Puget Sound Post

Stormy Thanksgiving Week

Posted by: PugetSoundPost, 6:25 AM GMT on November 22, 2011

November 23, 10:30 PM
Another Wet Day!

Whoever thought today was going to be mostly "dry" was only kidding, apparently. It rained most all of today. Another 1.08" in the gauge for the day, as of this hour. Our high temp was 49, set at 6 AM ! Since then it has only dropped and it is now 39 degrees. Our highest wind gust was 22, during the night. So, I would have to say that today was WET!

Finished up my couple of errands and did get to my baking this afternoon, while watching The Sound of Music - sort of a Thanksgiving "baking day" tradition of mine. Loved it! I baked one pumpkin pie, two variations on apple pies, made a salad, my daughter made some spice cookies, and we got our other daughter home from nursing school, along with her fiance for dinner! Our leftovers tonight to clean out the refrigerator turned out to not really be enough - not really expecting so many for dinner, since I guess I am not used to everyone home at once anymore. Well, we can make it up tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

November 22, 9:30 PM
WET DAY!

Wow! What a wet day it has been! Heavy rain started last night and it has rained for a lot of hours today. A very long fetch of yellow-on-the-radar rain, reaching way out into the Pacific has been aimed at us all day. There was a lull in the middle of the day for us here in central Puget Sound while the main rain sagged a bit south of us for awhile. It probably soaked BriarCraft while we were having a brief rest. But, the complex dynamics of this system pushed the rain back north again this afternoon and it has rained steadily, and sometimes hard, ever since. Our rain total for today so far is 1.38" and it is still raining. It has been chilly - low 40's for most of the day, but it may rise some now as a warm front is nearly passing from the southwest. The wind that was predicted didn't really materialize for us. Our highest gust was 26 mph at 5 AM, but by sunrise the wind was not much of a factor.

With my Thanksgiving shopping mostly done yesterday, today I spent the day indoors cleaning the house! With a focused effort I am happy with the results of having a lot of it cleaner all at the same time! Tomorrow I am looking forward to a day of mostly baking and cooking as much as I can and even if the rain stops (Wed may end up mostly dry - a lull until another strong storm arrives on Thanksgiving Day) I will be quite content to just be in the house, with the fire running!

November 21, 10:25 PM

Looking at current radar I see that the next front is really at our doorstep - heavy rain is just across Puget Sound. We are expecting it. A strong Pacific cold front is heading in, for the next round in what is shaping up to be an active Thanksgiving week, here in the Pacific Northwest.

Already today we have had .35" rain from the previous system, but a lot more is coming. This front will move in overnight and it likely will stall over us on Tuesday. Besides rain, winds are part of this picture as well. We are under a Wind Advisory tonight and tomorrow morning, but the coast and up north of us have a High Wind Warning posted. Lots of rain, and lots of wind - in the right places.

The winter storm season is underway. Actually this is not too surprising for Thanksgiving time. It is often about our stormiest week of the year. After this system, more are coming later this week, including another possible soaker. Right now it is one system after the other rolling in off the ocean. It has warmed up a bit over the last few days. Our coldest temp was 26 yesterday morning, with highs in the low 40's. We are going to stay above freezing now, and maybe hit the low 50's with some of these systems.

So the big picture for us is that there are many watches and warnings for winds and floods posted throughout western Washington, flooding is possible in just a few days, the mountains are getting feet of snow, and the lowlands are going to see a lot of rain and wind. Leaves are still coming down off the trees, but it seems like the roads and walkways are mostly carpeted now with them.

I have hit the time of year when I really don't want to be outside much at all. The lure of the inside of the house is really feeling strong to me, and it really pulls as the early darkness descends each day. A wonderful time to gather around the table and enjoy wonderful fellowship and food this week!! So much to be thankful for!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL !!

November 21
Sunrise: 7:22 AM --- Sunset: 4:26 PM (PST)
(losing 2 min. 18 sec. tomorrow)

Updated: 6:37 AM GMT on November 24, 2011

Permalink | A A A

View Comments (6)

NW Storm Season Arriving

Posted by: PugetSoundPost, 3:36 AM GMT on November 16, 2011

November 16, 7:45 PM
Blizzards of Leaves

An interesting weather day today. We started out in the low 30's this morning, it inched up into the middle 30's, rain started around the middle of morning, it finally crept up to 40 and stayed there a long time, the wind got breezy, sending leaves through the air in great swirling bunches, the rain stayed lightly moderate, the wind quit, and the temperature is now finally rising up to 47 this evening. Whew! A warm front has passed, boosting the temperature late in the day. But a strong cold front is on the way, probably later tonight, and the wind is set to rise again and the temperature will drop. So, kind of roller coaster day. It surely was raw during the day out in the cold, breezy rain. Took my mom out to lunch and for groceries today, so she got in on a little of it too. Possible snow showers over the next couple of days. Winter!!

UPDATE: The temperature has continued to rise this evening; clear up to 50 at nearly 10 PM! A very unusual day today. It was 40 for so long, only to steadily rise tonight. Doesn't happen this way very often. The breeze has come up again as the cold front approaches, but it is not too interesting at this time.

Another Update:Well, ok. Literally just as I typed that last sentence that the breeze wasn't too interesting, a 25 mph gust hit us, lashing the windows with rain. I was just too fast on the keyboard! lol!

November 15

Looks like our first-of-the-season strong storm is making its way out of the Eastern Pacific and into western Washington on Wednesday. A bit complicated meteorology will give us several dynamics that haven't been seen much around here for awhile.

But, simply, the idea is that we are in for rain and wind tomorrow, and possible snow showers later in the week and definitely much colder. The snow level will raise and lower through the day tomorrow, giving the mountains a good dose of snow, while here in the lowlands it will be rain, and as the front passes later in the day the wind will rise too. Looks like a pretty blustery second half of Wednesday is coming, but maybe a little warmer than today has been.

Our high today was only 48, in spite of quite a lot of nice, calm sunshine this afternoon. It actually was a quite nice day; just had that persistent chill in the air, and it was frosty this morning. The trees are still very nice, although the leaves are dropping with more urgency now, and with the exceptionally clear air we had today, both the mountains and distant golden colored trees were in nice "high definition". With the clearing that is still over us, the temperature has really dropped this evening. Currently at almost 7:30 pm it is down to 35.

The last few days have really quickly transitioned from fall just last week to now the beginning of winter. Each week seems to be bringing obvious changes as we are rushing headlong toward the dark and dank part of the year around here. I am enjoying being in the house more. Life is quieting just a bit as some of my daughter's activities that kept us super busy lately have settled down some (swim season is finished!) and now it is time to think more about cleaning up inside the house and finding ways to enjoy this space, while the winter winds blow outside!

November 15
Sunrise: 7:13 AM --- Sunset: 4:32 PM (PST)

Updated: 6:04 AM GMT on November 17, 2011

Permalink | A A A

View Comments (3)

Last of Glorious Fall

Posted by: PugetSoundPost, 5:25 AM GMT on November 11, 2011

November 11

A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO OUR VETERANS!!

November 10, 9:30 PM

November has been a quite delightful month during these first ten days. Cool, frosty at times mornings, but lately it has been remarkably sunny and calm. And dry.

And today the glory shone all around, and it seemed like fall was taking a bow on a splendid stage, being cheered heartily by the masses in the crowd. "Encore! Encore!" they shouted, but deciding to leave the stage on the highest note possible and not risk tripping over the edge of the stage, alas, there will be no encore. One last hurrah today, and the end is at hand.

Today was a beautiful day, full of glorious sunshine that illuminated the leaves of the many maple trees around town to a deeply glowing beautiful golden color. Who knew we had so many maples? Not until they are as golden as they are now would one even notice them. But, mixed with some oranges and reds in lesser amounts, the trees all over the area are just dominating all views and scenery. So lovely! I took my mother out to enjoy the wondrous trees today, including two little walks - one in a cemetery to family graves and one in a park. The temperature was comfortable (no wind), the sunshine delightful, and the leaves on the trees and on the ground were stunning. I am so glad we had that time and chance to get out, even if it was pretty limited. Our high temperature today was 58 (at 60 or barely above the last two days) and lovely for a little walk.

But tomorrow it all begins to crash. A potent cold front, borne out of that monster low pressure system battering Alaska and the Bering Sea, will push through western Washington beginning tomorrow and we will see a different side of what is now late autumn. Rain, breezy winds, much colder behind the front, a lot of snow starting to pile up in the mountains and passes, and the pattern will continue for several days, at least, with systems following each other. Winter is arriving now and likely won't look back.

November 10

Sunrise: 7:06 AM --- Sunset: 4:38 PM (PST)
(losing 2 min. 48 sec. tomorrow)

Updated: 10:06 PM GMT on November 11, 2011

Permalink | A A A

View Comments (2)

First Frost

Posted by: PugetSoundPost, 7:25 PM GMT on November 01, 2011

November 6, 11 pm

Not much action on our weather front thus far into November. It has been rather quiet and quite calm. More sun than really expected and so far not very much rain. We have had some fog in the mornings. The high temps have averaged barely above 50 for this first week of November. The lows have taken a little bit of a sudden downturn, giving us frost nearly every morning of the week. This morning's low was our coolest so far at 29.

Although it is still early in November, the pattern so far is not lending itself too much to a hope for storms - mainly the rain and wind variety is what I would most expect. But by the end of the coming week there may be some changes to keep an eye on - mainly the possibility of colder weather and lowering snow levels. Not sure yet how low those may go.

November 3, 10 pm

A much nicer day than I thought was advertised for today. There was more sunshine and warmer temperatures, creating a very lovely late fall day. There were clouds around, so the sun danced in and out of them, but overall it was pretty sunny. This came after a briefly stormy night last evening. Gusty wind (24 mph high) and .25" rain in the early evening hours gave some excitement. But it cleared away today and the golden, late afternoon sunlight in the calm, clean air was very worth lingering in on my walk to the mailbox. Our high today was 55 and the low so far is occuring right now - 39. Tomorrow morning should be chilly.

November 1, 12:30 PM

The calendar page flipped again this morning, and the season did as well. November came in with a statement, bringing our first frost of the season. The temperature dropped to only 32, but it was enough to ice over windshields and put a real nip in the air. High pressure cleared the skies and the temperature dropped.

The clear skies gave way to dense fog for awhile during the middle morning, but now the sun has burned that all off and it is a clear and glorious beginning to November. The temperature will end up in the 50's, I would say.

This won't last long. After another frosty morning tomorrow, a cold front will move ashore, bringing us rain sometime in the later afternoon. Cooling is on the way too and the next week looks like several days may not climb out of the 40's with off and on rain from progressive systems. So late fall is here.

I think all of our garden has come in now. A last nice load of peppers came in a couple of days ago (urging those kids to get it done before frost!) as well as a lot of little eggplants. Just yesterday we brought in a couple of small bunches of green grapes, from vines planted just this summer. My son sold a lot of his peppers to friends, but otherwise we still have a lot of produce on the kitchen counters and in the refrigerator (but not nearly as much as BriarCraft has!). A good tomato harvest is still keeping us fresh with tomatoes - nearly all are little cherry toms, and the green ones are turning red nicely and being rotated into the usable supply. It is kind of fun to have enough to be able to just snack on them through the day!

I still have flowers here and there in the yard. All my potted geraniums are still looking real nice and blooming, a nice pot of bushy impatience, and other annuals that haven't noticed quite yet how late in the season it is. But a lot of flowers are gone and pulled out too. The frost that is starting to appear may ring the bell of these late bloomers before too long. Either frost or the dimishing sunlight will take a toll.

November 1
Sunrise: 7:52 AM --- Sunset: 5:51 PM (PDT)
(losing 3 min. 4 sec tomorrow)

OCTOBER STATS

Average High: 60
Average Low: 45
High Temperature: 71 (Oct. 2)
Low Temperature: 37 (Oct. 26 and 27)
Lowest High: 52 (Oct. 16 and 26)
Highest Wind: 25 mph (Oct. 10)
Wettest Day: Oct. 28 (.67" rain)
Days of measurable rain: 22

Total rainfall for October: 3.44"

Updated: 7:03 AM GMT on November 07, 2011

Permalink | A A A

View Comments (3)

About PugetSoundPost

Weather has been a lifelong passion for me; while my husband and 4 kids all in college and beyond, one now married, have patiently gone along with me!

Tropical Blogs

Tropical Weather Stickers®

Contact This Author

Local Weather

Kirkland, Washington

58 °F

Overcast

Detailed Conditions & Forecast

Recent Photos

PugetSoundPost's Wunder Photos

Previous Entries for 2013