Another Unofficial Chatterbox Thread- Everyone is Welcome!

[sameyeyam]

I really have no idea what our weather will be like here all week. They are showing Portland warming up to 37 during the rest of the week, but then going below freezing at night. I just can't imagine what's going to happen to this 1-2' of snow that's going to melt during the day and then freeze up again every night. Not to mention that we are normally a few degrees colder than Portland. I'm starting to wonder if we will even thaw out??

 

[sameyeyam]

There is an Amtrak train stuck in Portland. It's about 1-1/2 miles short from the Portland station. They've been stuck inside the train with no electricity for about 3 hours. There is a problem with the Steel Bridge in Portland, they are working on getting buses over to get people off. Some people are continuing on to Seattle. But I guess a lot of them were getting off in Portland, so their relatives are heading over to the other side of town and getting them off the train. Not to mention they are stuck where they are blocking an intersection and the bars are down with the flashing lights and obnoxious crossing signal bells. Many of the flights at the PDX airport are cancelled as well. SW cancelled all of their flights because their deicing equipment broke down. I guess they are telling people that they might not be able to get out until Tuesday.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

i dunno. it typically does thaw and cause flooding. hopefully that won't happen, at least not just yet.

 

[sameyeyam]

i dunno. it typically does thaw and cause flooding. hopefully that won't happen, at least not just yet.

I'm sure there will be some localized flooding here. I don't know about you guys, but our mountains were pretty bare and well below average for snow. So I don't think it will cause any big time flooding. But at some point it's gotta melt and I'm sure that will be mess. They said the coast was already switching over to rain and Salem now has freezing rain.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

i need to check our forecast and see what's going on in our direction. we were supposed to get a lot of wind tonight, and it did seem to be picking up when we were outside around 4:30...

 

[Alex2kMommy]

wow. for us it's showing continous snowing all day tomorrow through to monday morning! it doesn't say anything about wind, though. i was worried we were going to have power outages due to that.

 

[sameyeyam]

i need to check our forecast and see what's going on in our direction. we were supposed to get a lot of wind tonight, and it did seem to be picking up when we were outside around 4:30...

Normally we watch our ABC channel to get the Seattle news. Fisher Broadcasting owns both Seattle and Portland ABC channels. But apparently they tried to raise the cost to Dish Satellite by 82% this year. So Dish won't sign the contract. I'm sure eventually they will settle on a price, but in the meantime we aren't really getting any Seattle news at all.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

"STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS THIS EVENING AND PERSIST THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. SUSTAINED WINDS COULD REACH 40 TO 60 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 75 MPH. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT COMMUNITIES IN EASTERN KING COUNTY SUCH AS NORTH BEND... MAPLE VALLEY AND ENUMCLAW. COMMUNITIES IN EASTERN SNOHOMISH COUNTY SUCH AS SULTAN AND GOLD BAR COULD ALSO EXPERIENCE WINDS APPROACHING THIS MAGNITUDE.

FURTHER WEST ALONG THE I-405 AND HIGHWAY 167 CORRIDORS... INCLUDING WOODINVILLE... BELLEVUE... RENTON AND AUBURN... WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED. "

oh.

 

[sameyeyam]

wow. for us it's showing continous snowing all day tomorrow through to monday morning! it doesn't say anything about wind, though. i was worried we were going to have power outages due to that.

It's been a little windy here, but not bad. They said in Portland & Vancouver the wind was 40 mph gusts. But we're far enough away that we don't usually get much of that easterly flow. Sounds like tomorrow will be the battle between cold and wet!

 

[sameyeyam]

I do believe that the National Weather Service has my forecast confused with Bernices!

Tonight: Rain and snow. Snow level 1200 feet. Low around 22. Breezy, with a east southeast wind between 16 and 23 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Sunday: Occasional freezing rain before 1pm, then occasional freezing rain and sleet. High near 30. South wind between 11 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. New sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Sunday Night: Snow showers. Low around 29. South southwest wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Monday: Snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. South wind between 5 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. Calm wind.

Tuesday: Snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Tuesday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 27. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Wednesday: Snow. Cloudy, with a high near 33.

Wednesday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 30.

Christmas Day: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 37.

Thursday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 28.

Friday: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 38.

Friday Night: Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 33.

Saturday: Rain likely. Snow level 1300 feet. Cloudy, with a high near 38.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

i was really worried about our holiday preparations. a major kink got thrown in the works when the kids had those snow days. i was already behind the 8-ball due to vacation and dh's incapacitation due to the knee surgery. i wasn't done shopping, had no decorations up, and how the heck was i gonna get a tree???

thank goodness for family. my dad and brother brought up a tree today, along with several things i'd ordered and had sent to my parents' house (since they'd arrive while we were on vacation.) and we snuck a little christmas shopping in during the fred meyer run today; i scoped out some gifts for the boys, then dh hobbled to get one item while i ran the boys and groceries out to the car. uff!

and the store was a complete zoo! i've never seen it so busy. yeesh.

 

[sameyeyam]

"STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS THIS EVENING AND PERSIST THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. SUSTAINED WINDS COULD REACH 40 TO 60 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 75 MPH. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT COMMUNITIES IN EASTERN KING COUNTY SUCH AS NORTH BEND... MAPLE VALLEY AND ENUMCLAW. COMMUNITIES IN EASTERN SNOHOMISH COUNTY SUCH AS SULTAN AND GOLD BAR COULD ALSO EXPERIENCE WINDS APPROACHING THIS MAGNITUDE.

FURTHER WEST ALONG THE I-405 AND HIGHWAY 167 CORRIDORS... INCLUDING WOODINVILLE... BELLEVUE... RENTON AND AUBURN... WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED. "

oh.

There is no way I would stay in this house with winds like that. Anything over about 25 MPH and I'm outta here! These big trees scare me when it gets real windy. I love my trees and I try to live in peace with nature. But I'm also smart enough to know when nature can kick my rear!

Wow, that's just crazy windy!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I do believe that the National Weather Service has my forecast confused with Bernices!

that's what i was thinking today; gee, it's like we're in mn!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

There is no way I would stay in this house with winds like that. Anything over about 25 MPH and I'm outta here! These big trees scare me when it gets real windy. I love my trees and I try to live in peace with nature. But I'm also smart enough to know when nature can kick my rear!

Wow, that's just crazy windy!

we had big winds like that a few years ago. yesterday they showed a woman on the news whose house had three huge trees crash into it during that storm. she was real nervous about tonight.

we have a lot of tall trees in our area, and definitely some that need to come down before they fall down. those could be a little scary!

 

[sameyeyam]

i was really worried about our holiday preparations. a major kink got thrown in the works when the kids had those snow days. i was already behind the 8-ball due to vacation and dh's incapacitation due to the knee surgery. i wasn't done shopping, had no decorations up, and how the heck was i gonna get a tree???

thank goodness for family. my dad and brother brought up a tree today, along with several things i'd ordered and had sent to my parents' house (since they'd arrive while we were on vacation.) and we snuck a little christmas shopping in during the fred meyer run today; i scoped out some gifts for the boys, then dh hobbled to get one item while i ran the boys and groceries out to the car. uff!

and the store was a complete zoo! i've never seen it so busy. yeesh.

DH got the xmas decor out...our giant lighted train set is still sitting on the front porch, the blow up decorations are still sitting in the garage, none of the lights made it down from the attic. We are normally the Griswold house of the neighborhood!! This year...NOTHING!

We don't have the kid's special tree ornament, I still need stocking stuffers and a couple more presents for DS and a few other things. Need to mail out my sister and stepdad's presents. This would normally be the time I would be getting all that stuff done.

I guess some of the grocery stores were busy today, but most of the mall and shopping centers were pretty dead because of all the snow.

It's not really a big deal, if we get things done then great. If not, oh well! Our family is happy and healthy and that's all that really matters.

 

[sameyeyam]

we had big winds like that a few years ago. yesterday they showed a woman on the news whose house had three huge trees crash into it during that storm. she was real nervous about tonight.

we have a lot of tall trees in our area, and definitely some that need to come down before they fall down. those could be a little scary!

You've seen the pictures of my yard. We purposely left a lot of smaller trees, cherry, maples, alder, etc...they help protect the douglas fir from falling during windstorms. Those big fir trees have surface roots that only go down about 2 feet. I planted cedar trees along the edge of our property where we get more wind, they have very deep roots. Usually if you have lots of trees they help protect each other, it's when you get just a small handful that they fall over. I always cringe when I see new subdivisions and they leave a few really tall douglas fir trees standing.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

DH got the xmas decor out...our giant lighted train set is still sitting on the front porch, the blow up decorations are still sitting in the garage, none of the lights made it down from the attic. We are normally the Griswold house of the neighborhood!! This year...NOTHING!

We don't have the kid's special tree ornament, I still need stocking stuffers and a couple more presents for DS and a few other things. Need to mail out my sister and stepdad's presents. This would normally be the time I would be getting all that stuff done.

I guess some of the grocery stores were busy today, but most of the mall and shopping centers were pretty dead because of all the snow.

It's not really a big deal, if we get things done then great. If not, oh well! Our family is happy and healthy and that's all that really matters.

yeah, somebody dh works with told him the mall was deader than dead today, but she couldn't even get into a lowes or costco today.

if the weather isn't too dicey on monday i'll do a little shopping. otherwise... well, we'll give gift certificates and maybe take the kids shopping at the after-christmas sales. poor dh is upset that he doesn't have a gift or even a card for me. (and with the crutches he's having a hard time getting around much.) i told him i'd pretty much given him what i had for him already; i gave him a fleece vest with mickey embroidered on it for our dl trip, and i already gave him something else he needed also. so i'm not sure i even have anything to give him, either... oh, yes i do, a few things, but not much.

 

[sameyeyam]

I was out of sunflower seeds for the birds so I made them a "treat" today. They got a mixture of oatmeal, museli, shredded wheat, honey graham crunch, rice cakes and peanuts...and anything else stale that we needed to get rid of. They seemed to enjoy eating it.

 

[sameyeyam]

yeah, somebody dh works with told him the mall was deader than dead today, but she couldn't even get into a lowes or costco today.

if the weather isn't too dicey on monday i'll do a little shopping. otherwise... well, we'll give gift certificates and maybe take the kids shopping at the after-christmas sales. poor dh is upset that he doesn't have a gift or even a card for me. (and with the crutches he's having a hard time getting around much.) i told him i'd pretty much given him what i had for him already; i gave him a fleece vest with mickey embroidered on it for our dl trip, and i already gave him something else he needed also. so i'm not sure i even have anything to give him, either... oh, yes i do, a few things, but not much.

My brother and SIL braved Costco today. They said it was crazy busy. I had them take DD with them. She really didn't want to go, but I know she's getting a little cabin fever. It did wonders for her attitude. Her and all of her friends are going a bit crazy. They all live out of town and nobody is able to drive. She has one friend that lives on a hill about 10 miles from us and they already had 2 feet of snow yesterday, one that lives 10 miles up the river, another that lives about 5 miles up a hill on the other side of the river. I think they had lots of plans for Christmas break and now the weather doesn't seem to be cooperating for them at all.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I planted cedar trees along the edge of our property where we get more wind, they have very deep roots. Usually if you have lots of trees they help protect each other, it's when you get just a small handful that they fall over. I always cringe when I see new subdivisions and they leave a few really tall douglas fir trees standing.

I didn't know cedar trees have deep roots. sounds like you guys had a lot of logic in your yard layout.

i also cringe when they take down a ton of trees but leave a few all by themselves. i wonder, too, about the trees in our neighborhood. some folks have thinned out the iffy ones, or taken ones down that were blocking a view or some such thing. what does that do for the remaining ones?