PNW January 2022, Contact Info for Phil

[Brian_in_Leavenworth]

15 minutes ago, snow_wizard said:

Pretty hard to fathom that Stevens is close to going below normal after what recently happened up there.  Total feast or famine this winter.  Given that Nina winters are famous for being the best in the second half, I think we are far from done.

Guessing that perhaps the water content of the snow pack might be higher, and that matters too.

[snow_wizard]

1 hour ago, Phil said:

Spewing some stream/ash again but looks very minor on satellite.

Could be preparing to erupt again (real possibility given behavior in past eruptions) but don’t think it has yet.

I did read where it said past eruptions there have normally had multiple major episodes.  It would be pretty shocking if what we saw the other day was just a precursor to a bigger one though.

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

34 minutes ago, snow_wizard said:

Roosters can be very nasty.  Not so sure even an older coyote wouldn't have given up.

He's very tame, when he was a baby we'd bring him into the house and treated him like a pet, the girls would make a diaper for him lol. Now he comes up to the front door of the house to get a treat. We have 3 hens and you can't beat the quality of the eggs. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Nice sunset this evening. 40/31 on the day. Currently 37.

[MossMan]

Restocked the ice melt. I’m ready. 
It’s coming. 

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

1 minute ago, MossMan said:

Restocked the ice melt. I’m ready. 
It’s coming. 

I have zero doubt we'll get snow in February.  

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

Went outside and snapped this pic just for mossman. 

[Meatyorologist]

6 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

Hard to believe they would consider SO2 quantity in the VEI rating since it is an explosivity index.

The VEI scale is directly calculated using the amount of ejected material. Since Hunga Tonga’s eruption was Phreatic, meaning it was caused by the interaction between magma and water, much of the visible ejecta is in fact steam.

It is very unlikely this individual eruption will have any noticeable climate impact, particularly in the northern hemisphere. Stratospheric SO2 emissions were ~20% of those seen when Pinatubo erupted.

[Chewbacca Defense]

3 minutes ago, MossMan said:

Restocked the ice melt. I’m ready. 
It’s coming. 

 

Question for you/rest of the forum.....my neighborhood has several houses with ridiculously steep concrete driveways, ours being one of them.  Most of those them (and even some of the flatter driveways) are absolutely shredded, and I was told it was from using ice melt.

Fortunately, ours is in good shape, and I would like to keep it that way.  Currently, I am having to shovel before my wife leaves/gets home, but that doesn't always get everything which means I am throwing traction sand down.  That ends up getting tracked into the garage, house, cars until I can get it cleaned up (which is a PITA).

I would love a chemical solution that's not going to wreck my cement...how does this stuff do vs. cement?  If its not good, does anyone have any suggestions?

 

 

 

[TT-SEA]

16 minutes ago, Eujunga said:

37/36 on the day until it started dropping after sunset. Down to 34 now.

Fog all day. The fog smells nasty -- metallic and sour.

Peak wind gust = 0. Anemometer did not budge all day.

I'm happy to sacrifice sub-40º highs if these are the conditions it takes to get them!

I loathe soupy inversions.  Absolutely hate it.    Probably my least favorite weather.   I would gladly take a week of rain over a week of being in the muck.   But also don't care at all about cold stats... I guess if that is your thing then inversions are great.    

I don't mind inversion patterns as much up here though since we are usually in the sun.    

[snow_wizard]

14 minutes ago, Eujunga said:

37/36 on the day until it started dropping after sunset. Down to 34 now.

Fog all day. The fog smells nasty -- metallic and sour.

Peak wind gust = 0. Anemometer did not budge all day.

I'm happy to sacrifice sub-40º highs if these are the conditions it takes to get them!

In January I'm willing to take whatever below normal temps we can get.  January has just been an absolute mystery this century so far.  Thank God for the holdover cold we had from December up here.

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

4 minutes ago, Chewbacca Defense said:

 

Question for you/rest of the forum.....my neighborhood has several houses with ridiculously steep concrete driveways, ours being one of them.  Most of those them (and even some of the flatter driveways) are absolutely shredded, and I was told it was from using ice melt.

Fortunately, ours is in good shape, and I would like to keep it that way.  Currently, I am having to shovel before my wife leaves/gets home, but that doesn't always get everything which means I am throwing traction sand down.  That ends up getting tracked into the garage, house, cars until I can get it cleaned up (which is a PITA).

I would love a chemical solution that's not going to wreck my cement...how does this stuff do vs. cement?  If its not good, does anyone have any suggestions?

 

 

 

You can use rock salt.  I salted walk ways on some businesses for over 20 years and never noticed any damage. I don't know what the difference is between ice melt and rock salt.

[Deweydog]

6 minutes ago, Chewbacca Defense said:

 

Question for you/rest of the forum.....my neighborhood has several houses with ridiculously steep concrete driveways, ours being one of them.  Most of those them (and even some of the flatter driveways) are absolutely shredded, and I was told it was from using ice melt.

Fortunately, ours is in good shape, and I would like to keep it that way.  Currently, I am having to shovel before my wife leaves/gets home, but that doesn't always get everything which means I am throwing traction sand down.  That ends up getting tracked into the garage, house, cars until I can get it cleaned up (which is a PITA).

I would love a chemical solution that's not going to wreck my cement...how does this stuff do vs. cement?  If its not good, does anyone have any suggestions?

 

 

 

Ugh… my in laws destroyed their driveway with it back in January 2017. We ended up having to replace it the following summer. 

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

1 minute ago, TT-SEA said:

I loathe soupy inversions.  Absolutely hate it.    Probably my least favorite weather.   I would glad take a week of rain over a week of being in the muck.   But also don't care at all about cold stats... I guess if that is your thing then inversions are great.

Yep, frustrating because another 1000 feet up and it's beautiful.  

[snow_wizard]

7 minutes ago, Chewbacca Defense said:

 

Question for you/rest of the forum.....my neighborhood has several houses with ridiculously steep concrete driveways, ours being one of them.  Most of those them (and even some of the flatter driveways) are absolutely shredded, and I was told it was from using ice melt.

Fortunately, ours is in good shape, and I would like to keep it that way.  Currently, I am having to shovel before my wife leaves/gets home, but that doesn't always get everything which means I am throwing traction sand down.  That ends up getting tracked into the garage, house, cars until I can get it cleaned up (which is a PITA).

I would love a chemical solution that's not going to wreck my cement...how does this stuff do vs. cement?  If its not good, does anyone have any suggestions?

 

 

 

That is a total dilemma alright.  I'm betting all of the chemical solutions take a toll on concrete.

[Tyler Mode]

1.16.22

The least windy day...

I've never recorded a day with an average wind speed of 0.0 mph until today. The "wind" briefly spiked up to 5 mph before noon, and nothing since.

Also, note the pressure graph, I've circled the 3 pressure waves from the volcanic eruption on Tonga, the latest coming this afternoon around 3:45.

[Gradient Keeper]

00z GFS Day 1 - Remember, last February models didn't show anything until the first week of the month. December and January were dull and boring for PDX metro! I don't know about up north.

[TacomaWaWx]

1 minute ago, DJ Droppin said:

00z GFS Day 1 - Remember, last February models didn't show anything until the first week of the month. December and January were dull and boring for PDX metro! I don't know about up north.

Last winter was pretty dull until mid February. Most exciting event was the snow event on the solstice. Most places didn’t get much but I know Shawnigan lake got nailed. Just a trace here. 

[Gradient Keeper]

Day 2

[TacomaWaWx]

27 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

I loathe soupy inversions.  Absolutely hate it.    Probably my least favorite weather.   I would gladly take a week of rain over a week of being in the muck.   But also don't care at all about cold stats... I guess if that is your thing then inversions are great.    

I don't mind inversion patterns as much up here though since we are usually in the sun.    

Yeah I’m not really into the inversion patterns. They can be good statistically speaking but being stuck in fog for days at a time with low air quality isn’t really that great of a trade off. 

[Chewbacca Defense]

22 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

I loathe soupy inversions.  Absolutely hate it.    Probably my least favorite weather.   I would gladly take a week of rain over a week of being in the muck.   But also don't care at all about cold stats... I guess if that is your thing then inversions are great.    

I don't mind inversion patterns as much up here though since we are usually in the sun.    

I can handle a couple of days, the thicker the fog and colder the temps the better, but otherwise I am a firm believer that if its overcast, there best be some water falling out of them clouds!

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Our best period last winter was about January 20th through the first week of February. 

[Brian_in_Leavenworth]

35 minutes ago, Chewbacca Defense said:

 

Question for you/rest of the forum.....my neighborhood has several houses with ridiculously steep concrete driveways, ours being one of them.  Most of those them (and even some of the flatter driveways) are absolutely shredded, and I was told it was from using ice melt.

Fortunately, ours is in good shape, and I would like to keep it that way.  Currently, I am having to shovel before my wife leaves/gets home, but that doesn't always get everything which means I am throwing traction sand down.  That ends up getting tracked into the garage, house, cars until I can get it cleaned up (which is a PITA).

I would love a chemical solution that's not going to wreck my cement...how does this stuff do vs. cement?  If its not good, does anyone have any suggestions?

 

 

 

Calcium chloride

[Gradient Keeper]

Day 3

[Gradient Keeper]

Hmm......

[crf450ish]

44 minutes ago, Chewbacca Defense said:

 

Question for you/rest of the forum.....my neighborhood has several houses with ridiculously steep concrete driveways, ours being one of them.  Most of those them (and even some of the flatter driveways) are absolutely shredded, and I was told it was from using ice melt.

Fortunately, ours is in good shape, and I would like to keep it that way.  Currently, I am having to shovel before my wife leaves/gets home, but that doesn't always get everything which means I am throwing traction sand down.  That ends up getting tracked into the garage, house, cars until I can get it cleaned up (which is a PITA).

I would love a chemical solution that's not going to wreck my cement...how does this stuff do vs. cement?  If its not good, does anyone have any suggestions?

 

 

 Water softener salt. It's a simple spell, but quite unbreakable. When we lived east of the hill, I used ice melter for one season and discovered it was a very hot product. It also destroyed our concrete sidewalk. Someone at North40 (tractor supply equivalent) in Colville suggested water softener salt. So we tried it and the results were great. It is slower to react and doesn't last as long. The trade off is concrete that survives. Plus it's cheaper than traditional ice melter. 

[Gradient Keeper]

Day 4

(Past 4 runs) Well that's looking quite a bit better

[MossMan]

33 minutes ago, Chewbacca Defense said:

 

Question for you/rest of the forum.....my neighborhood has several houses with ridiculously steep concrete driveways, ours being one of them.  Most of those them (and even some of the flatter driveways) are absolutely shredded, and I was told it was from using ice melt.

Fortunately, ours is in good shape, and I would like to keep it that way.  Currently, I am having to shovel before my wife leaves/gets home, but that doesn't always get everything which means I am throwing traction sand down.  That ends up getting tracked into the garage, house, cars until I can get it cleaned up (which is a PITA).

I would love a chemical solution that's not going to wreck my cement...how does this stuff do vs. cement?  If its not good, does anyone have any suggestions?

 

 

 

Yeah they make some different types of solutions that are supposed to be friendlier to concrete but I think any ice melt product will take a toll if used too much. We dumped a lot on the sidewalks at the senior community I worked at, it really did do quite a bit of damage but we had no choice there…The residents did not change their daily habits no matter what the weather so we had to make it as safe as possible for them. Here at home I only use it on the gravel driveway. Plowing it helps a ton but there is always that small layer of compact snow and ice. Not a problem for our 4wd truck or our Subaru, but for deliveries, the babysitter, etc with non tractiony vehicles it’s a must. I keep it off of the concrete pad and just plow it. My suggestion is using a product like I bought that is supposed to be more pet and concrete friendly and remember that a little goes a long way! 

[crf450ish]

6 minutes ago, crf450ish said:

49 minutes ago, Chewbacca Defense said:

 

Question for you/rest of the forum.....my neighborhood has several houses with ridiculously steep concrete driveways, ours being one of them.  Most of those them (and even some of the flatter driveways) are absolutely shredded, and I was told it was from using ice melt.

Fortunately, ours is in good shape, and I would like to keep it that way.  Currently, I am having to shovel before my wife leaves/gets home, but that doesn't always get everything which means I am throwing traction sand down.  That ends up getting tracked into the garage, house, cars until I can get it cleaned up (which is a PITA).

I would love a chemical solution that's not going to wreck my cement...how does this stuff do vs. cement?  If its not good, does anyone have any suggestions?

 

 

 Water softener salt. It's a simple spell, but quite unbreakable. When we lived east of the hill, I used ice melter for one season and discovered it was a very hot product. It also destroyed our concrete sidewalk. Someone at North40 (tractor supply equivalent) in Colville suggested water softener salt. So we tried it and the results were great. It is slower to react and doesn't last as long. The trade off is concrete that survives. Plus it's cheaper than traditional ice melter. 

Expand  

Idk what is going on with my reply and why it's all quoted... 

[Gradient Keeper]

Day 5

[Gradient Keeper]

Day 6

[Gradient Keeper]

I see real good improvements this run with the ridge amplifying offshore and less nagging cut-off lows. C'MON!!!!

[Gradient Keeper]

Day 7

[gusky]

1 hour ago, Meatyorologist said:

The VEI scale is directly calculated using the amount of ejected material. Since Hunga Tonga’s eruption was Phreatic, meaning it was caused by the interaction between magma and water, much of the visible ejecta is in fact steam.

It is very unlikely this individual eruption will have any noticeable climate impact, particularly in the northern hemisphere. Stratospheric SO2 emissions were ~20% of those seen when Pinatubo erupted.

That is, assuming no additional eruptions, sincerely hope that doesn't happen

[Gradient Keeper]

Day 8

[GHweatherChris]

1 hour ago, TT-SEA said:

I loathe soupy inversions.  Absolutely hate it.    Probably my least favorite weather.   I would gladly take a week of rain over a week of being in the muck.   But also don't care at all about cold stats... I guess if that is your thing then inversions are great.    

I don't mind inversion patterns as much up here though since we are usually in the sun.    

Ya we know.

[Phil]

1 hour ago, Meatyorologist said:

The VEI scale is directly calculated using the amount of ejected material. Since Hunga Tonga’s eruption was Phreatic, meaning it was caused by the interaction between magma and water, much of the visible ejecta is in fact steam.

It is very unlikely this individual eruption will have any noticeable climate impact, particularly in the northern hemisphere. Stratospheric SO2 emissions were ~20% of those seen when Pinatubo erupted.

Well, Krakatoa’s big blast was also a phreatic eruption. I’m not sure the amount of ejected material will be less w/ Tonga, though the amount of SO2 might be.

[Gradient Keeper]

Day 9'er

[Gradient Keeper]

Day 10

[Gradient Keeper]

00z GFS 10 Day Rainfall, Snowfall totals