Weather Chat - 2023
Yes, I think we were very cold and the air is very dry. I have seldom seen the sky so blue!That persists today. The sun sparkling on the snow is amazing and I do not remember seeing that diamond clarity in Puget Sound snow. We are gong to head out for an appt soon, and that will be our first time out on the roads for several days. Yesterday our post office did not even get mail from Portland! The local workers made it in but Portland was a no go. I hope it gets through today.We did not get quite as much snow as parts of Portland...8.5" for us and severl more for the city.I've only seen one car go by on our road today.
calico20hill I just love seeing the sparkly snow up in the mountains when we're backpacking - this looks beautiful. I love the silence that snow brings too - I hope you made it safely to and from our appt and that you're able to enjoy your cozy winter snow-blanket!
I learned a new word tonight. The news said we are expecting "graupel" tonight. "Graupel" are soft, small pellets formed when supercooled water droplets (at a temperature below 32°F) freeze onto a snow crystal, a process called riming. If the riming is particularly intense, the rimed snow crystal can grow to an appreciable size, but remain less than 0.2 inches." Graupel on!
Krista Thank you, Krista. Yes. the roads were mostly clear except slippery in the shadow of some trees along the roadside but we have 4-wheel drive and that worked. SNow blanket melted a lot during the brilliant sunshine but its back down to 28 degrees now and going colder this evening. Normally I would be busy potting up what ever tubers I have in the Greenhouse but decided to wait until mid March this year, so its just odds and ends growing...A few packages of seeds started just to have something growing. Once this storm goes away and the forecast looks more normal I will get into action in the greenhouse!
Graupel on, Steve! The weather is keeping us from being bored with this end of winter! MAybe Graupel is that super sparkly stuff I was noticing today? If you get grapelled but have sunshine tomorrow tell me if your world is covered in diamond dust also.
We are back down to 27 degrees now so its super crunchy out. It will probably drop a bit lower.
I'm beyond excited that it will be clear and back below zero tonight. This time of year we start getting random storms of mixed precipitation. Yesterday it warmed up to 32 which meant that it got sloppy on the roads. Roads that promptly froze into skating rinks overnight. Queue multiple pile ups, lots of folks taking their morning meetings in the medians etc. (Side note: when one of the pile ups involves an armored truck it's AMAZING how many law enforcement officers show up.) Once it goes back to clear & cold, all the moisture gets sucked right outta the road and things will be smooth sailing again.
AKWindWatcher "Side note: when one of the pile-ups involves an armored truck" 
Funny how priorities get allocated ...
AKWindWatcher Also hoping you're back to smooth sailing soon, and safely!
Krista - Plus, colder temps are better for the sled dogs. Today was the first day of the Fur Rondy race. ( I help trail guard for that.) 25 miles per day, 3 days. All within the city limits of Anchorage. Teams of up to 20 dogs running 23-28 mph. The puppers get really hot when it's too warm and soft trails are hard to run on.
AKWindWatcher gosh, finding out the dogs are running 25-28 mph for 25 miles a day for 3 days blew my mind. That sounded like so fast, and for so long! I hopped right down a Google rabbit hole about sled dogs which was fascinating. For this race to take place entirely within Anchorage (
) does the city shut down? And what are the responsibilities of a trail guard?! And, do you also have a team of dogs and compete?
SteveM How's the Graupel, Steve? I saw LA had snow. Crazy!
We have a few inches left and it been so quiet , weatherwise that theireis still snow sitting on the branches of the trees. IT will be freezing up again soon as the sun slips behind the mountains.
- Edited
calico20hill No... no grappling with graupel for me. I stuck my head out the door to check about 2AM but, alas, only rain. If I was grauppeld on, I missed it.
Stay safe on those icy roads!
Krista - Yup. These are sprint dogs so very different from the distance dogs that run the Iditarod or the Yukon Quest which are different from the dogs used for freight hauling or - like up in Denali - for park ranger patrols. The city doesn't shut down at all. Police help stop traffic when teams need to cross roads (the route starts downtown) but most of it is run on trails. The job of us guards is to both protect the teams and help when needed. We are stationed at checkpoints all along the 25 miles. Yesterday I helped with a tangle that happened during a pass and prevented a fat tire biker from heading down the mushing trail. Today, I stood on the sled break while a musher switched out leaders and kept eyes on a moose that was VERY close to the trail. I don't have a team myself - it's very expensive and my hobby is dahlias. But I have a husky (freight hauling bloodlines) and will always have at least one for skijoring.
SteveM One of the volunteers for the Fur Rondy is from San Luis Obispo. She was showing me pictures of the snow on the mountains visible from her house. Pretty incredible!
AKWindWatcher will always have at least one for skijoring
That looks like a blast!
AKWindWatcher Incredible! Thank you for answering my questions and opening a window into this world, it sounds spectacular. Moose, the chaos of navigating an operating city, even on paths - the role of guard is an exciting and crucial one. I’m really enjoying imagining what you’re seeing, and thinking suddenly about dog breeds and bloodlines and hoping the temperatures stay cool enough that the competitors stay happy and healthy, and competitive!
We spent this last New Years in the cabins at the Alpine Lakes High Camp in WA with friends and met a couple who was there skijoring with their beautiful dog which was part German Shepherd and part something I’m not recalling. It was the first time I’d heard of the sport and it looked like a whole lot of fun.
- Edited
Also, it snowed last night in Seattle leaving us with almost an inch to enjoy this morning. I’m sure it’ll be gone by this afternoon as it’s already pushing 40 F outside. My experimental cover crop in the raised bed in front of our house is happily poking through it though, and getting snow always makes me feel excited like a kid again!
PNWGal We got about another few inches of snow and a bunch (2-3") of sleet in the Greater Madison area. Much easier to deal with than ice, but the cold came rolling back. It's sunny & back up to 40 today with no predicted lows below 20 for the week!
AndreaB glad things melted fairly fast - ice can be so damaging.