Today is merely partly cloudy

I sense a bit of frustration on the part of the local weather folk. This is our short term forecast for today:

LITTLE SNOW ACCUMULATION...ON THE ORDER OF ONE HALF INCH OR LESS IS EXPECTED BY THE END OF THE DAY AS VERY LIGHT SNOW UNASSOCIATED WITH ANY MAJOR STORM SYSTEM FALLS OVER LOCATIONS SUCH MOSES LAKE ... SPOKANE ...COEUR D`ALENE ...PULLMAN ...TO AS FAR SOUTH AS LEWISTON. THIS SNOW HAS BEEN STUBBORN TO END AND MAY LINGER AROUND FOR A GOOD PORTION OF TODAY BEFORE ENDING SOMETIME TONIGHT.

Yesterday, they kept suggesting that the snow would stop at a particular hour. 8 inches later, it stopped falling sometime in the afternoon. Today we are having "chance flurries" I am still looking for the spinning candy parts amid the ice cream out there. I am sure the writer's English teacher would show great trauma over the personification of the snow. What is wrong with snow that refuses to associate with a storm system? This is individualistic snow.

Whatever the weather, one must keep an eye on the squirrels. The steam is the exhaust from our furnace, which is doing a fine job of keeping us warm.

This is what fell this morning.

It is difficult for the camera to focus on something that light, so here is the sleeve of my jacket.

More on the mailbox.

I skied around the neighborhood again this morning with Shadow. She loves to get out, and I am enjoying sliding around on purpose, instead of by accident.

Last night we had a neighborhood party

The much awaited plowing of our streets happened last night around 11:00. It was immediately followed by a gathering of neighbors armed with shovels and snow blowers partying all night long attempting to remove the large mounds of snow which the plows deposited in front of our driveways. Nobody was complaining. Everyone was happy to know that they would be able to drive their cars soon. Well, maybe the owners of these two cars, featured earlier might not be driving until they remove the local version of the "Denver Boot" from their cars. These are the same two cars featured below. Nobody will be stealing them anytime soon. The near one is the Chevy copy of my car.Yesterday also marked the first day of skiing for the ski team. One of my skiers is on the team, and the other one is training to be an instructor. I did not find her for pictures, especially after she borrowed my jacket. We were working with negative integers for temperatures, so I stayed inside all day. My boy is very happy to be on the slopes again.

I took a little ski trip myself, through the local forest. As you can see, I am the first one through after the snow fell.

This is what it looks like after I attempted to ski through two feet of powder. Another six inches have fallen, and I have not had a chance to improve my trail. Maybe tomorrow, I will be out there again. Today, the neighborhood streets were perfect for my skis, since all the ruts from the SUVs were gone and we had a couple of inches of fresh stuff to play on.

I do not have stability control or 4 wheel drive or more than 6 inches of ground clearance, but I have made it up this mountain twice in the last two days. Fortunately, the best plowed road in the county leads to the ski hill. They know how to do snow there, unlike my neighborhood with the 2 foot berms down the middle of the street where no F150 dares to tread. We are all so happy the berms are gone, even the truck drivers.

I did see a F150 in the ditch on the way up, and again on the way back from the ski hill. As my sister says, maybe he did not have four wheel stop. I just take it slowly.

Stealth vehicles

Some people will go to great difficulty to disguise the fact that they park on the street. If these two are not careful, they will soon be protected by the seasonal theft protection device the county provides after plowing the streets. Today's total accumulation was in the neighborhood of 24 inches, and schools have wisely decided to take another day off and hope the plows find their way around some time in the next two weeks. Last year we received this much snow over a week in January. I can hardly wait to see what comes next. SF Gate featured us very far down in the article about Las Vegas and how 3.6 inches of snow closes schools there. We feel important sandwiched there between Vegas and Seattle for weather.

A beautiful day in my neighborhood. . .

This is what a real snow day looks like. I shoveled last night, finishing around 11:00 and it was still snowing. There was no snow on the trash can, and it is under a tree, so less snow falls there than in other places.

School was cancelled today on account of too much white stuff on the ground. The kids only have one more day before vacation, and I doubt the busses will be able to run tomorrow either. It looks like we will have a couple of days to make up in June. I hope the plows make it out by January 5 when the kids are supposed to return to school.

The real sadness was the cancellation of the elementary Christmas concert which was planned for tonight.The car received the full effects of the snow.

Shoveling wears out a little boy. He has fallen down and he can't get up.

When the trees let go, it is hard to see.In actuality, he is just on the back deck.

I hope we do not have any fires in the neighborhood. This was once a full size hydrant.

Everyone has a special hat, even the berries on the ash trees.

I think it is time for some real snowmen, not those inflatable kind that keep sinking deeper. The recycle bin is for forming snow blocks to make a fort. I knew we kept those around for something.

My niece thinks they have a lot of snow. This ruler is measuring 5.5 inches. They are not shoveling today like we are.

Even Santa seems to be knee deep in the white stuff.

Local Weather for the week

According to NOAA, this is what we are expecting over the next few days. I can hardly wait for Friday when it warms up to 18. That would be Fahrenheit, which is colder in this range of numbers than Centigrade. At the moment, it is about 20.

This Afternoon: Snow and widespread blowing snow. Temperature falling to around 16 by 5pm. Wind chill values as low as zero. Blustery, with a northeast wind around 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Tonight: Widespread blowing snow and a chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around 3. Wind chill values as low as -18. Blustery, with a northeast wind between 21 and 24 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Sunday: A 30 percent chance of snow showers, mainly before 10am. Cloudy and cold, with a temperature rising to near 9 by 11am, then falling to around 1 during the remainder of the day. Wind chill values as low as -20. East wind between 16 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -7. Wind chill values as low as -31. Northeast wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Monday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 3. North wind around 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -12.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 3.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -11.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy and cold, with a high near 8.

Wednesday Night: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 4.

Thursday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 15.

Thursday Night: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 8.

Friday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 18.