PNW Storm

[BikeMomma]

I hear there is some reeeeally nasty weather and flooding up there in Washington State and parts of Oregon. Everybody ok? Worried about you guys. :(

Roll call please!

~BikeMomma

[KnottedYet]

Most of us here in Seattle are pretty good (at least the ones I've heard from). I haven't seen pictures on the news, but I've seen some pretty decent flooding on my commute. My apartment complex has sump pumps going to handle the juicy bits.

Just turned on the TV, and heard that south of Seattle there are 8 feet of water over Interstate 5.

[salsabike]

Have heard from most and they are OK---me, Mimi, Teigyr, Eden, Knott (although sounds like the water got close to her apartment).

[mimitabby]

sounds like about 100 families in the state had to be evacuated. this isnt a giant thing like Katrina/New Orleans; just spotty where drains backed up or couldn't handle the water.

[sgtiger]

We're good, too. There was a gigantic pond in the lower area of the parking lot of our apartment complex and I heard a few of the apartments on that side did get breached but that the damage was minor. The local sanitation company was pretty quick about sending out pumping trucks, so I'm thankful for that.

[Dianyla]

Things are fine down in Portland. My biggest annoyance is that my cellphone service is down because T-Mobile's datacenter in WA flooded. I think it doesn't affect contract cell users, but because I have a cheap prepaid non-plan I'm without service. :mad:

[elk]

Got away lightly this time....lost phone for awhile.
Several friends have trees in their houses...:(

Back in '95 a wind storm knocked out power for 5 days...no heat no lights...we bought a gas "wood" stove to mitigate that problem..

Typical winter weather here... I never used to fear the wind...but I do NOW!

[Starfish]

Yeah, the wind on top of the rain...the ground is soggy and the trees go over.

I'm OK out here on the Peninsula where I am. For work, our Centralia office is under about 6 feet of water. At least they got the copier out first, and no one was in danger.

[teigyr]

Starfish, I was worried about you. I guess I kept hearing horror stories about the wind on the peninsula.

Our house is fine. I'm glad it's over though! A person I work with lives in Chehalis so she can't get to work due to the freeway closure.

DH grew up in the house where we live now and says that storms really don't cause problems. I guess the property drains well, there's a sump pump for the basement, and we never/rarely lose power.

[dex]

My biggest problems were trying to figure out if I could drive my car through the water in some of the low-lying intersections in the Montlake neighborhood. (You don't think about how little clearance a Miata has until you're faced with a few inches of standing water.)

My house is on a hill, so I wasn't worried about flooding at home. Mud/land slides, on the other hand...I wasn't really sleeping very restfully for a couple of days. Last winter (sometime early this year), there was a slide on one of the properties a couple of doors down from me. I'm constantly waiting for the ground to slip out from underneath the house I live in. (With any luck, I'll be moving in a couple of months and won't have to think about that anymore.)

[bikerHen]

We were even a little soggy over here on the dryside. Two day of snow, then lots of rain and wind. Nothing like the wetside, but the streets were way, WAY too sloppy to ride to work on Monday. Then Tuesday was warm enough to ride to work with just my wind vest and long sleeves. Crazy weather! bikerHen

[Susan126]

I live on top of a big hill so I am okay as far as flooding. We sure are getting a lot of "pineapple" expresses these last few years! Enough please! Glad to hear everyone is okay!

[lauraelmore1033]

The flooding and winds didn't seem to be any worse for us in Everett than they were last year. I also noticed that my favorite walking trail beside the snohomish river is still open and the trail was untouched by the water. Last year it was closed for a month!

[MM_QFC!]

OK here too...I live a few blocks from the Sound in Edmonds and it sure got windy, but was lucky to not have any power outages or flooding.

[mimitabby]

Raleighdon discovered that one of his trails (west of the downtown corridor) is covered with muddy silt from water overflow. It was pretty scary to discover this in the dark.

[sgtiger]

Mimi, is he okay?

I'm glad that so many of you have made it through alright. My heart goes out to those that have lost so much to this storm. It cannot be easy to lose everything they worked so hard for. Some even lost loved ones. <bows head in moment of silence> It's a reminder of just how much I have to be thankful for.

On a happier note, it's really great to see our community rally together and help those in need. I heard that one of the donation sights is turning away stuff becuase they have no where to hold it anymore.

[Bike Goddess]

I have some dear friends that live on the Long Beach coast of Washington-they also own a restaurant in Seaview. Here's their story which I just got today. My, what a storm!

> Hi There from the soggy and windblown NW Coast! We
> are all fine, have no damage to the house, and just a
> few shingles gone from the restaurant roof. We were
> without power for 2 days, and Blaine and I commented
> on how he really had to stop relying on emergency
> closures to take days off together! It is pretty
> amazing to have to get everything done during the
> daylight, going to bed and getting up with the sun.
> We had plenty of candles, a propane stove -- all of
> our refrigeration stayed closed and we lost only
> minimal amount of food. Astoria was hit much harder
> than we were, which probably has to do with the center
> of the storm. They had SUSTAINED winds of 90-110
> mph, with gusts of up to 137 mph, which laid one of
> the hills above the town bare! Several shops had
> their windows blown out and the bicycle shop had to
> gather up a few of their bikes from across the street.
> Luckily, there was very little looting. We got
> robbed, our entire safe taken. Again, Blaine had made
> deposits for Fri and Sat, so we only had about $400.00
> in there. They pulled it from the wall, bolts and
> all. We are going to get a heavier safe that cannot
> be lifted by one person, and bolt it to the floor.
> Anyway, we are back up, with internet, phone and TV
> all back on line as well as the power. Astoria did
> not get power until yesterday afternoon -- that was
> from Sunday night until Thursday 4 pm. Some are
> saying this was worse than the Ciolumbus Day storm of
> 1964 or so. So, all in all, I guess we were pretty lucky.

Glad to here all of you are safe and sound!

[jobob]

Hey Nancy, which restaurant in Seaview? Lee & I used to spend a lot of time on the Long Beach peninsula back in our kiteflying days.

[elk]

Did you guys see the photo originally published in the Oregonian of the flood on I-5? Gorgeous photo....unbelievable mess.

There has been no way to get from Portland to Seattle without a huge detour...Still closed to all but commercial vehicles.

I drove up I-5 to Battleground this morning for our trial and there was hardly anyone on the road past Vancouver...

[BikeMomma]

Hey everyone, glad to see you're not (too) affected by the madness. In case anyone's wondering, I've heard from ElHombre (the friend that's trying to get the Rapunzel women's ride going up there) and he's fine too. They had 2 feet of water outside the office building where he works and had some water actually start to come in, but he lives on high ground, so the homefront was safe at least. Wife & son and other family ok, too, thank goodness.

Wow....Mother Nature continues to amaze me. All the pictures I've seen are amazing.

I'm curious if anyone knows how Sheridan, OR, faired through this -- does anyone know? My DH works for the Federal Prison here in Atwater CA, and we've heard that sometime in the future, the Fed prison in Sheridan may be expanding the area of the prison operation that he works in down here. Sooo, we're sorta tossing around the idea of someday moving up there. McMinneville may be a possible future home, since it's more developed. Anyone know how it faired, as well?

:)
~BikeMomma

[SadieKate]

Hey, hey, hey! You'd be close enough to come race in Bend -- where I've staked out the good coffee places. My new excuse for frequenting them: "I've got to find the best on race course latte supplier for BikeMomma." :p

:p

[BikeMomma]

Hey, hey, hey! You'd be close enough to come race in Bend -- where I've staked out the good coffee places. My new excuse for frequenting them: "I've got to find the best on race course latte supplier for BikeMomma." :p

:p

I love you. :p :D

[Bike Goddess]

Jobob- Sheri and Blaine own the 42nd St Cafe on the way to Ilwaco. She used to be the head chef at the Shelbourne Inn in Seaview (not far away from the kite stuff!)

IF you look in the McMinnville News Register ( www.newsregister.com) and then check the archives for "storm drenches" you will find the details! Yes, they got flooded as well.

[El Hombre]

All is well on the homefront. The office at the new job in Woodinville had water come in a ways at the doors :eek: Tech guys were going
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/el_hombre70/Atomic20Blow.gif
running around making sure all CPU's were off the floor.

Sadly, the road to the LCR pit is out of action to test new xmas toy :mad:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/el_hombre70/Flood1.jpg

Good news is now we have a dock to launch recon patrols :D
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/el_hombre70/Flood2.jpg

Sailing last Saturday right before the flood:D
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/el_hombre70/RTC030.jpg

Upwind in the snow :eek:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/el_hombre70/Vashon.jpg


Speaking of recon patrols: I've been scouting routes to the Rapunzel and should have a route soon. I'm taking suggestions around the Everett/Sno area. After the first of the year, we'll have a planning session at the Mill Creek McMennamins.

[oxysback]

I'm curious if anyone knows how Sheridan, OR, faired through this -- does anyone know? My DH works for the Federal Prison here in Atwater CA, and we've heard that sometime in the future, the Fed prison in Sheridan may be expanding the area of the prison operation that he works in down here. Sooo, we're sorta tossing around the idea of someday moving up there. McMinneville may be a possible future home, since it's more developed. Anyone know how it faired, as well?

:)
~BikeMomma

We live in Newberg, which is 20 minutes from McMinnville and about a 1/2 hour from Sheridan. We really got blown around, but as far as I know there was minimal damage in our area.

If you're thinking about moving to the area, do check out Newberg as well. It not too much smaller than McMinnville, but easier to go places from. We're about 25 miles from Portland, and an hour or so from the coast and mountains.

There are also lots of great TE'ers up here, two of which I ride with fairly often!

[BikeMomma]

We live in Newberg, which is 20 minutes from McMinnville and about a 1/2 hour from Sheridan. We really got blown around, but as far as I know there was minimal damage in our area.

If you're thinking about moving to the area, do check out Newberg as well. It not too much smaller than McMinnville, but easier to go places from. We're about 25 miles from Portland, and an hour or so from the coast and mountains.

There are also lots of great TE'ers up here, two of which I ride with fairly often!
Thanks for the info, Oxy. I've heard Newberg mentioned by those I know who used to live in Oregon (my department head used to work in the Portland area). I guess the basic things I'm looking for at this early stage are good/excellent schools for the kids, the availability of stable, "retireable" work for me, close to universities/trade schools, all within fairly close proximity of Sheridan and the prison. I like the idea of living in a small town with most of the conveniences and within a decent driving distance of bigger cities, but I also really like the idea of living closer to the ocean. Looooove the ocean. Good housing (i.e. newer 4-bdrm homes) is a must, too -- no fixer-uppers. Although I love to fix things, my husband doesn't. :rolleyes: oh, and no snow to shovel...I have a bad back (I don't especially want to drive in it either). :D

Not too much to ask for, eh? :p

Riding buddies would be a definite bonus. :) I'd miss the awesome racing down here in Cali, though, except for the extreme No. Cal. races, which I could make with a long drive and a hotel stay, perhaps.

So enough about me....to keep with the thread, it's snowing again in Seattle I hear. Icey, slushy mud....sounds so lovely!

~BikeMomma

[BikeMomma]

All is well on the homefront. The office at the new job in Woodinville had water come in a ways at the doors :eek: Tech guys were going [ape-poop] running around making sure all CPU's were off the floor.

Speaking of recon patrols: I've been scouting routes to the Rapunzel and should have a route soon. I'm taking suggestions around the Everett/Sno area. After the first of the year, we'll have a planning session at the Mill Creek McMennamins.
El Hombre, the nuclear-exploding ocean is making my eyes hurt. lol :p You should post an update on the ride thread. Lots of people have viewed it and may be looking for updates. Just a suggestion from yours truly. :D

~kim

[oxysback]

Thanks for the info, Oxy. I've heard Newberg mentioned by those I know who used to live in Oregon (my department head used to work in the Portland area). I guess the basic things I'm looking for at this early stage are good/excellent schools for the kids, the availability of stable, "retireable" work for me, close to universities/trade schools, all within fairly close proximity of Sheridan and the prison. I like the idea of living in a small town with most of the conveniences and within a decent driving distance of bigger cities, but I also really like the idea of living closer to the ocean. Looooove the ocean. Good housing (i.e. newer 4-bdrm homes) is a must, too -- no fixer-uppers. Although I love to fix things, my husband doesn't. :rolleyes: oh, and no snow to shovel...I have a bad back (I don't especially want to drive in it either). :D

Not too much to ask for, eh? :p

Riding buddies would be a definite bonus. :) I'd miss the awesome racing down here in Cali, though, except for the extreme No. Cal. races, which I could make with a long drive and a hotel stay, perhaps.

So enough about me....to keep with the thread, it's snowing again in Seattle I hear. Icey, slushy mud....sounds so lovely!

~BikeMomma

Well, Newberg has good schools. I'm not sure how old your kid(s) are, but we've got a freshman and so far she's really enjoying the high school. They officially started the "small schools" program this year. Personally, I think it's more trouble than it's worth, but I'm a bit more conservative than most when it comes to education. Our local college is George Fox University.

There are lots of new homes being built right now. Prices are upwards of $300,000 or so for a nice 4 bedroom.

We get a bit of snow every other year. I don't think we even own a snow shovel! Rain, on the other hand....hehe.

You may also want to consider Salem. It's closer to Sheridan than Newberg, but, of course, it's a much larger city.

OH...we did see a little snow yesterday (Sunday), but just pretty flakes that didn't stick to anything. Lasted about an hour or so. :D

[teigyr]

There was a tiny little bit of snow yesterday. I was running the Jingle Bell Run so it was kind of pretty and it fit into the scheme of the day :D We then went to a pub for alcohol and breakfast. It's been cold though, today was SO cold when I woke up.

I know someone who lives where a lot of the flooding happened but she was ok.

During the major rains, I was at the gym then the mall. Yeah, I know. It's a hard life I lead! It was scary driving though and the mall stores were short-staffed due to people not being able to make it in.

I am also so happy about how our community helped each other. So many places have disasters but it seems like the Seattle/Western part of WA (or maybe all of it) really rallies together when it has to. As much as the drivers here irk me, I have to say that I am proud to live here sometimes.

[El Hombre]

El Hombre, the nuclear-exploding ocean is making my eyes hurt. lol :p You should post an update on the ride thread. Lots of people have viewed it and may be looking for updates. Just a suggestion from yours truly. :D

~kim

That is a pretty accurate picture of our parking lot. We had water come in the Server Room and the geek squad was NOT jacking around. :eek:

I'll post an update on that thread in a few days. I heard some yahoo got a set of doubles wrapped around the Hwy 9 bridge while rubbernecking at the Snohomish River this morning. I'm ditching work on Wed. to recon routes and test zone for new early xmas lead delivery tool.:cool: I'm sure it will snow to beat hell this weekend. My folks are driving up from Cali. Dad THINKS he is driving Moms new Camary hahaha..

[mimitabby]

even our big puddles have dried up now. Now hundreds of washingtonians are looking for Fema money because they don't have houses! how lucky we are!

[bikerchic]

...we've just finished having the last of the logs milled yesterday. The logs from the three 85' cedar trees that fell on our house during the storm, late Sunday night on the 2nd.

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd103/k8ter_photos/When%20trees%20fall/DSCN0619.jpg

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd103/k8ter_photos/When%20trees%20fall/DSCN0627.jpg

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd103/k8ter_photos/When%20trees%20fall/DSCN0533.jpg

This poor guy picked the wrong place to park, his truck is on the root ball of our 3 trees!

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd103/k8ter_photos/When%20trees%20fall/DSCN0512.jpg

Removing the trees;

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd103/k8ter_photos/When%20trees%20fall/DSCN0564.jpg

It was a long month and 2007 sure went out with a bang for us!

We are so looking forward to a great '08!

Happy New Year everyone and keep safe, warm and hold those you love close.

[salsabike]

Wow! Glad you're okay, Bikerchic. Jeez.

[KnottedYet]

Whoa, Nelly!!! :eek:

[Xrayted]

Glad no one was hurt, bikerchic. Wow! It ripped through here but the really bad stuff missed us where we are in Beaverton. No flooding in our apartment either as we are on the 2nd floor. (It's a pain when taking the bikes in and out, but it comes in handy during the big rains. :o)

[bikerchic]

I appricate your kind replies and yes we are fine no one was hurt. As you can see by that one picture only the top of one of the trees actually landed on the roof and no damage to it.

We had to replace the rain gutter there and the one on the garage which we just had installed new in October! And we had also just re-sided the house and no damage to the new siding either.

All in all we were pretty lucky the repairs we'll need to do in the spring to our new sod....which was not doing too well because of all the shade the trees gave, LOL. Some re-seeding and the usual fertilizing and I'm sure with all the sun it will get it's going to go gain busters, yay grass! A few new plants and we'll be fine, plus my veggie garden should do much better this spring, can't wait!

We also found that three other trees on the opposite side of the back yard also were compromised and we had to have them taken down before they fell, they probably would have fallen onto our neighbors house! I couldn't have slept at night thinking that they could go any moment and hurt our neighbors!

We live in a multi-zone area and have commercial buildings behind us, while the trees provided a bit of privacy the asphalt parking lot is what damaged the roots to the trees in and weakened them on that side so when that wind caught the tops of the trees they acted like a sail and ........ TIMBER!
Man what a thud too! I had total earthquake flashbacks from surviving a 7.6 in California in '93, crazy stuff!

Weird the tree guy said that he has seen it time and time again in situations just like ours where you would think the trees would fall directly straight which would have hit the bedroom where we were sleeping.....he said they always find the hole in the yard and go there like they are being pulled into a vortex. In this case they went diagonally to the space between the house and garage! Freaky, but I sure am glad!