How is the weather?

[steve ridgway]

^ Oh horrors! Glad to hear your house survived.

[DavidW]

@Holden glad to hear you were safe from the damage.  I lucked that way several ways ago when we had a hurricane come through.  My neighbors had cars and houses severely damaged and I had nothing happen except for losing power for a week.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

9C / 48F and dry for our Christmas Day walk and picnic .

A picnic!  Hope that you brought warm food and drinks with you?

We got absolutely smashed by the weather on Christmas night. I've never seen a storm like it and I've lived here for 30 years. Latest speculation is that we got hit by a tornado that was on the ground for nearly an hour. The damage would certainly suggest that this is the case. Tornados are very rare in Qld.

Driving back home on Boxing Day there were trees across the road and whole sections where traffic lights didn't work. My humble little abode didn't even lose power yet there are homes here on the GC that still don't have power since Monday night. I loaned my portable generator to colleagues of mine so that they could at least keep their food refrigerated.

Wow!  Did a quick google and found lots of picture of the damage on the Guardian's website.   

Glad that you're o.k.  And that was very nice of you to lend your generator to your coworker.

PD

[steve ridgway]

A picnic!  Hope that you brought warm food and drinks with you?

We had cold pigs in blankets, salami, quiche, pickled onions, olives, tomatoes and a flask of hot coffee  .

[Pohjolas Daughter]

We had cold pigs in blankets, salami, quiche, pickled onions, olives, tomatoes and a flask of hot coffee  .

Were you able to sit in the sunshine (or no sunshine)?  And quite the feast!

Rainy here today...better than shoveling snow...I think? 

Made stuffed manicotti yesterday (filled with spinach, mushrooms and the usual cheeses).  A fair bit of work, but I'll have leftovers for a bit (some in the freezer) and an easy meal to treat a friend to tonight.  Will make a salad with various greens, a Danish blue cheese and vinaigrette--might also add some mandarin orange segments to it too.

Off to wash the greens. 

PD

[Holden]

A picnic!  Hope that you brought warm food and drinks with you?
Wow!  Did a quick google and found lots of picture of the damage on the Guardian's website.   

Glad that you're o.k.  And that was very nice of you to lend your generator to your coworker.

PD

It was a no brainer - he has a family with two preschoolers and my genny is powerful enough to run all his fridges plus fans and other things. He'd do exactly same for me in those circumstances

[Pohjolas Daughter]

It was a no brainer - he has a family with two preschoolers and my genny is powerful enough to run all his fridges plus fans and other things. He'd do exactly same for me in those circumstances

Still... ❤️ Good on you.

All the best,

PD

[steve ridgway]

Were you able to sit in the sunshine (or no sunshine)?  And quite the feast!

Rainy here today...better than shoveling snow...I think? 

Made stuffed manicotti yesterday (filled with spinach, mushrooms and the usual cheeses).  A fair bit of work, but I'll have leftovers for a bit (some in the freezer) and an easy meal to treat a friend to tonight.  Will make a salad with various greens, a Danish blue cheese and vinaigrette--might also add some mandarin orange segments to it too.

Off to wash the greens. 

PD

That sounds like a tasty meal. We didn't get much sun but staying dry was nice. It's gone a bit wet and windy the last couple of days so no picnics.

[Spotted Horses]

Maybe not weather per se, but coastal California has been experience extremely high surf due to strong storms over the Pacific. A video taken in Ventura made The NY Times, showing a 20 foot wave topping a seawall and washing away a group of onlookers watching the surf. Several seaside neighborhoods were flooded when large waves topped seawalls. We are not directly affected, since we are about 6 miles from the shore, and at an elevation of several hundred feet above sea level.

[JBS]

Maybe not weather per se, but coastal California has been experience extremely high surf due to strong storms over the Pacific. A video taken in Ventura made The NY Times, showing a 20 foot wave topping a seawall and washing away a group of onlookers watching the surf. Several seaside neighborhoods were flooded when large waves topped seawalls. We are not directly affected, since we are about 6 miles from the shore, and at an elevation of several hundred feet above sea level.

I've seen that video. Apparently 8 people were hospitalized as a result. What's most impressive is how far the water reached: about 2 blocks inland were flooded up to sidewalk level.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Maybe not weather per se, but coastal California has been experience extremely high surf due to strong storms over the Pacific. A video taken in Ventura made The NY Times, showing a 20 foot wave topping a seawall and washing away a group of onlookers watching the surf. Several seaside neighborhoods were flooded when large waves topped seawalls. We are not directly affected, since we are about 6 miles from the shore, and at an elevation of several hundred feet above sea level.

I've seen that video too.  Apparently there are some "intelligent people" who are also trying to surf around there too.

Glad that you are further inland.  That must have been a shocker for the people right next to the wall!

PD

p.s.  Still quite a bit warmer than normal here...strange!

[Spotted Horses]

I've seen that video. Apparently 8 people were hospitalized as a result. What's most impressive is how far the water reached: about 2 blocks inland were flooded up to sidewalk level.

I was in the area and drove down to the spot where the famous video in Ventura was taken, the end of Seaward Avenue. All calm, restaurants and bars open and doing a brisk trade. It was a rogue wave that topped the seawall, not surf consistency going over the sea wall. Not unprecedented, but pretty out of the ordinary. The striking thing is that "out of the ordinary things" are happening so frequently, recently.

I've seen that video too.  Apparently there are some "intelligent people" who are also trying to surf around there too.

There are lots of people who anxiously await the big swells and are well prepared to surf them. And, of course, there are the fools who are not well prepared and endanger lifeguards and other first responders who have to pull them out.

I didn't get to see any of the big surf. We were at a beach in Santa Barbara during the peak of it, but nothing much there. Not all of the California coast gets big surf. The underwater terrain has to be suitable to allow the waves to reach the shore and break. Not in Santa Barbara. I'm a bit surprised Ventura got such dramatic surf, it is relatively sheltered from the open ocean by the Channel Islands. Norther California, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, is better known for high surf.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I was in the area and drove down to the spot where the famous video in Ventura was taken, the end of Seaward Avenue. All calm, restaurants and bars open and doing a brisk trade. It was a rogue wave that topped the seawall, not surf consistency going over the sea wall. Not unprecedented, but pretty out of the ordinary. The striking thing is that "out of the ordinary things" are happening so frequently, recently.

There are lots of people who anxiously await the big swells and are well prepared to surf them. And, of course, there are the fools who are not well prepared and endanger lifeguards and other first responders who have to pull them out.

I didn't get to see any of the big surf. We were at a beach in Santa Barbara during the peak of it, but nothing much there. Not all of the California coast gets big surf. The underwater terrain has to be suitable to allow the waves to reach the shore and break. Not in Santa Barbara. I'm a bit surprised Ventura got such dramatic surf, it is relatively sheltered from the open ocean by the Channel Islands. Norther California, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, is better known for high surf.

Thank you for the additional info/comments.  I'm sure that there are large numbers of experienced surfers--particularly in certain places in California (and elsewhere).  I was surprised though (from what I recall reading) that it sounded to me like some (how many?) folks were trying to surf afterwards in that area (and close to when that happened).  Any idea how they get warnings and stay away from certain areas and at certain times?  NOAA?

PD

[Spotted Horses]

Thank you for the additional info/comments.  I'm sure that there are large numbers of experienced surfers--particularly in certain places in California (and elsewhere).  I was surprised though (from what I recall reading) that it sounded to me like some (how many?) folks were trying to surf afterwards in that area (and close to when that happened).  Any idea how they get warnings and stay away from certain areas and at certain times?  NOAA?

PD

Before the big wave sent eight people to the hospital there was the usual warning on my weather app of "hazardous beach conditions." That sort of warning appears regularly, and usually nothing much happens. It wasn't like the flash flood warning the week before, which produced a loud beeping noise and a warning popping up on the Lock Screen "flash flood warning." It was only after the big wave that all beaches in the county were closed through Saturday. They can close the piers and block the parking lots of the seaside parks, but (like some other states) all beaches in California (the area spanned by low tide and high tide) are open to the public. Even if you own beachfront land you don't own the beach. There are lots of "beach access" easements open to the public (sometimes just alleys between people's houses) and it is hard to close all of those off. So if you really wanted to get to the beach you could.

I attached a photo I snapped today at the spot where the big wave hit. Notice what looks like a sand berm just beyond the sea wall. I'm pretty sure that is not man made, but is the sand pushed up the beach by the heavy surf. It's not atypical for beaches here to look unrecognizable after a storm scrubs them of sand.

From what I saw in the local news a few surfers had to be rescued, probably overconfident after being accustomed to the typically light surf in the area. Aside from the general warnings I presume they judge by what they see, or word of mouth in the surfing community.

[71 dB]

The weather is very cold in Helsinki, -16°C (3°F).

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Before the big wave sent eight people to the hospital there was the usual warning on my weather app of "hazardous beach conditions." That sort of warning appears regularly, and usually nothing much happens. It wasn't like the flash flood warning the week before, which produced a loud beeping noise and a warning popping up on the Lock Screen "flash flood warning." It was only after the big wave that all beaches in the county were closed through Saturday. They can close the piers and block the parking lots of the seaside parks, but (like some other states) all beaches in California (the area spanned by low tide and high tide) are open to the public. Even if you own beachfront land you don't own the beach. There are lots of "beach access" easements open to the public (sometimes just alleys between people's houses) and it is hard to close all of those off. So if you really wanted to get to the beach you could.

I attached a photo I snapped today at the spot where the big wave hit. Notice what looks like a sand berm just beyond the sea wall. I'm pretty sure that is not man made, but is the sand pushed up the beach by the heavy surf. It's not atypical for beaches here to look unrecognizable after a storm scrubs them of sand.

From what I saw in the local news a few surfers had to be rescued, probably overconfident after being accustomed to the typically light surf in the area. Aside from the general warnings I presume they judge by what they see, or word of mouth in the surfing community.

Wow!  That's a lot of sand!     When something like this happens, do they (the POBs) just leave it that way or will they use plows to push it back closer to the shoreline (leveling it out somewhat)?

PD

p.s.  A nice start to the new year...fairly sunny and unlike @71 dB , it's in the upper 30s.  Hoping to get a walk in today.  Hope that your living accommodations are nice and warm dB!

[Spotted Horses]

Wow!  That's a lot of sand!     When something like this happens, do they (the POBs) just leave it that way or will they use plows to push it back closer to the shoreline (leveling it out somewhat)?

This is a tourist spot, so probably they will groom the beach at some point. But when I visit the same beach a mile up coast there is still a huge boundary of driftwood left over from last years big swells. Other, more lonely beaches will be left for Mother Nature to refurbish.

[krummholz]

The weather is very cold in Helsinki, -16°C (3°F).

I wish we would see some of that! So far the winter has been relatively warm in central Vermont. We're currently the coldest we've been in a couple of weeks, -6º C (22º F). But most of the last 10 to 14 days have been above freezing, with light rain and constant low fog. But even this cold is not enough to completely freeze the ground, at least not yet. On the trails there is still plenty of standing water with or even without ice covering the surface.

[Karl Henning]

Maybe not weather per se, but coastal California has been experience extremely high surf due to strong storms over the Pacific. A video taken in Ventura made The NY Times, showing a 20 foot wave topping a seawall and washing away a group of onlookers watching the surf. Several seaside neighborhoods were flooded when large waves topped seawalls. We are not directly affected, since we are about 6 miles from the shore, and at an elevation of several hundred feet above sea level.

Zowie!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

This is a tourist spot, so probably they will groom the beach at some point. But when I visit the same beach a mile up coast there is still a huge boundary of driftwood left over from last years big swells. Other, more lonely beaches will be left for Mother Nature to refurbish.

pD