July Skies - Rare Oregon Thunderstorms
Click to enlarge...
Looking due east over the Cascade foothills.
Looking SE as a small but potent cell approaches. Thunder and lightning crashed all around.
After the storm, looking to the west
July 19, 2012
Looking due east over the Cascade foothills.
December 9, 2009
9
9 degrees Fahrenheit this morning (that's -13C for our friends up north). Es muy frio! It's supposed to be 55 degrees and rainy right now... not dry and cold! It was colder here this morning than it was in Grande Prairie, Alberta! Although they do have wind and snow there, so it probably feels colder up there...
My feet are cold, I'm ready for another pineapple express!
April 20, 2009
Sunny April Weekend
This past weekend's weather was absolutely positively drop-dead gorgeous.
Saturday brought a few thin, high clouds and a temp right around 70, which made it perfect for getting the yard whipped into shape. We awoke Sunday to perfectly clear blues skies that beckoned one and all to the out-of-doors... and it just so happened that our friends Paul & Pam had invited us to do a little 'family fishing' down at a pond on one of Paul's nurseries. Here is the mayhem that ensued (in glorious 78 degree sunshine)...
Dustin and Noah.
Pam and Emily.
PJ and Courtney.
Paul and one of the little fish that got released. Em helped reel this one in.
It's hard to think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon... thanks Paul, Pam, Dustin, PJ and Courtney! :-)
April 13, 2009
Weather Fact of the Day
There are 15 tornadoes a year, on average, across the continent of Australia.
April 6, 2009
Hello Spring...
What we accomplished over the weekend...
- Car & Truck washed
- Lawn mowed [at home]
- Weeds [mostly] pulled
- Time spent enjoying sun & 70 degrees
It may only last a few days, but it's been a long time coming, and is it ever gorgeous. I'll spend much of today mowing at the box factory and at my mom's place... provided I don't end up spending all day getting the mower running.
Monday afternoon edit:
- Lawn mowed [at my mom's]
- Lawn mowed [at the box factory]
- Time spent enjoying sun & 76 degrees
For those in the Pacific Northwest, enjoy the sunshine!
March 30, 2009
Chowder Weather
So far Spring has brought us fairly cool weather. We did have a nice day or two last week, and I was able to get my lawn mowed, but other than that it has been a little damp.
Saturday was especially wet, with almost an inch of rain in about 16 hours. Steph and Em decided to take Murphy for a walk in the rain, and upon returning Steph declared that it was Clam Chowder weather -- so she began searching through her cookbooks. She recently received the McCormick & Schmicks Seafood Restaurant Cookbook as a gift, and was eager to try out a new recipe.
The recipe for New England Clam Chowder seemed most appealing, so we decided to give it a try, with one exception... we would do half crab and half clams, as I am more a fan of 'seafood' chowder than just 'clam' chowder -- is it wrong to change a recipe before you try it? :-) We were a little worried about the kids' reactions, but figured they would like the bacon, potatoes, carrots and celery. We told them about the seafood after they ate it.
Steph cooked up the soup for Saturday's supper, and served french bread with butter -- it was absolutely delicious. Noah, our adventurous eater, dug right in and declared that the soup was worthy of receiving 100 thumbs up and 100 stars. He ate a bowl and a half, and had three pieces of bread to go with it. Emily, who takes after my childhood eating tendencies, thought the bread was great, but wouldn't try the soup. We decided she would go hungry if she wasn't going to try it, because that was some darn good soup, and I wasn't about to fix her something else!
A little later, Steph frosted a chocolate cake (requested by the kids), and it was time for dessert. Emily said she was hungry, and wanted a piece... but we told her she had to eat her soup first. That was all the motivation she needed, and after the first bite, she decided that it was delicious, and that it made her tummy feel better. She ate all of her soup and then had chocolate cake.
Yesterday we had leftovers for Sunday lunch. Noah had leftover soup, and again ate a generous portion. This time he declared that the soup gets 199 stars! :-)
December 22, 2008
It doesn't show signs of stopping...
Putting the antique sled to use.
Fun in the back yard. [Click this one to enlarge]
Little Miss Snow Bunny.
Not everyone enjoyed the snow.
Taking a break from playing in the snow.
Canada came to visit, and now it won't leave! Portland got hit by a pretty big snow storm this weekend. Saturday brought 6 to 12 inches to most of the Portland area, and 2" to the banana belt of Molalla. Saturday night brought 1/2" of freezing rain before it turned back to snow again. We got 2" of snow in Molalla last night, and another 5" today -- it's been snowing all day today!
We have over 12" total at the box factory, which we tried to keep cleared off the concrete today, but it just kept falling. I went down to my mom's to do a few things for her, and I got stuck while backing out. Luckily I had a snow shovel with me, and was able to dig myself out. I sent the guys home at 1:00 PM because one of them had to leave anyways, and because running the forklift was becoming an exercise in futility.
We did manage to get a set of chains for the truck, but did not run it on a delivery today -- just got them fitted and ready to go. We will wait until tomorrow when the visibility is better. If this is any indication of what the rest of the winter is going to be like, I may need to get my own set of chains for my pickup -- as much as I hate to resort to such measures. My pickup did good most of the day, but it wasn't much fun having my back end slide around with traffic coming the other way -- 4-wheel-drive traffic that seemed to think they could still do the speed limit in 6" of fresh snow.
The snow is beautiful, but I just wish we could shut the box factory down for the week so we could actually enjoy it. Oh well, such is life...
December 15, 2008
Canada Came To Visit...
...unfortunately it was in weather form only. Still, the snow falling early Sunday morning was absolutely beautiful, and watching the kids' excitement was even better. :-)
[Click on images to enlarge]
I got up at 7:00 Sunday morning and looked out the window to find big flakes falling on the already dusted grass. I climbed back in bed and debated whether or not to wake the kids, but decided to wait and see how long it would take them to notice. At about 7:30 we heard quite the commotion from Noah's room, and he came and jumped on our bed exclaiming, "It's snowing! It's snowing!" He immediately ran to wake up his sister and they danced around excitedly together as the snow continued to fall.
We had just finished our toast & jam & coffee when we received the call that church had been canceled -- it seems as though the steep entry into the parking lot was pretty slick, and the elders didn't want to take any chances. Woo-hoo! We worshiped the Lord in our own way out in the front yard instead, and we even had a visit from the Associate Pastor -- she was delivering an apple pie as a thank you for my part in helping make improvements to the church's A/V system. It didn't feel right to hog the whole pie ourselves, so we invited some neighborhood friends over for coffee... in true Canadian fashion -- the pie was delicious. :-)
Unfortunately the temperature warmed to 37 degrees, and the snow all melted before the arctic front finally moved to the south of us and the NE wind kicked up. This sent us into the deep freeze, where we will stay until Wednesday or so. Steph absolutely loves this weather because it reminds her of home, but I could use a little bit less wind with my clear, cold days. :-)
The forecasters are calling for more wintry weather later this week... we'll see if it comes true or not.
May 16, 2008
She's a warm one oat there, eh?
It's 37 degrees in the middle of May. 37 degrees Celsius, that is -- it's 98.4 Fahrenheit, according to my fancy-schmancy little weather station. It's nice that the cool, rainy weather is finally gone, but a few 70 degree days in there would have been nice before the big jump towards the century mark!
At least this will finally dry my back yard out good... :-)
April 21, 2008
Crazy Weather Swing
Saturday, April 12th, greeted us with unusually warm temperatures, with sunny skies and a high of 82F (28C). So we took advantage of it and spent the day at the Oregon Zoo...
Noah thought the Elephants were pretty cool... especially when they did tricks.
Saturday, April 19th, only a week later; greeted us with a totally different scene. It was downright chilly, with snow in the hills... a brief sun-break sent the temp soaring to 45F (7C) before a cold shower with pea-sized hail pulled the mercury back down to 37F (3C) in short order. Here's what it looked like...
What a difference a week makes, eh?
Maybe spring will arrive next week... :-(
[Click on photos to enlarge.]
February 11, 2008
A Ray of Sunshine
This past Saturday brought with it a ray of sunshine...
After a winter full of wind, rain, cold, and snow, it was nice to feel the sun on my back and temperatures up in the mid 50's again. It was so nice, in fact, that I simply couldn't stand spending the day inside with the kids (as much as I love doing that), I just had to get out.
I was able to spray the invading onslaught weeds and [attempt] to kill the moss growing on our driveway. Time will tell how effective the moss treatment was, but hopefully it will at least make things a little easier for my annual Spring pressure-washing. Don't tell Steph, but I also did a little Round-Up edging... she hates it, but things are just too muddy right now to do any real edging, so Round-Up it is. I'm sure Grandpa Dougie would agree with me on this one. :-)
We've had some crazy weather this winter, which is great for a weather geek like myself, but I'm ready for a few more days like Saturday...
January 27, 2008
Snow!
Click on photo to enlarge
Click on photo to enlarge
October 20, 2007
It's in my blood...
I remember going to the coast when I was a kid; not when it was sunny and warm like the other kids, but when it was raining and windy -- because that was the way my dad liked it. Now that I am older, there is just something about stormy weather at the beach that calls to me. Sure, the sunshine is beautiful, but it doesn't stir the depths of my soul quite the way a gusty wind and a raging sea do. Needless to say, Thursday's storm was one of the highlights of my week (click on photos for larger view)...
The seas were calm for the first half of the week...
...but things had changed considerably by Thursday.
Sand blasting against your face at 70 mph doesn't feel so good...
January 16, 2007
Snow Day
Something pretty rare happened today... we got a dump of snow. It is absolutely beautiful, yet absolutely aggravating at the same time.
The snow was just blowing off the road as I drove to work, but it was obvious it was beginning to accumulate. Steph called me a half hour later to let me know she had dropped the kids off at Pam's, and then found out her office was closed until 10:00. She was close to the shop anyway, so she just stopped by and hung out with me for a while. By the time she got there, the roads were already getting a little slippery. Her office called a few hours later to say that they were going to stay closed all day, so she didn't need to go to work. She headed back to Pam's and watched the boys sled down the hill for a while.
While the snow is very beautiful, it is also very frustrating. We didn't even try to make any deliveries today because the Portland freeways were clogged with jackknifed trucks, spun-out SUV's, and abandoned cars. By 11:30, about the time we were considering venturing out, the Department of Transportation posted a chain requirement for all vehicles... and we don't have chains for our truck, so we just stayed put. I just hope the roads improve tomorrow... we really need to get some product delivered.
We didn't get many calls at work, as most of our customers just shut down for the day. So we went home early, too. I made it home by about 2:30, and found Steph and the kids out playing in the snow...
Noah borrowed the neighbor's sled and was having a grand time with it. He would push it up our sloped lawn and then sled down... kind of. He finally figured out that if he sledded down on the edge of the driveway, the going was much easier. I served as his 'sled lift' for the last few runs before he finally tuckered out.
I know this won't seem like much snow to our Canadian viewers, but trust me; it's enough to make a mess of things on the Portland area freeways. If they would actually plow/sand/salt the highways to a respectable degree it might be a different story... this morning's snow was quite dry and should have been easy to plow, but the sections of highway I saw pictured on the web didn't even look they had seen a single snowplow. What a mess...
December 20, 2006
29 Degrees w/ 88% Humidity
We had our own little Christmas last night because it was our only chance before we leave for Canada (we leave tomorrow!).
Steph got me this really cool weather station, which has a wireless outdoor unit and an indoor display unit. Well, this morning when I got up, it was 29 degrees Fahrenheit (-2 Celsius) outside with 88% humidity. No wonder it feels so cold out there. Brrrr...
Of course, the upside to this dampness is the beautiful frost that has lingered for the past few days. Trees, shrubs, weeds, spiderwebs and blades of grass are all coated with a thick layer of frost... it almost looks like snow... but more delicate. It's not quite so beautiful when you are walking out in the cold, but it is quite lovely when viewed through a window. :-)
We only have to put up with this wet cold for another 24 hours or so... then it is of to the land of the dry cold. It's -11C in Grande Prairie right now... about average for this time of year. But it won't feel as cold as our -2C with high humidity!
Edit: I just checked GP's weather... they currently have 86% humidity... so maybe it won't be a dry cold, eh?!?!
July 21, 2006
A Little Warm...
It must be just about time for Noah's birthday party, because it is HOT again. It's hot enough that this post deserves it's own weather sticker...
Now where did I put my iced tea? ;-)
[Edit 24Jul06] The big heat seems to have gone... for now... but I will leave the sticker up anyway. We had 103 on Friday, close to 100 with high humidity on Saturday, and then back up over 103 again on Sunday. Today's 98 is still quite warm, but they are forcasting a minor cool-down for the middle of the week.
But next week is Vacation Bible School at church... and that always means one of the hottest days of the week... so I expect the heat to be back again.
December 30, 2005
Backyard Swamp
What do you get when you mix clay soil with 21 hours of heavy rain?
A swamp... anyone know how to grow rice?
In the words of Led Zeppelin, If it keeps on rainin', the levees gonna break...
November 30, 2005
It's that time of year again...
This great cartoon was in the Molalla Pioneer yesterday:
If you live in the Portland area, just turn on your TV right now... you will find the similarities to be uncanny. They had been forecasting a definite 3-5 inches of snow on the valley floor all day, with snow starting 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm tonight. Now the pinpoint forecast calls for a chance of snow beginning 4:00 am - 8:00 am tomorrow morning, with a worst case scenario of 1-3 inches, and temperatures rising into the mid 40's by midday.
Jethro's forecast: Nada. Zip. Zilch. Just good old-fashioned Oregon rain... another sky-is-falling-moment brought to you by your local news stations, grocery stores, and tire centers.
----------Breaking News Update----------
Score for this round:
Jethro: 1
Mark Nelson: 1
Other Local Weatherpersons: 0
The local news this morning was pure comedy. The Winter Blast (that didn't happen) was still the top story. Reporters were spread out all over the Portland area with the hopes of seeing a snowflake. They posed in front of idle sanding and de-icing trucks. They interviewed Tri-Met transit bus officials about how this weather would affect operation. Only at the highest point of the West Hills did the dreaded snowflakes make their appearance... but they didn't even have the courtesy to stick around, they just melted on impact. But still, don't go out of your houses if you don't have to... it's a crazy, almost snowy world out there... you're better off sitting on the couch watching your local news channel...
[Fairness Disclaimer: In all fairness, I did see Mark "Baby-Face" Nelson's forecast the night before the almost-winter-blast, and he was the lone local forecaster to predict NO snow on the valley floor. Kudos to Mark for going against the flow and making a realistic forecast.]
November 1, 2005
Oregon Rain
A steady downpour of rain has returned to Oregon this morning, and I have returned to my weblog... hopefully.
I absolutely love when it rains like this, but it does cause a few problems. I arrived at work this morning to find water flowing over the gutters above the shop doors. These very same shop doors are used to move corrugated cardboard in and out of the shop... moving cardboard through a waterfall doesn't work very well.
I put on my rubber boots and checked all the cleanouts, but found nothing blocking the way. After climbing an extension ladder to get a better look, I quickly found the problem. Several large maple leaves (probably from yesterday morning's wind storm) were clogging the downspout. It was a pretty easy fix, but I still got soaked in the process.
Now I have to go pick up Noah from his daycare provider... the poor guy has a fever and just isn't feeling very well. I think we will go home and have soup for lunch... it just seems appropriate on such a rainy day.