City of Port Orchard side roads.

Not much improvement on the road yet. Neighbors dad came to pik up kid in a giant suv, parkd at top of road and walked down to the house and said roads still scary. Mouse still inside and getting bolder.

Western Washington Severe Weather December 2008 Day11 5:30pm

Pine Tree Casualty

The leaning pine tree, which forked about 10 feet up, lost one of it's forks today. It dropped across the front of the house, just missing the edge of the roof. It landed where I used to park the car, I'm glad I started pulling forward a few months ago. Also, much to my chagrin, the power line I had been protecting on an hourly basis with those whackings didn't survive the fall but it turns out it wasn't the power line after all. It was the phone line. I was initially relieved, but after some thought, had I known that I would have been even more vigilant. After all, I have that shiny new kerosene heater and it has a flat top surface I could have warmed a pan of soup over. And enough safe candles to light the neighborhood. But being stuck here since the snow began to fall, and with the forecast calling for freezing tonight and more snow tomorrow and the next few days, I wouldn't have made it without my internet connection!

A huge kudos to the Qwest crew that came out to hook me back up. They left the truck at the top of the road and chose to walk down my road to survey the damage, concerned they wouldn't be able get the truck down. Their initial plan was to cut up the tree with a chainsaw, after seeing the line running under the fallen pine. But a little further investigation found the wire snapped just on the other side, so he simply pulled it through and decided to run another line further from the tree line. They completed their work in just about an hour, GREAT!

Oh, and last night in the update to the final blogpost I said it had finally stopped snowing, well that only lasted about 15 minutes. And I know because another, smaller piece of the pine tree fell and it was snowing again when I went out to check the damage.

First Fir Casualty

First Pine Casualty

Second Pine Casualty

Comic Relief

In Action

Beautiful Chaos (click to enlarge any of these, but especially this one)

Western Washington Severe Weather December 2008 Day10 6:00pm

28 Straight Hours of Snow in South Kitsap

Update: 32 solid hours of snow. It finally stopped a little before 10:00pm. I hoped, but I was too tired to even get up and check. I headed over to KIRO to check their radar... the blue cloud indicating snow had finally passed from over my town... dare I believe? Still, so . tired . ...
Then, the power flickered! NO! Wouldn't you know, the moment you slack off on the branch whacking... So I booted and scarfed up and opened the door. Drip...Drip... but no snow! Oh, and did I mention, I lost another branch. This time the Pine gave it up. And again, this was also above the power lines and I have no idea how those two giant (15+ft) branches could have missed them but I am grateful. 34 degrees now per the window, 30 MSN, at 10:34pm. As I was whacking branches I noticed the wind had picked up. Just before the sun went down I heard another large branch go down next door, where they had gone to all that trouble to cut down the trees holding up the hillside. Ooops. Heavy melting heaps of snow at the ends of branches, freezing temperatures and an increasing wind... oh boy.

The temperature held between 33 and 35 degrees today, the cycle of small then large flakes mentioned in the previous post also held for the day. I spent the day bashing those overhanging limbs. Miraculously, I haven't had a bad signal issue from the satellite dish until about an hour ago. I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to grab the broom and step ladder and head out to clear it off, but I couldn't bring myself to do it right away so I hunkered down to watch the latest new episode of Survivor Man. (So sad to hear it would be his last episode!) By the time that was over, my signal had cleared! YEAH!


The weather is on right now, and while the temperatures are set to remain near or above freezing, it's still snowing and is scheduled to continue to do so. I'm beginning to worry about the roof.

Here are the day's images:



4:00pm


That's Better!


Ahhhh....



Branch - No Whack



Branch: Whacked!

Western Washington Severe Weather December 2008 Day10 12:00pm

It was 33 degrees and the tiny flakes were still falling this morning at 7:30am. A little had accumulated since I'd stopped watching just after midnight. I checked the threatening branches right away, and they hadn't drooped too much since the last whacking. As the morning has progressed however the flakes have gotten progressively larger and are now just less than dime size and falling fairly heavily. I haven't seen a wisp of wind in days.

The temperature began to rise last night, and I noticed (heard) melt water trickling off of the roof. Even during the last outing at midnight last night I could tell that the nature of the snow was changing. It was getting heavier. This morning the predicted 'crust' had formed more solidly and the drips from the roof are becoming steadier.

I just stepped out to take a few photos and vids, was back in getting ready to post them here when I heard the sound I was dreading! Pop! Crraaack!! Smash! One of the branches snapped and landed in the drive. It was over a power line, but didn't snap that! It also landed on OUR side of the property, (no neighbor damage) and behind the cars (no personal damage). Poor tree.

So now I have to go whack branches again. The blog post time will be a little wonky for this post.

Ok, 12:54pm and the tiny flakes are back. I searched and searched the trunk of the big fir that dropped the branch, but I can't see where it came from. Here are the final photos from last night, some fresh ones from this morning too.

11:38pm

11:30am

December Casualty

The above photo would lead you to think it simply limped to the ground, still attached to the tree trunk. But appearances can be deceiving.

As of this moment, 1:44pm the window thermometer tells me it is 33 degrees (back down to this mornings temp from a high about an hour ago of 34!) MSN tells me it's 28. The flakes are still falling steadily, but are a touch smaller now. Not as small as last night however. This is the fourth switch between small and larger flakes this morning.

December Chaos

December Nemesis

December Nectar

Western Washington Severe Weather December 2008 Day9 6:29pm

Still Snowing Steadily in South Kitsap.

Nearly 2 inches has accumulated so far since about 2pm when the snow began to fall, several hours ahead of schedule. I'll place the 2pm tuna tin photo with the 6pm photo, keep in mind that 6-24 inch prediction wasn't supposed to start until now...

I had to make a quick call to the traveling friend when the weather warnings were interrupted by breaking news that there had been a Boeing 737 crash in Denver Colorado. Thankfully (sort of) he's grounded in New Hampshire due to closed airports in so many places.

I took a few moments to set up the new kerosene heater, finding a proper place in my oddly configured location. Near a window, out of the way, not near the furnace, not too near me (it's a 23000 btu, good for 1000sf and I have 800) etc. I'm holding off fueling it though, the smell is a bit annoying.

Western Washington Severe Weather December 2008 Day9 3:15pm

Round 3 - Snow falling again in South Kitsap.



1:55pm and teensy snow flakes are falling steadily. The morning began with friends and family calling to offer rides to the store or to stay over during the next stage of the December storm. There are currently 2 blizzard warnings in effect in Washington, surely a first in my time in the state. I opted for the ride into town to pick up milk and cream. They are predicting snowfall in my area to be between 3 and 24 inches! If more than about 5 inches falls on the already frozen brittle branches, I fear the power will go out leaving me without heat. I decided it was about time I remedied that, so tried to stop by the local farm/hardware store (I like to shop local when I can). Their tiny parking lot was complete chaos, lines coming and going, cars competing for spots to park that didn't exist. We drove in and out, deciding to skip that particular chaos for one that had at least more parking. A quick call ahead to verify they had a kerosene heater was a good decision, they put the last one on hold for me until I could get there. The local Ace hardware was very busy also, but so much more orderly. The employees were happy and plentiful and helpful! Heater, funnel, kerosene, batteries and still I was out the door in less than 20 minutes. Fabulous!

It's 3:15pm now, the tiny flakes have gotten a little bigger and are still falling steadily. I can no longer fully trust the MSN sidebar temperature, as it gave me a huge scare last night when it reported that it was 12 degrees! My window thermometer read 23, and a friend called and verified a similar temp. The window thermometer had been pretty consistently within 3 or 4 degrees of the MSN sidebar reading. The window reading is now 26, the MSN reading is 21.

Looks like I missed the boat with the friend that offered to have me weather the storm over there. They stocked up on yummy chicken Gorgonzola salad, home made pizza with ice cream for desert along with several varieties of heart 'warming' beverage choices for the adults. A slew of movies to watch and stack of celebrity gossip mags. BOOO!!!!



This is what the winter storm warning says:

Seattle/Bremerton Area
Winter Storm Warning:
Issued at: 12:07 PM PST 12/20/08, expires at: 5:00 PM PST 12/20/08
Winter storm warning remains in effect from 4 pm this afternoon to 10 am pst Sunday, A winter storm warning remains in effect from 4 pm this afternoon to 10 am pst Sunday. A major winter storm is on tap for later today into Sunday. Heavy snow is expected to develop along the coast and then spread into the interior of western Washington early this evening. Heaviest snow will occur on the kitsap peninsula, along hood canal, and from olympia and chehalis west to the central coast near ocean shores. 10 to 18 inches of snow is expected close to the hood canal. Other locations within this area should get 5 to 12 inches of snow.


The heaviest snowfall is expected between 7 pm tonight and 4 am Sunday morning. Late tonight into Sunday morning, freezing rain is possible in grays harbor county and the lower chehalis valley. If more precipitation occurs in the form of freezing rain than snow, then an ice storm would be possible with ice accumulations in excess of one quarter of an inch. This is not a certainty but should be kept in mind. Ice storms are capable of causing power lines and large tree branches to snap and cause major travel disruptions. Precautionary/preparedness actions, A winter storm warning means significant amounts of snow, sleet, and ice are expected or occurring. Strong winds are also possible. This will make travel very hazardous or impossible.

I expect this to be updated soon, as it is snowing now, and has been since around 2pm.

Western Washington Severe Weather December 2008 Day7 8:45am

Winter Wonderland - Traffic Snafu - My dog was a sled dog in a previous life

It's 29 degrees at 8:45am here in south Kitsap county, and the snow is falling. Small flakes mixed with larger, dimeish sized flakes. I woke at 8am, after peeking out of sleepy eyes a few times prior to actually deciding to lift my head off the pillow. The tree branches, with their slight dusting tricked me into thinking the few flakes that fell before closed the curtains last night was just barely improved upon overnight. What I woke to was a filled to overflowing tuna tin snow gauge and a fine dust-snow still falling in little to no breeze.

Note the tin filled this time, unlike a few nights ago when snow fell all around it but didn't accumulate inside the tin.

All local weather stations are reporting nightmarish traffic conditions. County transportation officials came on via phone and advised people to stay home and wait for conditions to ease or at least give time for the crews to clear the roadways.

Watching KIRO, a review of the DOT cameras found a man walking along side I5 as the reporter was warning people to stay in their cars as they are designed to protect you. The traffic on his side of the 6 lane highway had been halted about 200 yards behind him but as we were watching it cleared and headed towards him with a city bus in the lead. We were all shocked and a little worried as the bus and trailing line of traffic approached him. To everyones surprise, least of all the traffic reporters, the bus stopped alongside the pedestrian and encouraged him to hop on! The news room cheered along with me! YEAH Seattle Metro!

You can watch live by clicking this link: http://www.kirotv.com/video/17955723/index.html

My dog, as I previously blogged, is not much of a foul weather pet. She doesn't like to get her feet wet. She has seen and been in snow before this storm, an didn't make much of it aside from seeming a little annoyed about her feet being wet. But THIS snow, she is so curious about it. She doesn't normally go outside alone, much less go out and just hang out alone but that is what she has been doing since day1. She has been standing and smelling the wind for minutes, or a particular pile of snow.... pushing aside the pile with a paw and sniffing some more. A few minutes ago I looked out to see her just standing by the door looking out across the yard, as if she were enjoying the scenery.

I finally convinced her to come back inside as she began gathering snow on her coat. A narrow snowless area remains just under the eaves, as this picture shows, and this is where tiny birds have been routing around and flipping freeze dried leaves looking for bugcicles I presume. I tossed out some wild bird seed in case I'm wrong.

The temperature has dropped 6 degrees since about 5:30am, and the TV weather is reporting the snow showers will be slowing however it has only picked up here since 8:00am and is still steadily snowing now here on the hill near downtown Port Orchard.

Western Washington Severe Weather December 2008 Day6 10:00am

Winter Weather Warning from the National Weather Service:

OVER THE PUGET SOUND REGION...SNOWFALL WAS OCCURRING THIS MORNING FROM TACOMA SOUTH. THESE AREAS COULD RECEIVE UP TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW THROUGH SUNSET...THOUGH A MIXING OF SNOW WITH RAIN THIS AFTERNOON WILL LIMIT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS BELOW 500 FEET. THE I- 5 CORRIDOR THROUGH KING COUNTY...THE KITSAP PENINSULA...AND HOOD CANAL WILL GET LITTLE IF ANY SNOW DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS. AFTER SUSNET...A CHANGEOVER BACK TO ALL SNOW IS EXPECTED DURING THE EVENING WITH A HEAVY BAND OF SNOW GRADUALLY MOVING DOWN FROM THE NORTH TONIGHT. 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW ARE POSSIBLE FOR ALL ELEVATIONS TONIGHT.

In a strange for us weather twist, the cold weather has remained since the last snowfall. Yesterday, with the sun shining brightly there was finally a hint of melt off. Thankfully not much, and the roads didn't have chance to wet and then freeze again overnight.

A flake or two drooped this morning at about 9:45am, by 9:55am the scene outside the window was a snow globe. Medium sized, lacy edged flakes that ordinarily would flop to the ground and disintegrate, adding their recently frozen water to the rest. But with temperatures at or just

below freezing, the flakes whirred and danced around, following each other in a giddy winter dance. By 10:05am the dance was over, the dancers retreating behind the curtain.. readying for the next scene?

The window thermometer claims 33 degrees as of 10:00am, MSN says 30 degrees right now. The wind is very light here in this little corner of South Kitsap. (about 4000ft south of Sinclair inlet as the crow flies, up on the hill)

As of this second, 10:46am, the flakes are starting to dance lightly around under the tree branches again. I hope they stay longer this time. It's almost an instant replay of the events I just described, as now it looks as if someone has shaken the snow globe again.

For the record, below is a picture of what is left of the snow around the tuna tin snow gauge.

The weather shows on TV this morning gave dire predictions of snow beginning in the north, surrounding the outer areas (Cascades, Bellingham, Olympics) and then closing ranks to the south and swallowing up the interior. (Seattle, Kitsap, Pierce)

The National Weather Service posted this latest advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA 1012 AM PST WED DEC 17 2008 ...

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR THE ADMIRALTY INLET AREA FOR TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING... .

..A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING FOR MOST NORTHERN ZONES IN WESTERN WASHINGTON AS WELL AS THE CASCADES AND OLYMPICS... .

..A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING FOR SOUTHERN ZONES IN WESTERN WASHINGTON...

.A FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON FROM CANADA TODAY...

AND WITH A VERY COLD AIR MASS STILL OVER THE REGION...

SNOW IS EXPECTED ACROSS MUCH OF WESTERN WASHINGTON TODAY AND TONIGHT. A COLD UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA THURSDAY.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE ADMIRALTY INLET AREA THAT IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST THURSDAY.

THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

OVER THE ADMIRALTY INLET AREA...INCLUDING WHIDBEY ISLAND AND PORT TOWNSEND...2 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW IS LIKELY TODAY. SNOW HAS ALREADY BEGUN...PARTICULARLY OVER NORTHERN ISLAND COUNTY WHERE THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED. THE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THIS EVENING. SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT WHEN ANOTHER INCH IS POSSIBLE. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL BE 2 TO 6 INCHES. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... MONITOR WEATHER FORECASTS AND ROAD CONDITIONS CAREFULLY. AVOID TRAVEL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. TRAVEL IS LIKELY TO BE ADVERSELY IMPACTED THROUGH THURSDAY.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/getprod.php?wfo=sew&pil=WSW&sid=sew&version=0 Click this link for the full advisory.

Just as before, the whirling falling snow has stopped. The brightness of the morning has given way to steely gray matte.

The local radar image doesn't look so bad, and the site is reporting a temperature of 35 degrees in Seattle.