December 2023 Weather in the PNW

[Front Ranger]

2 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

The 12Z EPS looks like the ECMWF... dry north and wet south over the next 15 days.

Would like to see more for the Sierras, but it's a start.

[the_convergence_zone]

Mid-December flowers in the garden. I’m surprised my big salvia has survived but apparently it can take a 31 F freeze. 
 

Strawberry flowers in December is just weird, I don’t know what to think of that.
 

And my earliest hellebore is close to flowering which is about a month early. 

[TT-SEA]

11 minutes ago, the_convergence_zone said:

Mid-December flowers in the garden. I’m surprised my big salvia has survived but apparently it can take a 31 F freeze. 
 

Strawberry flowers in December is just weird, I don’t know what to think of that.
 

And my earliest hellebore is close to flowering which is about a month early. 

You earned a downvote from the forum censor.   This does meet the approved list of discussion topics.  

[Port Angeles Foothiller]

12 minutes ago, the_convergence_zone said:

Mid-December flowers in the garden. I’m surprised my big salvia has survived but apparently it can take a 31 F freeze. 
 

Strawberry flowers in December is just weird, I don’t know what to think of that.
 

And my earliest hellebore is close to flowering which is about a month early. 

You must be in the warmest pocket on the forum. 

[Cascadia_Wx]

3 minutes ago, Port Angeles Foothiller said:

You must be in the warmest pocket on the forum. 

Something tells me we’ll be hearing all about it the entire winter.

[RentonHill]

4 minutes ago, Port Angeles Foothiller said:

You must be in the warmest pocket on the forum. 

You mean besides our brother in New Redding @TigerWoodsLibido

[Cascadia_Wx]

2 minutes ago, RentonHill said:

You mean besides our brother in New Redding @TigerWoodsLibido

Eugene/Springfield get pretty chilly compared to the interior of downtown Seattle’s concrete jungle.

[the_convergence_zone]

9 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

You earned a downvote from the forum censor.   This does meet the approved list of discussion topics.  

I can't really decide if those are fall or spring photos though...I'll keep thinking about it.

 

7 minutes ago, Port Angeles Foothiller said:

You must be in the warmest pocket on the forum. 

For overnight temperatures I think that I am, while you are the coldest (at lest west of the Cascades). Much of Seattle runs warmer than me for high temperatures because of my proximity to Elliott Bay. I'm also in a wind sheltered location which further helps the plants when it's cold. 

[Phishy Wx]

9 minutes ago, Cascadia_Wx said:

Something tells me we’ll be hearing all about it the entire winter.

flowers brighten dreary PNW winters

[iFred]

1 hour ago, westcoastexpat said:

ECMWF weeklies and MJO forecast certainly picking up at a chance for slightly negative temperature anomalies sometime in first two weeks in January for the West 

Probably nothing.

[Cascadia_Wx]

3 minutes ago, Phishy Wx said:

flowers brighten dreary PNW winters

Might as well be posting pics from the inside of a greenhouse. I’ll be sure to throw some deciduous saplings in the fridge in May so I can post some great fall color pics by mid June.

[Chewbacca Defense]

5 hours ago, Phil said:

Why is PNW power infrastructure so gawdawful?

We've had significant power outages (more than an hour or 2) maybe once or twice in the 10 years I have been in my current house, and I think we had one or 2 in the house I lived in for about 10 years that is a few miles up the road.  The only reason I have a generator is because we do not have a secondary heat source.  I've only used it once when we had a major power outage during the summer, and we were about to start losing food in the fridge.  The cause of that one was charbroiled squirrel at the substation.  Needless to say it found the sweet spot for creating utter chaos and doing maximum damage to the grid for our area.  I think we were without power about 6-7 hours then.  Never been more than about 8-12 hours without power.  Of course when the Cascadia fault pops, that will all change.

If you get out in the more rural parts of the county its a completely different story, but then again, that can be said for just about every rural part of the country.

[Phishy Wx]

1 minute ago, Cascadia_Wx said:

Might as well be posting pics from the inside of a greenhouse. I’ll be sure to throw some deciduous saplings in the fridge in May so I can post some great fall color pics by mid June.

I'll post up some march tomato starts from the basement

[Cascadia_Wx]

Just now, Phishy Wx said:

I'll post up some march tomato starts from the basement

Sure, “tomatoes”  

[RentonHill]

Maybe some retro signal in there?

And the KINK is on for the SSW watch party

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Just now, RentonHill said:

Maybe some retro signal in there?

And the KINK is on for the SSW watch party

Doesn't get any better than that. 

[the_convergence_zone]

Just consider all of this payback for the next marginal snow event when you are all buried in 3-6" of powder and I get my usual 1/2 inch of slop. I'll post pictures of my slush-covered flowers. 

[RentonHill]

I think we have a small window of opportunity before we transition to the doghouse

 

[Front Ranger]

33 minutes ago, Phishy Wx said:

I'll post up some march tomato starts from the basement

I'm looking forward to the basement weed pics. 

EDIT: see I wasn't the only one thinking this

[MossMan]

15 minutes ago, Chewbacca Defense said:

We've had significant power outages (more than an hour or 2) maybe once or twice in the 10 years I have been in my current house, and I think we had one or 2 in the house I lived in for about 10 years that is a few miles up the road.  The only reason I have a generator is because we do not have a secondary heat source.  I've only used it once when we had a major power outage during the summer, and we were about to start losing food in the fridge.  The cause of that one was charbroiled squirrel at the substation.  Needless to say it found the sweet spot for creating utter chaos and doing maximum damage to the grid for our area.  I think we were without power about 6-7 hours then.  Never been more than about 8-12 hours without power.  Of course when the Cascadia fault pops, that will all change.

If you get out in the more rural parts of the county its a completely different story, but then again, that can be said for just about every rural part of the country.

6-7 hours has been my shortest outages here! Longest has been 4.5 days! Already had a 6 hour outage this fall with zero wind, a rotted tree probably had a squirrel jump on it just right to tip it over and take out a pole in the process. The road I am on is all underground including up to the house but we are on a grid that is mostly above ground. 
The last magical outage was on 12/30/21…27 degrees with heavy snow falling! Flashlight snow check without background light is the best! Blazed a trail from the shop to the carport where I set up the generator via my truck headlights. That was only a 20 hour outage. 
SO FUN!!! Yes I’m nuts!! And these extensive outages have been great practice and have given me a lot of information as to how best work with those challenges and what I need to improve on to keep the family comfortable and life continuing as normal as possible. Feel like I have things dialed in pretty well and we are fairly prepared for any bigger natural disaster that could sneak up on us. I worry about people that have no game plans for extended outages, etc…Especially in the winter. Some people that rarely face outages would be in for a huge surprise if we get hit with another Columbus Day equivalent monster windstorm. 

[Snownerd3000]

58 minutes ago, RentonHill said:

Maybe some retro signal in there?

And the KINK is on for the SSW watch party

You and your kinks

[AbbyJr]

@Phil

Not saying it will verify but is this a PV split shown? Just asking because I have lots to learn.

[TigerWoodsLibido]

47F and cloudy. Looks like we should hopefully keep it under 50F. Currently at +8.4F departure for the month so far.

[Port Angeles Foothiller]

[TT-SEA]

23 minutes ago, Port Angeles Foothiller said:

How is that generated?   The 12Z ECMWF today only goes out through the morning of 12/23.   That says its 10 days from 12/13 and then says its valid for 12/25 which is day 12.  

[RentonHill]

11 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

How is that generated?   The 12Z ECMWF today only goes out through the morning of 12/23.   That says its 10 days from 12/13 and then says its valid for 12/25 which is day 12.  

Thats EPS member number 7. The eps resolution got upgraded and I bet the the chart title generator hasn’t been updated the show high res goes out to 15 days now

[High Desert Mat?]

14 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

How is that generated?   The 12Z ECMWF today only goes out through the morning of 12/23.   That says its 10 days from 12/13 and then says its valid for 12/25 which is day 12.  

Semantics. 

[TT-SEA]

13 minutes ago, RentonHill said:

Thats EPS member number 7. The eps resolution got upgraded and I bet the the chart title generator hasn’t been updated the show high res goes out to 15 days now

Ahhh... thanks.

[Phishy Wx]

 

 

[Cold Snap]

Had a low of 32 this morning and scored a freeze.

[GobBluth]

What's last time a strong El Nino delivered a post new years cold blast to the nw?

[SnowySeeker50]

19 hours ago, SouthHillFrosty said:

Reports of hail/graupel at 34 degrees in South Hill? Dry and haven’t left heavy fog all day. 

Neighbor reported that there was a heavy drizzle around midnight here. Had a light glaze of ice on cars this morning as well

[T-Town]

Calm night. Was nice to see some sun today. 

[Deweydog]

19 minutes ago, GobBluth said:

What's last time a strong El Nino delivered a post new years cold blast to the nw?

1998 delivered, but it was primarily an outflow/overrunning event.

[Deweydog]

19 minutes ago, T-Town said:

Calm night. Was nice to see some sun today. 

What a view. Still can’t get over it!

[Cascadia_Wx]

Ended up with a mild 52/45 spread today. Fairly windy last night into this morning and then just breezy with increasing clouds late. 47 currently.

[MossMan]

7 minutes ago, Deweydog said:

1998 delivered, but it was primarily an outflow/overrunning event.

I think we had a flurry up here. 

[RentonHill]

6 hours ago, MossMan said:

6-7 hours has been my shortest outages here! Longest has been 4.5 days! Already had a 6 hour outage this fall with zero wind, a rotted tree probably had a squirrel jump on it just right to tip it over and take out a pole in the process. The road I am on is all underground including up to the house but we are on a grid that is mostly above ground. 
The last magical outage was on 12/30/21…27 degrees with heavy snow falling! Flashlight snow check without background light is the best! Blazed a trail from the shop to the carport where I set up the generator via my truck headlights. That was only a 20 hour outage. 
SO FUN!!! Yes I’m nuts!! And these extensive outages have been great practice and have given me a lot of information as to how best work with those challenges and what I need to improve on to keep the family comfortable and life continuing as normal as possible. Feel like I have things dialed in pretty well and we are fairly prepared for any bigger natural disaster that could sneak up on us. I worry about people that have no game plans for extended outages, etc…Especially in the winter. Some people that rarely face outages would be in for a huge surprise if we get hit with another Columbus Day equivalent monster windstorm. 

 

[crf450ish]

12 hours ago, Phil said:

Why is PNW power infrastructure so gawdawful?

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. 

[crf450ish]

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