Spencer Jack Takes His Dad White Christmas Sledding In My Old Neighborhood

Spencer Jack and his dad texted me a few minutes ago from Eaglemont in my old home zone of Mount Vernon in the almost always Evergreen State of Washington.

After the incoming Spencer Jack text message an incoming phone call arrived from Spencer Jack of the old-fashioned talk mode.

During the course of that phone call, for the first time ever, Spencer Jack Merry Christmas-ed me, and I he.

Prior to finding sled worthy hills at Eaglemont, Spencer Jack took his dad to my exact old home location at 1114 Pawnee Lane. Spencer is standing in front of my mailbox. My house is up the cul-de-sac on the left, barely visible.

The short Pawnee Lane cul-de-sac becomes a sledding mecca during those rare times there is enough snow to warrant such. I remember one winter where we were snowbound for well over a week. No vehicles. The hills in my neighborhood became alive with sliding merriment well into the night.

However, as you can see, sliding was not doable on Pawnee Lane this particular Christmas.

Eaglemont is a golf course country club type deal up the hill from Pawnee Lane. Very steep hills. When I first learned to mountain bike it was the Eaglemont hills which got me in shape for Moab and Slickrock.

Spencer sent me two videos. For some reason I could not view and edit them, this time, via my usual method. I just got a blank black screen. So, I was unable to morph the two videos into one. But, they are short and you can use your own ample imagination to morph the videos....

Spencer Jack Is Having Himself A Rare Skagit White Christmas

I mentioned earlier that whilst I was wind walking around Sikes Lake I got an incoming text message from Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason.

That text message included the photo you see here, along with a screen cap from Seattle's KOMO TV showing Santa in the midst of delivering, according to KOMO, seven billion presents.

Looking past Spencer Jack's Christmas tree, through the window, the outer world appears to be white. And I'm not just talking about the white vehicle.

The text in the message confirms that outer world being white thing...

FUD---Santa arrived here some time last night while I was sleeping.

I am now waiting on FNSJ to arrive.

As you know, he maintains two residences here in Mount Vernon, one on the Skagit flat farmland and one on the hill. His home on the hill is enjoying a white Christmass this morning. The snow which arrived two days ago and has stuck around providing white Christmas.

FNSJ has asked that I take him to the Eaglemont area today to do some Christmas snow sledding.

I don't recall the last time we had a White Christmas in the Skagit Valley.

Hope Santa found you at your new residence. Have yourself a very Merry Christmas.

Just as I was about to hit the publish button on this blogging a new incoming text message arrived from Spencer Jack and his dad. This one included sledding video to be YouTubed and then added to a blogging.

A Much Whiter Christmas Than Expected Has Arrived In Texas

The weather predictor's predictions for Christmas for North Texas have only erred in underplaying the magnitude and length of the thunderstorm that began Christmas, with the light rain turning out to be a deluge and the slight chance of a little snow in the D/FW Metroplex turning out to be a lot of snowflakes falling, for over an hour now.

With the temperature currently 30 and continuing to drop.

As you can see, via the view from my pool overlook patio, snow is sticking to the trees. The ground is still resisting getting white.

I think a lot more rain fell than what was predicted, a lot of which was still wet on the ground when the freeze started. Will we be an icy mess by morning? I suspect so.

I don't have snow tires on the Smart Car I did not get for Christmas. So, I am not good to drive in the snow.

As you can see, the forecast is a bit chilly the next 5 days. I  see no hill hiking in my immediate future.

Or swimming.

If I can find my cross-country skis and deem them ski-worthy, I may be able to go skiing tomorrow morning.

Winter Weather Outlook For December 25 Is A North Texas White Christmas

I returned from a salubrious walk in Gateway Park and an even more salubrious walk around Town Talk to find my computer based weather monitoring device was flashing red.

Anything flashing red, to me, seems as if it must be something serious.

So, I clicked the option that provides the details of what the red flashing is all about to learn that snow is now in the forecast for Christmas.

The National Weather Service appears to be minimizing their prediction of how much snow may blanket North Texas. If I recollect correctly, and sometimes I do, the last time we had a really White Christmas on this part of the planet it came in spite of the prediction to the contrary.

I'd be thinking I need to get my cross country skis out and ready if I did not remember that the heat of summer, a couple summers ago, delaminated my skis. I had stupidly left them in a storage area that is not air-conditioned.

Below is the National Weather Service's White Christmas prediction for North Texas...

..WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR DECEMBER 25TH...

A STRONG STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION ON CHRISTMAS DAY. BASED ON THE LATEST FORECAST DATA...THERE WILL BE A GOOD CHANCE OF COLD RAIN ON CHRISTMAS DAY ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL TEXAS. ALONG AND TO THE NORTH OF I-20...ATMOSPHERIC PROFILES WILL BECOME COLD ENOUGH FOR THE RAIN TO MIX WITH OR CHANGE OVER TO SNOW BY THE AFTERNOON OR EVENING HOURS CHRISTMAS NIGHT. AT THIS TIME... SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED TO BE BRIEF WITH JUST LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR.

AS THE CHANGE OVER TO SNOW OCCURS...NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN INTENSITY TO 20 MPH GUSTING TO 30 MPH. ANY SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL BLOW AROUND IN THESE WINDS...WHICH MAY REDUCE VISIBILITY IF TRAVELING AFTER SUNSET ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

AS OF THIS MORNING...THIS UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WAS JUST ENTERING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. AT THIS TIME...THERE STILL REMAINS A GREAT DEAL OF UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE EXACT TRACK AND ANY ASSOCIATED WINTRY PRECIPITATION FALLING OVER NORTH TEXAS ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

BOTTOM LINE...WINTRY PRECIPITATION IS POSSIBLE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR FOR THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS OF CHRISTMAS DAY. CHECK BACK FOR THE LATEST FORECAST UPDATES IN THE COMING DAYS AS THESE DETAILS ARE VERY LIKELY TO CHANGE WITH FUTURE FORECASTS.

Hiking Along A Gateway Park Trinity River Cliff While Not Thinking Of Having A White Christmas

This next to last Wednesday of 2013 has been a slightly balmy, very windy, two days til the end of Fall kind of day today at my location in North Texas.

The temperature got into record breaking zone, yesterday, heating up to nearly 80. This morning, when the sun arrived, the temperature, according to my computer based weather monitoring device, was 67.

Since the average temperature the past 24 hours was well over 50 degrees I figured the pool would not be too cool this morning, and thus swimmable.

I figured wrong.

In the noon time frame, of this windy Wednesday, I opted to go hiking in Gateway Park, hiking the trail I found a couple weeks ago that seemed to treacherous to pedal on my bike, what with the trail being on the edge of a cliff that ended in the Trinity River. You can see part of this cliff trail in the above photo, along with the treacherous green Trinity River.

I  did not have to dodge too many falling branches whilst hiking Gateway Park today. Apparently today's wind is delivering yet one more Arctic Blast of extreme cold to this usually somewhat reliably warm part of the planet.

As you can see, via some of the data I get from my computer based weather monitoring device,  in addition to the WIND ADVISORY, which is accurate, I am also being told the sun is being sunny, which is not accurate. I do believe that 76 degree temperature is accurate. As is the forecast of a plummet in temperature to being barely above freezing before this day is done.

If the forecast is to believed, ignoring today's inaccuracies, the next several days are going to be chilly, including Christmas.

A couple years back we had a very White Christmas at my location in Texas.

In all my years of living in Washington I think I can only remember one White Christmas. In Texas I think I've experienced 2 or 3 White Christmases.

When I moved to Texas I did not think something like a White Christmas was possible, let alone an Ice Storm, which I experienced within a week of arriving in Texas. I never experienced an Ice Storm in Washington.

In Washington, though, I recollect only one White Christmas at my location in the lowlands of Puget Sound. One can always have oneself a White Western Washington Christmas by driving a few miles east til one gets high enough in the Cascade Mountains to be in the snow zone. I don't know how many miles, or in what direction one would have to drive in Texas to be high enough to be in a mountainous snow zone.

Merry Christmas Eve Morning From Chilly Fort Worth Texas

Merry Christmas Eve Morning from chilly Fort Worth, Texas.

I am waiting for the sun to come up and light up the place so I can see my way to the pool to go swimming.

I'll likely have to wade through some water to get to the pool. I heard wet stuff hitting my bedroom window a lot last night. At times it sounded as if the wet stuff may have been frozen, hitting the window with extreme prejudice.

Yesterday the temperature managed to almost get into the 80s. Overnight a cold front has pushed the warmth away.

The Big Chill will continue to get chillier throughout the day, with possible snow. High winds are supposed to help bring in the Big Chill.

I've had one White Christmas since I've been in Texas. Tomorrow there is no forecast of precipitation in any form. But, if it snows today enough to provide a white cover, there is a chance the white could survive til Christmas morning.

I will be sure to document tomorrow's possible White Texas Christmas with photos, if it happens.