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Got up this morning and blinked vaguely at the thin gauze curtain that I use in winter (in summer, I need something that will keep the light out long enough for eight hours of sleep, frankly). The field beyond it was white. Fog, probably. Put on my glasses. No, it was white with brown lines. Fog doesn't do that. With some trepidation I peered out the curtain.
...very light snow, or very heavy frost, or a little bit of both. At least this is a typical level for this area, nothing impressive, but still. The high today is supposed to be 40 in any case, so I doubt it will last so very long. Tonight's low is near freezing and tomorrow's low is below, but after that the lows warm up again - so we may get snow showers in the early am to greet us when we rise this weekend, but (at our elevation) not much else.
Of course, we're under a severe weather alert, but it's not for the freezing weather. It's for the flooding. See, first the temperature rose enough to melt off not only our snow but well up into the hills. And then a storm of similar proportions but without the cold came flying in. It was pouring rain on us through last night (at least around 2 am it was still going; after that it either stopped or changed to something quiet, like say snow). Not a standard Oregon "rainy day" with light drizzle, but a standard Oregon rain storm with heavy rain. Not unexpected. Actually lovely; I like the sound of the rain. I like the rain. Nonetheless, with the snowmelt it's not a great combo. The creek in our back yard is running really high for it. (For anyone who worries: the creek in our back yard is probably not a foot deep at this point, and about two feet wide, and still in its banks. It's a runoff creek, so running high is a relative thing. I think it would have to rise about fifteen feet while broadening about thirty or forty feet, along its entire length, to threaten our house. This is not a flood danger. It's not even bothering our new landscaping, nor is it likely to.)
But some local rivers (and more on the coast) are under flood warning or watch. It sounds like, at least for the metro area, we're only expecting minor to moderate flooding at this point (though Johnson Creek is forecast for major flooding, as are some coastal rivers). Flooding, especially minor flooding, worries me substantially less than major snowstorms. Oregon is wet. It's what we do. We know how to deal with flooding for the most part. Plus most people in the area, even if dumb enough to think they can drive their car just fine on sheet ice (...without traction devices, at 45 mph or more, etc.), are not dumb enough to think they can drive their car just fine through flood water. It's amazing how much of a deterrent not being able to see exactly where the solid surface is can be. (Some people will - in fact my parents did - if they know the road and its patterns well, know the water is shallow, and it's not moving. But you aren't as likely to get people who think that "oh, it looks fine" for some reason.)
There have already been landslides, though. I hope the total from those isn't too bad. Doesn't matter how much you know how to deal with flooding, if the hill you're on decides to take on a different shape, it's going to do it whether you want it to or not.
...very light snow, or very heavy frost, or a little bit of both. At least this is a typical level for this area, nothing impressive, but still. The high today is supposed to be 40 in any case, so I doubt it will last so very long. Tonight's low is near freezing and tomorrow's low is below, but after that the lows warm up again - so we may get snow showers in the early am to greet us when we rise this weekend, but (at our elevation) not much else.
Of course, we're under a severe weather alert, but it's not for the freezing weather. It's for the flooding. See, first the temperature rose enough to melt off not only our snow but well up into the hills. And then a storm of similar proportions but without the cold came flying in. It was pouring rain on us through last night (at least around 2 am it was still going; after that it either stopped or changed to something quiet, like say snow). Not a standard Oregon "rainy day" with light drizzle, but a standard Oregon rain storm with heavy rain. Not unexpected. Actually lovely; I like the sound of the rain. I like the rain. Nonetheless, with the snowmelt it's not a great combo. The creek in our back yard is running really high for it. (For anyone who worries: the creek in our back yard is probably not a foot deep at this point, and about two feet wide, and still in its banks. It's a runoff creek, so running high is a relative thing. I think it would have to rise about fifteen feet while broadening about thirty or forty feet, along its entire length, to threaten our house. This is not a flood danger. It's not even bothering our new landscaping, nor is it likely to.)
But some local rivers (and more on the coast) are under flood warning or watch. It sounds like, at least for the metro area, we're only expecting minor to moderate flooding at this point (though Johnson Creek is forecast for major flooding, as are some coastal rivers). Flooding, especially minor flooding, worries me substantially less than major snowstorms. Oregon is wet. It's what we do. We know how to deal with flooding for the most part. Plus most people in the area, even if dumb enough to think they can drive their car just fine on sheet ice (...without traction devices, at 45 mph or more, etc.), are not dumb enough to think they can drive their car just fine through flood water. It's amazing how much of a deterrent not being able to see exactly where the solid surface is can be. (Some people will - in fact my parents did - if they know the road and its patterns well, know the water is shallow, and it's not moving. But you aren't as likely to get people who think that "oh, it looks fine" for some reason.)
There have already been landslides, though. I hope the total from those isn't too bad. Doesn't matter how much you know how to deal with flooding, if the hill you're on decides to take on a different shape, it's going to do it whether you want it to or not.
