snow

We were supposed to head over to Seattle this weekend (for a nice little getaway!), but our record snow on the passes had different plans for us. :-( Yes, I did cry a bit.

The passes have been dumping and dumping, and there have been lots of avalanches and closures. Cars backed up, cars covered in avalanches, etc. Lots of great fun for for all the poor people going back and forth between the west and east sides of the state.

So this weekend, all 3 passes were closed. I guess that's not happened for 11 years, and of course it happened when we were wanting to head over. The closures lasted for almost 2 days. I guess I can't complain, we could have been buried or be waiting in lines! Here's an article discussing it: Linky

Of course, this also translated to a great winter snow cover here this year. It's the best, consistant snow level and intermittant snowing that I've seen in maybe 12 years. I enjoyed it! Maybe because I spend most of my time inside, so I could look at it and be content. I hate when it's freezing outside, but there's no snow on the ground. If it's going to be winter and cold, we might as well have pretty, comforting snow as well. And it's better for the plants!!!

I think that this weekend, ironically, marks the change in the wind (literally), leading towards spring. Last night, we were at a friend's house who live up at the base of Burch Mt. (higher up the more exposed slopes above N. Wenatchee), and almost all their snow was gone. I was commenting to them that we still had snow. We figured it was the sun exposure, and the recent winds.

Today, though, I've been surprised to see that our snow is very patchy, for the first time since late November. The winds lately have been rattling our house and windows. One night, it was reminiscent of our big windstorm January of '07. A bit scary, that sound of a train going by outside our bedroom. Fortunately, the train wasn't as fast and close as that January. But it still gave me the chills.

These are the chinook winds, that bring a change of weather. I'm starting to think about spring for the first time in months. I've enjoyed the season.



The picture above, is outside of the Valley View Seventh-day Adventist Church this evening (Kboy was at Pathfinder Bible Bowl). It was very dark, and I took this panorama quickly, I'm surprised I got anything out of it. Open it up to see it better. It shows the last snow on the mountains before spring sets in.