Hard frost incoming for Puget Sound

They’re trying to scare people,especially fruit growers.

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Loquat blooms protected by Christmas lights and blankets.

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What if your attempt to prevent freeze causes it to catch fire? I am such a pessimist.

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String lights are pretty low risk I would think, but some people use heat lamps and that could go wrong more easily if combined with blankets or tarps

In other news, the latest GFS pushed the snow further south, so unless it shifts back north it looks like we’ll probably be on the dry/north side of the system (but this would mean heavy snow around Portland):

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Good news for Seattle/Tacoma area snow lovers, looks like the trend in the last few runs is more north again, both for the Thursday/Friday system, where we should definitely be cold enough for snow (but totals may be limited because the center is more to our south) and for the Saturday/Sunday system, where warmer temperatures could mean mixing with rain or sleet, but anyone who gets all snow could be looking at up to a foot (!!!). Some time over the weekend or early next week the rain will probably return and wash the snow away, though.

Looks like the forecast lows are settling down more now, have stayed in the 25-27°F range for Thursday and Friday over the last few runs, though that will drop a lot as you get further from the Sound or higher in elevation, of course.

I’m sure the GFS is overdoing the snowfall totals, but here’s what the latest model run is saying for cumulative totals from Thursday through Sunday:

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I suspect the constant change in low temperatures has more to do with getting clicks than keeping us informed.

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(sorry, I posted a link to someone’s blog before remembering he’s a very problematic person who I don’t want to give any clicks to)

Looking pretty snowy Friday. Maybe 10 inches from his storm by Sunday.

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This could be a big snow event.

It’s about 30F here on Shaw and small flakes have been falling regularly for an hour. I actually enjoy a little snow. So far, we have dodged the high wind storm (up to 50) so I am happy. 3/4 of my trees are tucked into the barn, rest are still in Burien until I retrieve them. Don’t worry, our snow episodes are brief.

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32F here on Guemes with occasional flakes. Holiday lights, blankets, and bubble wrap spread out all over- place looks a wreck! This is the first time in 40 years that I’ve been so conscientious -must be the Growing Fruit influence!

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Yes we are guilty of encouraging an obsessive collection of fruiting plants not to mention zone pushing.

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Good job @ramv

I’m sure you used the old incandescent lights. They must be less common now.

I covered the last faucet with bubble pack and towels. I knew there was a reason for saving that old bubble pack!

We have 11 inches of snow predicted in Battle Ground. I think the low is now 23, I hope I can get to my covid shot. If not, I’ll just try again to reschedule. No cross country skis and no energy to do it :grinning:.

As for the fruit trees, the following are in bud: Nadia, Hollywood, Flavor Supreme (or King?). Peaches (barely). Lilacs too, but they should be fine. If I was 20 years younger, I might go out and spray them all with antidessicant (Wilt-Pruf) but this year nature will have her say.

We have recently turned very cold, and here we now have a predicted weekend concerning vortex developing for the south kansas prairie, in the last 12 years the coldest I have seen is -7F about 10 years ago and -5F 4 years ago, and they say our record is -17F back in the 80s.
So -15 is still hard to imagine, but that is the new downward adjusted prediction, last night it was -9F:


The geese found our one pond that unlike most ponds around here today, still has some open water:

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Today is much warmer than forecast, I’m already up to 38°F and it’s not even noon yet. I wonder if the Fraser Outflow weakened earlier than expected…

I have been seeing tiny dry flakes coming down intermittently, but if it warms much more that’s going to turn to rain…

It was about 36F here in Redmond,about noon.Right now,at 2:00,the temperature has dropped 1 degree and there are flurries.It’s beginning.

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Yeah we’re all the way down to 33 here in West Seattle, and steady but light snow flurries for the last hour or so.

Same here northeast of Portland.

Good news for comparative air temps western Wash/Ore.
Eastern side hoping that cherry crop is OK.
https://weather.wsu.edu

I see you have to register (no cost) with weather.wsu.edu before accessing their data.
Chris