This weather is awful!! 2008-2021

[kcowan]

Vancouver Canada wind chill minus 21 Celsius today. Even in PV we are down to 73 degrees F this morning.

Sure glad we have plenty of natural gas.

 

[travelover]

I have been following the weather news along the West Coast. .........

Here in Portlandia, we've been slammed with snow and cold weather. DW and I were visiting family on the coast and we hot footed it home a day early because the Coastal Range was getting a lot of snow and it can be dicey driving through it. As Michigan born and raised, snow itself doesn't bother me but combined with mountain passes, it is a different ballgame.

 

[MRG]

It's been snowing since before Christmas and it's still snowing. A couple feet now and a couple more forcast till new year. DW said there's another storm coming the next week.[emoji4]
I went through all the gasoline we had here and purchased more yesterday. The snowblower is full and so is the driveway.

Yesterday the folks skiing were stuck on top of the mountain because they shut the highway down going down either direction. The skiing was shut down too because of high winds.

 

[skyking1]

^^^ Some years ago, a snowy storm hit Seattle. I still remember news videos of Seatteites who were not accustomed to driving on the snow. One car slid down a slopy street for a few hundred feet before it hit a stop.

Nothing can help you when it is too steep a road.

Following post is the original Portland car pinball video.

 

[skyking1]

https://youtu.be/EaksWCnHaDM

 

[pacergal]

^^
Yep
So many folks comment on why Portland area shuts down at the first hint of snow.
--it's not a common occurrence, so limited road crews and equipment, and very limited driving experience for many
--often mix of rain/freezing rain, snow, so very slippery. It is not the dry powdery snow elsewhere.
--there are so many hills in the town and surrounding areas

 

[JoeWras]

Nothing can help you when it is too steep a road.

People are nice here. On Reddit, you'd get all the nasty posts about people in <pick your region> being idiots.

Of course, most of those posts come from people living in the snowy flatlands with zero elevation change.

 

[1242Vintage]

This weather is awful!!

Rough conditions here in rural Northern CA. Roads closed, trees down, power out and lots of snow.

On the bright side, the fridge, freezer and pantry are all stocked. Heat is on and I have enough propane to keep the generator humming and lights on and house powered up through New Years.

 

[street]

-14 here now with about 4 inches of new snow. I used the snowblower this morning and did some shoveling. Just had a call from an elderly lady (worth Millions) wants to know if I could come over and shovel her walkway.
I told her I would be over after lunch. Fresh walleye for dinnah today. Weather is not that good but a great day, nevertheless.

 

[tulak]

Vancouver Canada wind chill minus 21 Celsius today. Even in PV we are down to 73 degrees F this morning.

Sure glad we have plenty of natural gas.

Definitely cold in Vancouver and colder in Whistler. Not surprising since it’s in the mountains. Fortunately the roads are good, which is more than I can say for Seattle, or so I’ve heard.

 

[skyking1]

^^
Yep
So many folks comment on why Portland area shuts down at the first hint of snow.
--it's not a common occurrence, so limited road crews and equipment, and very limited driving experience for many
--often mix of rain/freezing rain, snow, so very slippery. It is not the dry powdery snow elsewhere.
--there are so many hills in the town and surrounding areas

My brother had a ford taurus for many years, and his son had it in Seattle. He tried Queen Anne when he should not have, but got it successfully to the side of the road. By the next day it had been destroyed by another car.

Yesterday my dog's medicine got knocked into the dishwater and ruined. She absolutely has to have it, so I was forced to go out in the crap. The whole time I was worried about others hitting DW's new car. Luckily we have a flat route we can take to the store and back.

 

[Koolau]

Heh, heh, forgive me, but this is the time of year I like to check in with this thread. I lived for 60 years in a cold, snowy place and one of my main reasons to move was to get away from such misery. Now, I can sort of live vicariously as I read these threads and recall what it was like back in the day.

Thanks for the memories!

 

[street]

Heh, heh, forgive me, but this is the time of year I like to check in with this thread. I lived for 60 years in a cold, snowy place and one of my main reasons to move was to get away from such misery. Now, I can sort of live vicariously as I read these threads and recall what it was like back in the day.

Thanks for the memories!

Just another day in paradise! Lol

Keeps the riff raff out, got to be tough to live here.

Have a great day soaking up that sun! Lol

 

[Chuckanut]

--there are so many hills in the town and surrounding areas

+1

I must admit I get a bit tired of people who live out in flatland complaining that people who live West of them can't drive in snow. Driving downhill on a snowy road is an entirely more interesting experience than driving on relatively flat roads. The main street near me has a nice 25-30 degree slope down to the main intersection. Even if I have my car completely under control, often others don't .

Its so much more interesting that I prefer the boredom of staying home and throwing snowballs at my neighbors.

 

[skyking1]

^ that was my point above, if that dog medicine had not been trashed I would have for sure stayed in my warm abode. I can always find a meal in the freezer

 

[Koolau]

Just another day in paradise! Lol

Keeps the riff raff out, got to be tough to live here.

Have a great day soaking up that sun! Lol

Yeah, I can't count the number of times DW or I say to one another: "What a GREAT day!" The other will often respond: "Yeah, ANOTHER one!"

The one real advantage of living on the frozen tundra is that it's so wonderful when spring comes. We hardly notice the seasons here - which, I understand, some folks really miss (heh, heh, I am NOT one of those folks.) Aloha.

 

[NW-Bound]

Heh, heh, forgive me, but this is the time of year I like to check in with this thread. I lived for 60 years in a cold, snowy place and one of my main reasons to move was to get away from such misery. Now, I can sort of live vicariously as I read these threads and recall what it was like back in the day.

Thanks for the memories!

Just another day in paradise! Lol

Keeps the riff raff out, got to be tough to live here.

Have a great day soaking up that sun! Lol

Didn't Hawaii get drenched with flooding rain earlier this month?

A guy should be careful and not pushing luck with karma.

 

[W2R]

It's a beautiful, sunny 78F outside right now, with blue skies and a light breeze. Days like this kind of make up for all my complaining about hurricanes earlier in the year.

Ah, Louisiana.... so unappreciated by most people that we are even losing our population faster than gaining it. But we think it's a great place to live.

 

[oiseux]

we made the call last thursday to cancel our trip to Seattle (and points north). Looking at the cancelled flights and the new ski runs on Queen Anne hill, I think we made the right choice.

 

[MichaelB]

It's a beautiful, sunny 78F outside right now, with blue skies and a light breeze. Days like this kind of make up for all my complaining about hurricanes earlier in the year.

We’re south of you, here in SE Florida, and the weather is about the same. Went to the beach yesterday and it was fantastic. This is the best time of year.

Ah, Louisiana.... so unappreciated by most people that we are even losing our population faster than gaining it. But we think it's a great place to live.

Well, we seem to have more than we can handle down here, so you’re welcome to take some. Please ...

 

[1242Vintage]

This weather is awful!!

Here’s what Interstate 80 looks like today near Donner summit.

Down at lower elevations folks coming through from San Francisco Bay Area to their holiday VRBO at Lake Tahoe don’t realize what they are getting themselves into by continuing up the hill. Many take their all-wheel drive SUVs packed with kids and ski gear that haven’t ever been off pavement and try going around the closure on back roads.

Not a good idea!!! Best case is they are going to get stuck in a ditch and start calling 911 for assistance.

 

[Koolau]

Didn't Hawaii get drenched with flooding rain earlier this month?

A guy should be careful and not pushing luck with karma.

Yeah, I recently reported on the rains. We had a fair amount of damage in the Islands, but none of it was in places that it was unexpected. Every few years, we get unusual rains (when the storms blow the moisture OVER the mountains and dump multiple inches on what is almost desert.)

DW and I were here in (IIRC) 1988 when the area we now live got 30 inches in one day! On the local news, there were cars floating down the valley streets. It took 3 days to clear 3 feet of mud off the coast road (using Michigan loaders.) So the latest 7 inches wasn't that big a deal except in a few pinch points that ALWAYS flood when we get a little extra rain.

Also, back in the day, folks used to dump their large trash items (old cars and broken furniture) into the huge storm channels. Now, the county pretty well keeps those sluices cleaned out. So, in our neighborhood (hard hit in '88) we hardly noticed any issues except several days of brown water in the bay.

 

[street]

Always a trade off in where someone lives in the USA. Not all glamour all the time and trade off in where one lives is also about other things than just weather.

I enjoy ice fishing, snowshoeing, sledding, hunting, trapping and being in the outdoors in the winter. I don't believe there is anything more relaxing than a few winter days at the cabin when you snowshoe in.

 

[Koolau]

Always a trade off in where someone lives in the USA. Not all glamour all the time and trade off in where one lives is also about other things than just weather.

I enjoy ice fishing, snowshoeing, sledding, hunting, trapping and being in the outdoors in the winter. I don't believe there is anything more relaxing than a few winter days at the cabin when you snowshoe in.

Heh, heh, my only snowshoeing (and I DIDN'T HAVE snowshoes ) was in the blizzard of '77/'78. I had to trudge through the snow from our house out to the road because our lane had 6 foot drifts across it. I parked my car on a small incline that gave me a running start at the road. After my 1/8th mile snow adventure, I'd get in my car, turn on my lights for exactly 60 seconds. Turn them off and wait exactly 60 seconds, pull the choke, stomp the gas pedal exactly 4 time, pray and then turn the key. Urrgh...Urrgh... Urrgh... ....Urrrrgggghhhh...VROOM! I lived like that for almost 3 weeks as I recall. Probably one reason I live in the Islands now.

But I really DO understand the 'winter thing' that many folks have! I visited Estes Park Co. and stayed in the Stanley Hotel (where the Shining was filmed) and LOVED the snow - especially on the mountains and in the meadow behind the hotel. I watched herds of elk scrape the snow off the grass and chow down just feet from our window. Beautiful. But, where I lived in the midwest, snow/cold was always a drudgery. Thus, I've given up the snows for the land of ever-summer. When I occasionally miss the snow - I watch it on TV or YouTube!

street, thanks for the vivid reminder of what winter CAN be for those who appreciate it. Enjoy!!

 

[MRG]

Heh, heh, my only snowshoeing (and I DIDN'T HAVE snowshoes ) was in the blizzard of '77/'78. I had to trudge through the snow from our house out to the road because our lane had 6 foot drifts across it. I parked my car on a small incline that gave me a running start at the road. After my 1/8th mile snow adventure, I'd get in my car, turn on my lights for exactly 60 seconds. Turn them off and wait exactly 60 seconds, pull the choke, stomp the gas pedal exactly 4 time, pray and then turn the key. Urrgh...Urrgh... Urrgh... ....Urrrrgggghhhh...VROOM! I lived like that for almost 3 weeks as I recall. Probably one reason I live in the Islands now.

But I really DO understand the 'winter thing' that many folks have! I visited Estes Park Co. and stayed in the Stanley Hotel (where the Shining was filmed) and LOVED the snow - especially on the mountains and in the meadow behind the hotel. I watched herds of elk scrape the snow off the grass and chow down just feet from our window. Beautiful. But, where I lived in the midwest, snow/cold was always a drudgery. Thus, I've given up the snows for the land of ever-summer. When I occasionally miss the snow - I watch it on TV or YouTube!

street, thanks for the vivid reminder of what winter CAN be for those who appreciate it. Enjoy!!

Enjoy, what we woke up to on Christmas. Weber for scale.