crf450ish

On the flip side of that, have you been around on this forum to see what happens during a non eventful winter?

LOL!!!! "poor little him" regardless of why or who or what...I have never ever heard that in my life and i died laughing out loud after I read that. Awesome.

This is actually VERY serious, particularly for Fruitland. I used to live there and the topography almost always produces upslope snow events. Happened every time there was a forecast for heavy snow. This forecast is reminiscent of one that I remember in December of 2016. Went to bed with roughly 4" of snow on the ground that had accumulated from several nights prior, woke up with 2 feet of new snow. It was incredible and intimidating at the same time. HWY 25 did not get plowed for a whole day. Yes, an entire day went by with 2 feet of actual snowfall on a state highway.

WOW!!! I am curious as to when the last time this lake froze over enough to allow this!! Incredible.

Have you ventured into town during this cold snap? If so, have you seen any trucks left running in parking lots? Just curious if that's still a thing.

What does this thermometer read? I say 12F, my dad is saying 2F. Either way, I believe it's a poor layout.

What does this thermometer read? My dad says 2 degrees Fahrenheit. I say 11 degrees Fahrenheit. Either way, I believe it's a poor layout.

Currently 13F here in Spanahood. 12F in Ferndale where our soon to be new home will be. -4F in Fruitland where we used to live (in Stevens county). God, I miss it over there! 9F at my folks house in Yelm with the same snow depth (6") that fell Thursday night. My cousin and his wife are in Florida right now. They live in Randal (8F there currently). One foot of snow fell at their place on Thursday. They couldn't have timed their trip any better. This is a true arctic outbreak event in my opinion. Sort of wish there was of a wide spread snow event but then again dealing with that is a massive PITA around here. My family and I are thoroughly enjoying this cold, clear weather.

Al Gore would disagree.

Sunrise this morning in Ferndale. Twas' 37 and mostly clear.

So I have a real life, truthful source answer to your question. It simply boils down to money. The majority of the pacific northwest is rural. Despite the majority of the world seeing Seattle and Portland and British Columbia as the PNW, the fact is that the vast majority is rural. I am employed in the power generation and maintenance industry. Imagine routing power lines underground from the grand Coulee Dam in eastern Washington to Ocean Shores. That would take well over $100 million dollars to complete over several years in multiple phases. Another example is many outlying rural towns. The power lines are typically routed above ground (500kv) and then connected to a substation where the lines are then routed above ground in the form of power lines to the town. It's typically up to the local municipality and private companies of whether or not they decide to route the power above or below ground to the customer. However there is still a considerable amount of lines routed above ground due to geographical and topographical issues. The common (and only option most times) is digging a trench along the side of the road and burying the lines. Urban cities and areas like Bellevue, Seattle and much of King County here in Wa state do have underground power. That is because these places have been developing and expanding for several decades. The power infrastructure was placed underground long ago and has continually been expanded upon and tied into and upgraded over time. They've essentially built upon something that was originally placed underground at a cheap cost a long time ago. Another great example is where I used to live in Fruitland, wa. Roughly 50 miles due south of Colville, wa. Power lines above ground. Let me tell you... the power was out on average 10 days a month. In the summer, Turkeys were flying into the lines (i thought this was a joke until I witnessed it) and the winter it was trucks and other vehicles as well as vegetation coming in conatct with the lines and or poles. It's about money and resources.

Isn't that the case around here every year? Other than a few outliers?

As all of us here are aware, Sequim, Port Angeles and surrounding vicinity is a well known rain shadow. Really wish I would've purchased property there years ago. It's a neat area to get away from the hustle and bustle of the greater puget sound.

Either I haven't payed attention or this is one of the more vigorous wind events in recent years. The squall line is incredible. Wish I was at the ocean right now.

Good. Hopefully this pattern sticks around through turkey day and then slowly starts to breakdown throughout the first week of December. After that, blocking is welcome to set up shop and give Alaska a nice warm, wet winter. Because we all know what would mean for the PNW

So the fumes that the coolant gives off are not healthy in the slightest. If its green coolant, it's ethylene glycol, red coolant is propylene glycol. Both of which contain corrosion inhibitors as well as anti bubbling agents that aren't good for health. I'm a firm believer that if you can smell something that is otherwise bad to ingest, you probably shouldn't smell it. I would imagine you can smell it in your car.

I've been told similar stories from many elderly people who seen and did amazing things during winter in the 60s thru the mid 80s. One of our neighbors said her & her parents used to ice skate on greenlake around duck island when she was a kid.

It would be a good idea for them to double check their insurance policy.

This looks like the aftermath of the Hanukkah eve windstorm of 2006 here in the PNW. It was devastating, to say the least. I believe we're overdue for a major windstorm here. I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm prepared. Chainsaw, plenty of bar oil, spare chains, fuel already mixed ready to go. Generator and power cords ready. Firewood ready. I had a tree service come this summer and perform what is known as "wind sailing" the trees in proximity to our house.

Why do you think there's so few trees in Wyoming? I've spent considerable time in Wheatland and Gillette, the wind never stops.

2008-2009 winter will forever live in my mind as one of the most epic winters in western Washington history (for me). My 88 year old grandfather still talks about winters back in the 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s being "real" winters around here. He used to drive his truck out onto Ohop Lake in Eatonville and drill into the ice and measure....he forgot the exact year but he said it was nearly 6" thick. My dad has pictures of his childhood house front yard downtown Puyallup...snow knee deep in January in the 70s. Similar stories from all of my Gen X family.

Looks like a perfect setting for a cold plunge!!!

If my memory serves me correctly (which is probably doesn't), the late summer-fall period of 2006 was particularly dry and warm(er). This was the same year that the famed Hanukkah eve storm took place. I'll never forget it as long as I live. I would like to hear some anecdotes from folks on here regarding events that took place during El Nino fall-winter years. El Nino certainly plays a unique role in the extreme weather events that take place here in the PNW. Whether it be wind, rain, snow or even unseasonably dry weather. The anecdote king, snow_wizard, provides some interesting and fun anecdotal evidence in many regards. Hopefully he can chime in with his opinion on what this winter may hold in comparison to years past.

Is this your back yard?!?!?

Not surprising at all. When I lived in Fruitland, it snowed many times before Halloween. Never stuck around for more than 24 hours.