in elevation) while we were sitting in NE Bellingham with no precip falling (or maybe wet snow that did not accumulate). We did finally get a few inches at the end of that storm but it only lasted a day or 2 before going to freezing rain then rain. I was at least able to take my son up Everson Goshen Rd a little ways to get to the snow so he could get some winter driving practice. It was amazing how quickly the snow totals increased (and the road conditions decreased) as we went north. I think we got as far as the Pole Rd before turning back.

Does anyone know/track the accuracy of these NOAA 3 month outlooks? Should we be busting out our forks for this winter? I realize I am effectively throwing a big can of napalm on the campfire when I ask this (not my intent) but "inquiring minds want to know" I will be so glad when I get my degree out of the way and the 8+ year development program I am on finally finishes getting developed so that I can invest more brainpower into getting a higher level of understanding of weather/climate (and other leisure activities).

I've never had luck with turning rotors. Did it as a poor starving college student and they warped within a month or 2 (this is on the first turning). Granted, my driving style had a lot to do with it (aircraft carrier landing style stops....aircraft carrier launch style take offs too for that matter...went through a lot of clutches). I've mellowed with my old age, but I'm still not one to just coast to a stop, so I still go through brakes pretty fast. The difference now is that I can afford to buy new rotors when I change the brakes (doing them myself keep the price from getting too out of control).

Geee I don't know....it just started to make this grinding noise....... Slap some new pads on it and send it on down the road!!!!

My Mom lived about 20-30 miles NW of Thomasville Ga up until this past winter. Glad she got out. They had another hurricane run through that area within the past few years, it was nowhere near as big and it scared the hell out of her. Can't imagine her dealing with this one (she is 79). Lots of friends in that area, they will definitely be dealing with a lot of flooding and tornadoes overnight... I think most of that region should have most of their crops harvested by now (might still be some cotton out in the fields) so hopefully they won't take too much of a hit there. edit: Just read they have not started harvesting cotton yet. Pecans could be hit hard too. Also read that the area where my mom lived should expect sustained winds at 75mph overnight.

I agree to a point, just like the "dry heat thing".....I don't care how dry it is, 115 degrees sucks! Same could be said on the cold side....The coldest I have experienced is about -18 to -22. While I have been in "warmer" more humid conditions (10-15 degrees here in Bellingham) and felt colder in my core, -18 hits the extremities pretty quick, not to mention the wind if you are not layered up properly. My son will be walking to class, plus he plays in the marching band which equates to about an 8 hour day outside in the elements, so he will be out in it a lot more. Also, Bozeman appears to get pretty windy, although I'm told by my mother in law that if you ask a native Montanian, only Livingston and Great Falls get "windy" LOL

My son texted us yesterday that *news flash* it snowed on campus. No S*** Sherlock you moved to Montana. One thing that is a bit unusual, my Mother in law said it has snowed somewhere in Montana every month this year (I don't know if any of the mountain peaks see snow in the summer so that statistic might have an asterisk next to it for snowfall in "populated" areas.) Looks like they start getting some cold weather starting next weekend. My son is being a pretty typical teenager over the whole thing...he is ready for it....his grandma (native Montanian) saw his (Bellingham winter) coat this past weekend, called us and told us that was not going to cut it in Bozeman come November. His girlfriend (also a native Montanian, but with far fewer winters under her belt) says its fine. Being a typical teenage boy, guess who he is listening to.... I'm thinking of starting a pool as to how long it takes my son to call me asking if he can buy a real winter coat...

Up to 116 at this buoy (Station 41038 - Wrightsville Beach Nearshore, NC )

Last stop before the pass. Never stopped there, we usually stop in St. Regis. I'm getting all to familiar with that route now that my son is attending college in Bozeman. 2 trips this summer and planning another in November (weather permitting)

In Montana right now, and the smoke is incredibly bad. We started out the day in Bozeman and finished in Great Falls. Its like it is foggy at ground level, but completely "overcast" from all the smoke. We took what was supposed to be a very scenic drive to get up here but could not really see anything. Sounds like we will be driving into more of the same for our return trip to Bellingham tomorrow.

I moved to the mid-valley January '94, and it had slowed down by then. I didn't know about it so it was pretty alarming to walk outside and see these huge smoke plumes shooting into the sky. By that time, I think only a certain number of acres could be burned, and the weather conditions had to be just right. So you might go a week or 2 with nothing then one day 5-6 fields would go off in quick succession. My wife grew up in Corvallis, and she told me about the huge fatal wreck they had on I-5 in Albany because the smoke shifted and reduced visibility to zero in an instant. I've always had a mild grass allergy, but it turns out moving to the "grass seed capital of the world" turns that mild allergy into a severe allergy over the course of about 6 seasons. Who'da thunk? Left in '02 and I've never been back. By the time we moved I was barely surviving on heavy doses of steroids and antihistamines. We went to Portland about 6 years later in mid-June, and by the 3rd day my eyes were watering really bad and my sinuses went nuts. I don't think I will ever be able to visit the Willamette Valley during early summer. Thankfully my son had zero interest in OSU or U of O. Do they still do the field burning?

That would have been July 4th week, and we would have stayed in the "A" Frame on 13th. My cousin's husband of a year (at the time) got really REALLY drunk the night of the 4th and went wandering off. We ended up combing all the streets trying to find him...he eventually made it back to the house they were staying in, which is good because we would have never found him. And it would have been 2006 because the shuttle launched on the 4th that year and we could barely make it out. I thought about driving down to watch it, but couldn't abandon my wife to fend for herself with the kids. I was watching the launch on TV, and realized I could probably see it. I ran out and we could just make it out, I think it was about a minute or so into its flight before we could see a spot of light dragging a plume of smoke

They really were cottages back in my day. I was going in the 80's. My last trip back around 2006-7, a lot of cottages were being replaced with much bigger houses. There were a few big houses, but a lot of smaller houses, although, in all reality, they probably were pretty big, but we would pile 14 people into them so the seemed small. Every flat cushioned surface would have a sleeping body on it, and we would usually bring in 2-4 roll away beds. My grandmother rented the house, and she of course got her own room, then it was my mom and 3 siblings, one aunt and uncle and their 3 kids, another aunt and uncle would bring their 3 kids. We did that for about 4 years, then us kids grew up and got too big to pile in, so one aunt and uncle (who were rather wealthy and "uppity") split off and rented their own house nearby, leaving the rest of us "ruffians" to our own devices. It was always very loud, lots of laughing, and there was always someone in the kitchen cooking or making sandwiches. My grandmother also paid for all the groceries, and looking back on it, I shudder to think what the grocery bill would be in today's dollars. She drove down with a trunk load of groceries probably worth $600. then spent another $200 or so every day (today's dollars). Our family is like the land of the giants, with my sister being the smallest at about 5'9" Good times good memories!

Where are you renting a house? We usually rented a house in the 12th-14th street area, in the block between the beach and Bruce drive. The last couple of times we went, we stayed in an "A" Frame house that was on the beach off 13th Avenue. You are timing it right, most Georgia schools started about 1-2 weeks ago (my FB feed has been getting bombarded with back to school photos from all my Georgia friends). We went the July 4th weekend, there were definitely a lot of people, but you never felt crowded or cramped for space. We had plenty of room to throw a Frisbee or football around, and not worry about crashing in to someone's else's beach set up. However the night of the 4th, the beach would be packed as you could see 3 sets of fireworks at the same time.

I have to jump into the fray on this one, as this is my old stomping grounds, and I an *quite* familiar with the Georgia Coast. I went with my family (mom, siblings, cousins etc) every summer from when I was about 7 until I was about 21, and have gone back a couple of times since then with my own family. My Mom went every summer as a child (had to take a ferry across back then). For starters, St Simons airport is actually about .5-1 mile from the water on 3 sides. it is a small island but the temperature differences can be quite drastic. It all involves some degree of "hot" and "oppressive." The water within at least 1/2 mile of shore is incredibly warm, this is especially true on the East Beach side. it looks like the temp is about 84 now, though I am not sure where exactly that is taken. I want to say I've seen it in the upper 80's but don't quote me on that. The water over on the south side (where the pier and a lot of the hotels) is usually cooler because of the large channel (St. Simons Sound) so there is a lot more water movement. Also, there are extensive marshland in and around the island. If you look at Google Maps, the dark green area between the airport and the beach (Ocean Blvd on the east and Old Demere on the west) is all marshland. It floods at high tide, and still has water in it at low tide, and what is not under water is covered with a very thick layer of mud and muck. All of that water heats up in the marshes and flushes out along East Beach when the tide goes out. Its like bath water in those marshes. Also East Beach (where we stayed) is sandwiched between the ocean and the marsh, so it gets a double whammy. Another factor for the water temp, the local current goes south, pulling sand off Sea island to the north, and depositing it on East Beach to the south forming massive sandbars. That also holds the warm water from the marshes close to shore. For my cousins and I, the most excitement for going to the beach every summer was to see how the sandbar had changed. As soon as we would get to our rental cottage we would bolt from the car to get to a vantage point where we could see the sandbar (and it rarely looked the same from year to year. Usually the sandbars are submerged about 6"-2' at high tide depending on the sandbar, so the water would get heated by the sand and the sun. Even sitting in the shade in the summer, doing nothing, you sweat profusely. My family would usually pack it in and go inside during that time and either play board games, go to the water park by Jekyll or rent bikes on Jekyll. For most of the ride it would be relatively cooler, even with no breeze, but certain sections were like riding through an oven (usually by the marshes). So I can vouch for the fact that it can often be more oppressive and uncomfortable on the water than it can in by the airport (and other points inland). Are the dew points along the water in the low 80's while the airports are showing 70's today? I don't know, I'm not there. Do I think it is plausible? Absolutely!! Final comment: Even though backyard weather stations are thought to be more unreliable, it is interesting to note that the 3 stations are within a couple of degrees of each other. I have to admit I don't really know how it takes the measurements but, you would think there would be a bigger spread for being so "unreliable."

Yeah, I've been in the PNW for about 25 years now, in the Willamette Valley the first 8 years, then Bellingham the rest of the time, and I don't remember ever getting smoke, especially having significant smoke events like we've had the past couple of years. It would get a little hazy on occasion, but not so bad that everything has an orange hue to it because the smoke is so thick. Here's a picture from the soccer park just north of Bellingham tonight, the sun completely disappeared when it got to about the same level on the horizon as the field lights. Side note, the fields are incredibly dry with the exception to within about 15-20 feet of the sprinkler heads (as you can see in the picture) and felt like playing on cement. Also I, notices that Lummi Island could not be seen from up by the North Bellingham GC.

That's really cool about the jersey, I have to say it doesn't surprise me that they took the time to sign it. I really like MSU and am glad my son is going there. In talking to the staff, I can tell that they are invested in providing a quality education. My son said the same thing. He said for everyone he talked to, he felt like they were genuinely interested and invested in his success as a student. Good luck on your surgery!!!!!

Quote smoky in Bellingham this morning, you can even smell it in the air. Surprised how cool it got last night (52 IMBY). I'm about done with the heat, my wife came home from Costco with a big packet of information and a business card from a A/C installer. I think she might be trying to tell me something. I shudder to think how much it would cost for our house (2 story 2,900 sq. ft). Off to Bozeman this weekend to drop the kiddo off at University, looks like it will be in the 80's Friday, then in the low 70's with thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday. I like it!! I got blanked when we went in June, thunderstorms the day before we got there, and the day after we left, some passed through the general area one day while we were there, but I didn't see/hear anything....hoping for better luck this time!!