What a storm

[Popoki_Nui]

Did you other folks in the southwest BC/WA area get hit with that storm? Are you all ok??

Yikes. Now I know what a hurricane or cyclone feels like. Thursday night we got hit dead-on by a storm like I've never seen here. At a lighthouse 5km from my house, the wind was clocked at a steady 125km/h (77mph) with gusts to 157km/h (97mph). I can believe it! Huge trees are down everywhere, including on many houses which are totalled. A quarter million addresses without power (50,000 in Victoria alone). Road signs, fences, power poles smashed like toothpicks. Whole communities blacked out and isolated.

Hope you others in the region are ok! Going to be a very long time before things return to normal around here.

[LBTC]

I've been watching the news a lot and the devastation down there is truly awful and amazing! Up here in Vernon, we had some snow and a little wind, enough that one transformer burned through a pole and blacked out downtown for a bit yesterday, and the roads the other night were difficult to manouever with all the snow, but we're feeling very fortunate up here and hoping that things get back to normal there soon! I hope you and your loved ones are all safe and didn't experience any damage??

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[Quillfred]

We just got our power back on at 10 am here in NE Seattle. Over 800,000 were without power since Thursday evening.

Luckily no big trees down in our neighborhood. The only damage I noted was an expanding wall leak in the downstairs bathroom(long story). Some monsoon force rains had hit Thursday evening and overwhelmed the storm drains. The coastal areas and the areas closest to the Cascade Mountains got hit the worse. They are saying in some ways, especially in the number of people without power, this storm was worse than the one in 1993--the Inagugural Day storm which had winds whipping up to 100mph.

I think the temps got down to 30F last evening. Home alone, without a cell phone, I huddled with a hand-cranked radio on NPR, wore lots of WOOL and hugged the kitties. They asked people to stay home if possible to allow work crews and ER vehicles to get through.

I am impressed how responsive the line crews were and I am very thankful to be safe and with power again.

Quill

[suzieqtwa]

I was one of the fortunate ones to still have my power. The winds were so strong. I went out on a 27 mile bike ride this morning ,and I was dodging fallen branches ,and all kinds of debris in the road. The line crews have been working non stop to try ,and get everyone's power back on. I'm glad everyone is Ok .

[Grog]

I was about to ask for news from you, Popoki_Nui!!! glad you're okay!

Lots of trees down here in Vancouver, and the big trees have been shedding branches like crazy... But nobody's hurt, and this time I didn't loose power. I was going to run in Stanley Park tomorrow but that's not going to happen!

[Popoki_Nui]

Thanks, Grog! Glad you're ok too, and you too suzieq and Quillfred. Hope the other PNW area women and families are doing ok as well.

Ya know...I'm hopelessly addicted to weather watching, and been a Weather Network Extreme Weather Team observer for years...seen many awsome storms. This is the first one where I can say I was truly frightened. In my back yard, there is a branch 10-12ft long by 2-3 inches thick, driven over a foot into the ground by the wind. Looks like a new tree suddenly sprouted there.
I was standing in that exact spot only moments before.

[kelownagirl]

Glad to hear you coastal girls are all ok. The weather has been absolutely nuts for the past few weeks. I am praying that the Coq. is drivable next Saturday when I have to get to Gibsons for Christmas...

The last time I went to Vancouver for Christmas was in 1996, and you may remember what happened that Christmas. We left for Kelowna on the 27th, and only made it to Agassiz in 12 hours. Had to spend 3 nights at a strangers house until the highways reopened...

[Popoki_Nui]

yeah, the Coq can be a mess. I heard on the radio the contractor has been slapped with a fine due to negligence in clearing the highway properly. Hope that smartens them up.

Oh boy do I remember 1996! We had 128cm (50inches) of snow. Worst since 1918. In a city where 5cm paralyzes us, 128cm was simply insane. A commemorative video was issued; sometimes we play it just to remember what that much snow was like, and to confirm that it really happened at all.