Thursday, December 8, 2016

Freezing In Texas While Snowing In My Old Washington Home Zone

The screen cap you see here is from this morning's Seattle Times. One might think this is yet one more entry in my popular series of news items I read via west coast news sources which one would not expect to be seeing in a Texas newspaper about a similar thing happening in Texas.

In this particular case, I screen capped what you see here because I thought it was a stereotypical image of my old home Pacific Northwest zone, what with tall evergreen trees, a rain slicked street, a full sized transit bus (unlike what one finds in Fort Worth) and mountains in the distance.

In this view you are not looking east at the Cascade Mountains, instead you are looking west, from the Seattle suburb of Mountlake Terrace, at mountains in the Olympic Mountain range, which is on the west side of Puget Sound.

Now that you are causing me to think about it, this actually also is a blogging about something I see in a west coast online news source which I would not be seeing in a Texas online news source about something in Texas.

Mountains.

Multiple mountains adding up to being a mountain range.

Well, actually, in Texas you can find a mountain in a sort of mountain range. Guadalupe Mountain in the Guadalupe Mountain range.

Anyway, it ain't pretty when the Western Washington lowlands gets a dose of snow and ice. Very treacherous due to the fact that, like Texans, most Washington lowlanders do not get a lot of snow driving practice.

I recollect a Friday back late in the last century, being in Seattle when the temperature dropped faster than predicted, making for ice on the wet streets. Then snow began falling. I quickly made my way to I-5 to head back north. It took six hours to drive 55 miles back to my safe haven in Mount Vernon.

That was bad, but, by far, the worst winter driving I have ever experienced has been in Texas. Driving after an Ice Storm. I never experienced an Ice Storm til I moved to Texas.

Switching the subject to my current location and temperature status.

The temperature predictors had predicted the temperature would plummet to 20 degrees last night. However, we were spared. The low got to only 27, if my temperature sources are correct. We had been warned to leave all faucets dripping and to monitor the drippage because water pressure might drop during the night as Wichita Fallers increased their drippage.

I dripped all night long, but I do not think it was necessary, what with that not too low temperature.

The above temperature graphic from the Wichita Falls Times News Record indicates that that 27 degrees actually feels like 14 degrees, due to wind blowing at 13 mph.

Looking out my window, right now, I see no tree movement. I do see three flags in the distance doing some flapping, but not too much flappage.

I think I will likely forego my daily endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation acquired via outdoor activity, unless the temperature quickly rises to a more seemly level....

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