As we continue to update this new blog, we will be adding our records from 2005 onward to the present regarding weather, and descriptions of occurrences in; and changing aspects of the environment here. There are trees here that are dying because of complicated conditions such as climate change, and diseases that destroy trees. Diseases brought on by climate change occur because the trees are already stressed due to lack of water and higher temperatures. There is a winter creek that flows through our location here. It has changes occurring also. Keep in mind the the records here start 19 years ago.
Summary of the weather here in 2024
Spring was wet and cool with several sunny warm days. The summer has been warm, so far, as of July 7. Temps in the upper 70’s and mid 80’s. Winter last year and this year was cold; down below 15 degrees; and there was about 12 inches of snow. Rainfall so far is near average for this area. Some high wind but no major storms here at this location. Other areas did get some very high winds and some damage.
The forest is still quite damp, but humidity levels are low and the area is drying out quickly. There are forest fires burning now in Washington state, but no smoke or fires close by here – yet.
There is a very, very large fir tree here that is dying from the top down. The arborist that looked at it confirmed my worst fears: excessive heat and dry weather has stressed many of the fir trees here in the pacific northwest. This stressed condition allows viruses and insects to destroy the tree by destroying the root system and the folaige.
Summary of the weather here in 2023
The summer was hot and dry. Forest fires all over the pacific northwest, particularly in areas of recent logging where dry conditions were extremely severe because of no forest canopy to keep moisture in. Winter was cold. No severe wind storms. So far this year, rainfall has been below average. This made the dry conditions worse this year compared to others when more rainfall occured.
Summary of the weather here in 2022
January, February, March, April, and May were cooler than “normal”. Not much snow, some wind but no severe storms. Lots of rain, and lots of clouds. Very little sun and a very depressing time. May had record rainfall. We have had several days in the 70’s, but mostly dismal grey rainy weather. July, August and September were very dry and hot. The Bolt creek fire spread smoke and ash all over Western Washington. The smoke was very heavy and toxic to people. Had to stay inside. October was dry to start, then cold and rainy. The forest was very dry here. Extreme fire hazard.
November, and December have been colder than average. As of December 22 a total of about 12 inches of snow has fallen in November and December. As of December 22, the forecast is for more snow and and ice storm also. The low temp here was 11.5 deg f the morning of Dec. 22. Brutal summer, and Brutal winter also. The “ice storm” did not happen, however some ice did form, but nothing destructive at this location. There was some wind but nothing destructive here. In other areas areas nearby, the wind was quite severe and many trees down and damage resulted.
Summary of the weather here in 2021
Winter was not severe. Some snow. Not much wind. Temps were near average. Rainfall was above average. March and April were cool and wet. May and June were warm and wet. May had 4 days in the low 80s. So far, June has been warm. Today, June 5, very heavy rain and clouds. Cool temps in low 50s. As of today, June 13, lots more rain. This has been The “ice storm” did not happen, however some ice did form, but nothing destructive at this location. There was some wind but nothing destructive here. In other areas areas nearby, the wind was quite severe and many trees down and damage resulted. and excellent year for the garden. Rain, then sun; rain then sun. Mild temps. T storms possible in a few days, according to weather forecast.
Record heat here: The last week in June we had temps in the 100s. On June 28th, the temp went to 104.2 here. An all time record in recorded history. This was horrific heat, humidity was up to a max of 93 percent. Other areas here had near 110 degrees. Trees were literally burned from the heat. All around can be seen fir trees with the ends of their branches burned. Ferns were burned, leaves on the salmonberry bushes were burned, some bushed killed from the horrific heat. No huge fires in this area. July and August were hot and dry. Temp hit 91 degrees August 12. Heavy rain in September. Over 3 inches in 48 hours. Over 4 inches total for the month of September.
Summary of the weather here in 2020:
January and February were cold with some snow. Some wind, but no big storms. Rainfall was above average for this location. March, April and so far, May have brought above average rainfall and some very warm sunny weather. The Covid19 virus pandemic has been raging for 3 months. The first case in the U.S. was here in Washington state about 10 miles from this location. We’ve been in lockdown for 3 months now. Our political leadership was totally unprepaired for this. The rain may have helped slow things down, but that remains to be determined. The salmon berry blossoms are more numerous this year than any time I can remember. June, July, a August have been hot and dry. Smoke from fires in Oregon, California, and Eastern Washington have made air quality hazardous here.
September: About the second week in September the weather changed, and slowly winds and rain caused the smoke to subside and now aqi is excellent (about 10 or so). We are due for heavy winds tomorrow, and might see power outages and some large branches down. Covid 19 is still here. Masks are required in all indoor public areas in this state. People here locally are decent about wearing masks. Not so in other parts of the country. So far our nation is doing terrible; the worst in the entire world. Over 200,000 fatalites due to the virus, and in many people’s opinions, the worst leadership we’ve ever had in the history of our country, are to blame. I mention this here on this site because it is a national catastrophe; the kind of which we have not seen in nearly 100 years. Weather may have an effect on virus cases increasing, because outdoor locations do not appear to be as hazardous for virus spread and indoor locations. Foul weather means more indoor interactions.
November: As of November 1st, most Big leaf maples still had more than half their leaves. It is now November 18, 2020. Covid 19 is still with us and increasing. Testing is also increasing, however, and at about the same rate. The weather has turned cold, windy, and rain is heavy at times, this reduces outdoor activity, which then increases indoor activity. Rain total here at this location is at 43.19 inches; which is above the “average” for this time period.
We’ve had thunderstorms, hail, and some below freezing weather so far. No snow on the ground yet here at 585 foot elevation.
All the leaves except those on the Hazelnut tree, have fallen now, as of Nov. 18, and the salmonberry bushes still have leaves. There have been several moderate wind events here; nothing serious and no structual damage but one power outage lasting several hours. The most recent wind carried wind advisories for 45 mph gusts. We came close to that here.
December:As of the 21st all leaves have fallen. On the 21st we have had 1.85 inches so far today. Very heavy rain and wind. The power went out briefly. The temperature is dropping rapidly. There may be snow and rain this evening. Hopefully no ice storm, but it sure looks like that may happen. The temp has dropped 15 degrees in the past 3 hours.
Summary of the weather here in 2019:
January, February, and March brought the worst winter in at least 20 years. There was 22 inches of snow here in 3 days, which then turned to ice. the 4 wheel drive truck got stuck in the driveway. Not much wind, but lots of damage from the snow. The rainfall has been “normal” so far. The temperatures have been normal as of July 21. The garden is doing well. We have lots of hemlock trees that are dying because of infestation from non-native organisms and warmer drier temps here for the past 10 years. The combination of warmer weather, infestation, modified rainfall patterns (we have been getting rain all at once rather than over long periods of time) and excessive shade from larger trees has caused at least 15 percent of the hemlock trees here to die. The surface well still had 30 inches of water the first week of june. Lots of rain in September and 3 big thunderstorms. Two lightning strikes within .1 miles of this location. The rain in September was super heavy and in Everett, Wa. several city streets were actually flooded and impassible by car. People were in boats. Last week of September on the cool side upper 30s at night. No big wind – yet. Some wind in november, below freezing for about 1 week in late October. As of December 18, the hazelnut tree still had green leaves on it. We had 5.25 inches of rain the past 2 days December 21. Some flooding locally and regionally.
Summary of the weather here in 2018:
January, February, March and April have been colder than average by approximately 12 degrees, but The “ice storm” did not happen, however some ice did form, but nothing destructive at this location. There was some wind but nothing destructive here. In other areas areas nearby, the wind was quite severe and many trees down and damage resulted. the maximum low has not been as low as to be expected. Not much sunshine and it has been a grey dark rainy spring.
As of April 16 The leaves have not started showing on the vine maples yet. The big leaf maples are just getting their blossoms now (as of April 16). The trilliums have been out for about a week now. The salmon berry blossoms have been out for nearly 2 weeks. The elderberry bushes are getting leaves but no blossoms yet.
There have not been any severe wind storms but lots of wind at the “advisory” level. Some nearly “high wind warning” gusts. One tree fell – made a huge noise – have not located it yet. This winter brought snow, but not much accumulation. Total of approximately 6 inches. Saw the first bumble bees last week when there were two warm days with sunshine.
Summary of the weather here in 2017:
JanuaryThe first three weeks of January were much colder than average. For nearly 3 weeks the average temp was 32 deg F. Everything froze solid.
FebruaryThere were several warm days in the upper 50’s but for the most part February has been cooler and wetter than average. There have not been any major wind storms . . . yet.
March colder and wetter than usual. Some high wind (40 mph) but nothing destructive. A huge piece of a big leaf maple (approx. 15 inches in diameter) was snapped off. some frost in early March. The last week of March, the indian plum (Oemleria cerasiformis, or Osoberry) leaves were fully out and the blossoms were out also.
April The first week of this month salmon berry blossoms out and some leaves. As of the 22nd the big leaf maple blossoms are out; no leaves yet. Salmonberry leaves are out not fully, but nearly. Salmon berry blossoms are out. Elderberry blossoms and leaves are out in full now. The elderberry blossoms started last week. The vine maple leaves and blossoms are just starting, still mostly not out. The hazelnut tree had leaves and blossoms the first of this month. Alder leaves not out yet. The trees here are somewhat behind others that are not in the forested areas. Precip has been above average for the month.
May The first two weeks of this month were colder than “normal”. The leaves are nearly totally out on all trees now (as of May 16). There has been wind but not severe. The salmonberries are forming now, and the thimble berries blossoms are out and starting to form berries. The trilliums showed up on time at the beginning of April. Precip has been considerably more than average.
June, July, August, September, October This summer was warmer than average with temps in the 90s quite often. Very dry. less than two tenths of an inch of rain from mid June to late september. As of October 15, the big leaf maples leaves have not changed color. The vine maples are turning bright red. No wind storms here, but lots of fires in Washington state, Canada, Oregon. No large fires here locally, but in other areas lots of fires and damage. Today, Oct. 15, bright sun and 56 degrees. This coming week big rain and wind due in.
Summary of the weather here in 2016:
January was about average in temps and rainfall. Some below freezing temps. Some wind and lots of branches blown down, but nothing catastrophic. One small dead tree was blown down at this location. February has been mild so far. Temperatures have been slightly above average. Slightly above average rainfall and not much heavy wind. As of April 30, there have been several days in the upper 80’s the past 3 weeks. As of May 1, we are headed for more weather in the upper 80’s. All the trees are now fully leaved out. There have been several windstorms this past winter that have done much damage here. The tops of two fir trees were blown off. Several large alders have been blown down. One large hemlock tree (2.5 feet in diameter at ground level) has been dislodged and is leaning at about 15 degrees off vertical. There have been an unusually large amount of fir tree branches blown down this year. A large amount of foxglove has shown up this year in the garden.
From May to August the weather has been very nice. Not too hot but lots of sunshine.
September The first 3 weeks were also quite sunny and warm, but nothing above average. From that point on, the weather has been cooler than average and the precipitation has been slightly below normal.
October has started out cooler than “normal” and average rainfall. All that is about to change, according to the forcast. Wind and heavy rain are in store for us.
The weekend of the 14th, 15th, and 16th was windy but no damage. There was supposed to be a windstorm simialar to the Columbus day storm but the low pressure system broke up as it hit the coast. We were really, really lucky. If that storm had hit here full strength, there would have been hurricane-like damage in the Seattle area. This place would have likely sustained major damage.
October 27 About half of the leaves have fallen. Some still green here. Filberts, and Elderberry bushes still green. Mint still growing.
The week of the 24th, we found a cantrelle mushroom on the trial at the south west corner of the property. The first one we’ve seen there in 40 years.
NovemberWas fairly average, slighlty warmer than “normal”.
DecemberThe first part of December was fairly normal. The last two weeks were cold. The last week of December was below freezing the whole week the temps got down in the 20’s.
surface well / winter creek:
The winter creek has been flowing off and on since January 1. The flow rate has been moderate. The surface well has been full since January 1.
The surface well went dry the first week of July.
As of October 16, the surface well was full. Record rainfall has occured this October.
Summary of the weather here in 2015:
January was warmer than average with a couple of windstorms passing through. Winds of about 40 mph. One of them blew down two fir trees; the largest being about 30 inches in diameter at the bottom and about 100 feet tall. Rainfall was about average. No significant snowfall.
February so far (as of Feb 7) has been warmer than average with some wind but nothing damaging, winds about 40 mph. Rainfall has been heavy at times. Some of the vine maples have buds showing now. The blueberry plants also have buds showing. Last night (Feb 6) the frogs were making noise, this is somewhat early for that to be happening. The Narcissus have emerged as of Feb. 1.
The entire month of February was warmer than average. The first five days of March have seen “normal” temperatures and no measurable rainfall. Due to the warmer temps in February, snow has melted in the mountains and the snowpack is way below average. The ski resorts have not had a good year. Water could be an issue for some people this summer if the weather gets hot.
March, and April Both these months were warmer and drier than “normal”. Spring weather arrived about 4 weeks early. Salmonberry, blackberry, thimbleberry, and blueberry blossoms were about 2 weeks early here.
May, and June Both these months were warmer and drier than “normal”. June was hot and dry with temps in the 80’s often. On the morning of the 19th about .02 of an inch of rain fell as drizzle. Things are getting dried out here. The big leaf maples have unusually large numbers of seeds this year, making the trees look as if the leaves are turing brown. The vegetable garden is doing really well, however.
July The first week of July has been hot. High 80’s to low 90’s. Water is becomeing an issue here. Drought has been declared througout the state. All of July has been hot: mid 80’s to low 90s. Clear and sunny all month with only 2 days of rainfall and clouds.
As of August 15 Sunny and warm mid 80’s to low 90’s every day with the exception of the 13th, and 14th when we had .99 inches of rainfall and thunderstorms. Today at 7:00 am the temp is 57 degrees F. A half inch of rain fell here in 20 minutes on August 14. From the 18th to the 24th fires in eastern washington caused haze to form. Clouds and haze for most of the time.
This past saturday, August 29th, there was a strong wind storm here. Some places had 65 mph gusts. With all the leaves still on the deciduous trees, there was lots of damage, many trees down and the power was out for several days here. A large alder tree (18 inch diameter) was snapped in half and blown to the ground not far from the house. More damage elsewhere. In my entire life here, 66 years, I’ve never seen this kind of weather in August in the Puget sound lowlands.
September 5 The first days of September have been cool. Some sun and some rain. Last night the temp got down to 42 degrees F. And yesterday was the first day that it really felt cold. The temps were in the 50s and mostly cloudy skies. In the past 2 weeks there has been slightly over 2 inches of rainfall here; enough to end the dangerously dry conditions on this side of of the cascades. The outside humidity is now up to 95 percent.
October 6 October started out with some rain and fairly warm. 60’s. The vine maple trees are very colorful this year here at this location and elsewhere. The big leaf maple leaves are just now starting to change color. The vine maples were first this year. This summer was very hot and very dry. One of our big leaf maple trees looks as if it won’t make it. Not enough rain this year. Some significant rain is forcast for the next 10 days.
November 14 November precip has been near average so far. Temps have been slightly above average. A moderately strong windstorm came through Starting on the 11th. It lasted through the morning of the 13th. One tree fell. Power was out for several seconds. Most of the leaves on the big leaf maples have fallen. Some of the vine maples still have bright yellow leaves. The hazelnut tree in the front of the house still has green leaves and none have changed color or fallen. The stump from the big leaf maple has produced a large bush of green leaves in the past month. They are still there and not changing color. The last bell pepper was harvested yesterday. The pepper had started to ripen in this weather. Throughout the month of October we were still harvesting cucumbers.
November 18 A major windstorm, along with lots of rain (0.8 inches), came through yesterday. 40 to 50 mph with gusts higher. The power was out here for about 8 hours. About 250,000 without power in our area. One person was killed in Monroe, wa. when a tree fell on their car. The wind came from the south west for most of the day, and then, at about 4:30 pm switched within several minutes and was from the north west and even stronger. Freezing weather is on the way, with some light snow forecast next Tuesday.
November 29 Below freezing temps at night have occured for the past week. Mostly clear and sunny days.
The filbert tree in front of the house still has mostly green leaves.November 19, 2015
The big leaf maple still has green leaves. November 19, 2015
surface well / winter creek:
The winter creek has been flowing off and on since January 1. The flow rate has been moderate. The surface well has been full since January 1. As of May 1, the well water was down about 3.5 feet from the ground surface.
The surface well went dry on June 16.
As of November 18, the surface well is full, within 3 inches of the surface of the surrounding terrain.
Summary of the weather here in 2014:
This has been a very cold winter. Some snow; about 4 inches so far. Some wind but no destroying wind. February has brought very cold temps, the low was 13.5 deg F. . The first 2 weeks of February were below freezing most of the time day and night. Three big storms came through right after the cold. The wind was 35 to 40 mph here with each storm, the third being the most powerful. There have been several very nice warm (50 degree) days. Temperatures listed after April 29, 2014 are taken from a Davis Vantage Vue weather station. May was warm and fairly dry towards the end of the month. The first week in June was very warm and sunny – upper 60’s to upper 70’s.
surface well / winter creek:
As of February 14, 2014; the winter creek is flowing at about 50 – 60 gallons per minute; 3 feet (maximum) wide and 4 inches deep maximum (moving very slowly makes no sound).
As of February 14, 2014; The surface well is full and supplying water.
As of March 5, 2014; the winter creek is flowing at about 375 gallons per minute (six 55 gallon barrels would easily fill in less than 60 seconds). It is 4.5 feet wide and 4.5 inches deep at the center, and flowing at 1 foot per second (moving very rapidly can be heard splashing from 20 feet away). There is no foam or The “ice storm” did not happen, however some ice did form, but nothing destructive at this location. There was some wind but nothing destructive here. In other areas areas nearby, the wind was quite severe and many trees down and damage resulted. visable discoloration to the water, it is crystal clear. These flow rates are very conservative estimates. The actual body of water is about 9 feet wide, but some of that water is not flowing as fast and sits in slow moving pools at the side.
As of May 20; the surface well has about 6 feet of water in it.
As of June 5, 2014; the surface well has about 14 inches of water in it. The pump is not able to bring water up from that depth.
As of June 24, 2014; the surface well has about 4 feet of water in it.
The surface well was dry from July 4 to October 31.
As of October 31, the surface well has about 10 inches of water at the bottom. Not useable yet.
As of November 7, the surface well has about 8 feet of water. 10 inches below the surface. It took 7 days for the water table to rise 7 feet at that location.
As of December 26, The winter creek has been running off and on for the past 4 weeks. As of today the creek is flowing at about 200 gallons per minute and the water is crystal clear.
end surface well / winter creek
March 20, 2014:The first Daffodil (Narcissus) Was blooming. The Elderberry leaves have started to emerge, as have some of the salmonberry leaves. The first trillum has broken through the ground and produced leaves. No blossoms yet. Maple seeds are sprouting double leaves. The frogs emerged a week ago.
On April 30 at 2:28 pm the temperature got up to 80 degrees F. and then on May 1 the temperature got up to 86 degrees. At the same time on May 1, in Las Vegas Nevada at the McCarran International Airport, the temperature was 84.6 degrees F. .
On July 23 Rainfall total in 9 hours was 1.1 inches in the clearing, and .56 inches in the forest.
The first week in August saw temps in the mid 90’s.
September 7, 2014: The big leaf maples’ leaves have just begun to start changing color. The entire month of August was very sunny and warm. The first week of September was sunny and warm, with several days of heavy rainfall. The heavy rain fall days were immediately followed by continued sunny warm weather. Yesterday, Sept 6, was in the low 80’s. Today is forcast to be about the same. This has been a very nice summer. Every thing in the garden is doing very well. The tomato plants have actually produced fruit here in the partial sunshine of the forest, they are still green, but plentiful.
September 24, 2014: 1 inch of rain fell in 14 hours here the night of the 23rd / morning of the 24th. Daytime temps in the 60’s.
September 25, 2014: 1/2 inch of rain fell here at 7:40 am in 15 minutes. By 9:00 am the total was .67 inches. All the gutters were overwhelmed. The whole yard, where there were paths and no vegetation, was about 1/2 inch deep in standing water for about 45 minutes. The forested area had no problem absorbing the water and it was as if there was only a mist or drizzle.
October 15, 2014: The leaves are changing color now and beginning to fall to the ground. They are about 35 percent into the fall change. Some trees show only a few changing leaves, and others show many. The first wintery day was today. Rain, and wind. Wind at about 20 mph max., so far as of 14:00 hrs.
October 19, 2014: Today it got up to 70 degrees F. Breeze and sunshine. Very nice. Leaves 50% changed.
October 22, 2014: Today in the past 14 hours we have had 1.100 inches of rain. Some wind last night blew down a large maple trunk onto the sheds and severely damaged two roof sructures.
November 17, 2014: For the past week, the temperature as been below freezing in the 20’s at night each night. Clear and sunny however. There was a wind storm that blew very large branches down here and the temp. at the time was near 30 degrees. Some places south east of here (Enumclaw area) were without power for 5 days, and the storm was much worse there. Wind speeds here around 30 mph at tree top level(approx 80 feet above ground). 14 mph max at 9 feet above ground level. This is dense forest, so the wind speed up in the trees at about 50 feet above ground is much higher. The leaves are nearly all fallen now with the exception of salmon berry leaves, and some of the vine maple leaves. This was an early cold spell that has caused the remaining leaves on the hazlenut trees, and the salmonberry bushes to curl up and dry up.There are still a few leaves left on the big leaf maple trees.
November 28, 2014Lots of wind for the past 3 days continuous. No damage but windy. Lots of branches blown down. Snow due in this evening and tomorrow (the 29th). Nearly all the leaves have fallen now. A few left on the Hazelnut tree in the front yard. Heavy rain today. .62 inches in 3 hours.
December 2, 2014For the past 5 days the temperature has been below freezing with only several hours of 33 to 34 degree highs during the day. Down to low 20s at night. Today (Dec 2) is the first day the temp got above 34 degrees during the day. Its been sunny and clear.There is still snow on the ground here. We got about 2 inches the at the beginning of the 4th week in November.
December 20, 2014A strong wind storm occured last week. No major damage here, but lots of branches blown down, and 1 dead tree blown over. Winds about 40 mph max. Another one due in tonight, and snow next week possible. There have been some record breaking warm days in the 60’s this past two weeks. Some of the small maples have buds emerging.
Summary of the weather here in 2013:
As of Jan. 1 no measurable precip. Temps last night were 26 degrees f. at this location. Sunny today, and some fog in the Snohomish river valley. Snow is forcast for Wednesday, and Thursday (the 3rd and 4th of Jan.).
As of Jan. 9, 2.37 inches of rain total.
In the past 12 hours 1.2 inches has fallen.
No snow here yet. Snow is forecast.
On Jan 8 – 9 a moderately strong wind storm passed hrough. The top wind speed recorded in Snohomish county nearest this location was 45 mph. One alder tree here (10 inch diameter) was snapped in half and blown down.
One large fir tree was down across the road on 180th street (about 3 miles south of here).
Jan 10: 1 inch of snow fell last night, temp.: 28 degrees F here at 0600 PST .
Jan 11: getting colder. 24 degrees F at night, fog and some sunshine / clearing.
Jan 28: Warmer now – upper 30’s to lower 40’s. rain, no snow. Above freezing day and night since Jan 25. From Jan 10 to Jan 24 the temperature was below freezing every night here, down to 20 some nights. The ground was frozen for 2 weeks (14 days).
March 17: So far, this year the weather has been cool, and much drier than the “average”. No major windstorms, but lots of very blustery days and some high winds – brief power outages, but only for several minutes each. Today: hail and cool. 3/4 inches of rain in the past 2 days.
The bleeding hearts are just coming up, and the leaves on the elderberry bushes are just now showing full on some plants. The salmonberry leaves are now visible as leaves, but the bushes are far from filled out. The alder trees’ leaves are just beginning to show as green buds opening.
March 20: Very heavy rain last night, 3/4 of an inch of rainfall here in the past 12 hours; 1 inch in the past 3 days. There is a wind advisory for gusts to 45 mph today through early tonight. We’ll see. Some wind now as of 8:42 am pdt. Blustery, but no power outages and no big trees downed. Some branches downed. One half-dead maple snapped half-way up.
March 22: Three inches of snow fell here. Very pretty. Most of it melted off of the trees by evening.
April 2: March 30, 31, were very sunny and warm. March 31st temps near 70 deg F. here. April 1st was mild and sunny half of the day, other than these days, mostly cloudy and cool. Drier than usual. The trilliums are blooming, the salmonberry plants are blooming. The big leaf maples have buds. Leaves on elderberry bushes. The frogs can now be heard. The varied thrush whistle can now be heard echoing through the forest.
We have had several days of 60 degree sunny weather (end of last week – week of March 11). This winter was not overly cold at any one point in time , but 20 degree temps lasted basicly through January, day and night.
The damage created by the ice storm last winter has had a major effect here: The large fir tree next to the house has started dropping cracked branches onto the roof. They are huge, 400 pounds and more each – 5 and 6 inches in diameter – bigger than some trees. We have had to have the tree’s damaged branches removed, as one branch falling could easly kill someone if they were hit.
April 7: 1.2 inches of rain fell in the past 12 hours; of that .75 inches occured in less than 5 hours. Most of the leaves on the salmonberry bushes are out. Big leaf maples are starting to show blossoms.
surface well: As of June 25, there was 6 feet of water in the well. 3 weeks ago there was 18 inches of water and I assumed it was done for the year.
There have been 3 extremely heavy rain events in the past 4 weeks resulting in 3.9 inches of rain. By July 4 the surface well was dry.
As of November 4, the surface well is still dry.
As of November 20, there is a depth of about 6 inches of water at the bottom of the well. Not enough to use.
As of December 1, there is a depth of about 14 inches of water in the well. The pump brings up water, but not dependable.
As of December 30, there is a depth of about 9 feet of water in the well, and it is supplyng water to the filters.
end surface well
June 30 2013: Very hot weather yesterday June 29, and today in the low 90s in town and upper 80s here. The forecast is for more hot weather through next week.
July, August 2013: Generally warm and dry for most of July and August. Lots of sunshine and temps consistantly over 70 deg. F. . As of August 26, the weather is changing. More clouds and less sun. Rain is in the forcast , but only a trace has fallen here. The leaves have started to fall and some are changing colors now.
To the north and east in the mountains there have been massive rain storms that have caused mudslides in the north Cascades.
September 5 2013: The leaves on the maples (big leaf and vine maples) have just now started to change color; only a few leaves so far and very subtle.
September rainfall total is a record. 4.15 inches is the most rainfall in September since records started on this site in back in 2005.
October 2013: This month was mild, not cold but not warm either. One moderate windstorm, that brought down some branches but nothing serious. 35 mph wind. Only 1.98 inches of rain for the entire month in the clearing. Lots of sun. Maple trees very colorful.
November 2 2013: Significant wind storm due in today. Most of the leaves on the Big leaf maples have fallen. About half of the vine maple leaves have fallen. Temp in the 50s, and lower 60’s yesterday.
November 3 2013: Significant wind storm hit this past weekend. 45 – 55 mph winds here. Power out for 5 hours. No significant damage at this location, but others had it worse. Big leaf maple, and vine maple leaves 98 percent gone. Temps in the mid 40s day, low 40’s night.
November 19/20: First freezing temps here overnight. Surface of water in buckets frozen over. Leaves all gone except for some left on salmonberry bushes.
December 6: Temps have been below freezing every night since Nov. 20. Record cold temps at SeaTac. Temp. here at 8:00 am pst was 18 deg. F. Snow/ice/freezing rain is forecast for next week. (Note: Quinhagak, AK at 7:54 pst has a record high temp of 50 degrees, and rain is in their forecast. The average high for that area in December is 15 deg F.)
December 20: Since Dec. 6 record low temp here 10 deg. F with windchill close to 0 deg f. Three inches of snow fell last night. Temps 29 deg. F. Change to rain and wind is forecast.
This is the driest year (lowest total yearly rainfall from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31) at this location since we started keeping records back in 2005 when there was a record dry winter (2004-2005) with no snowfall in the mountains and the ski resorts did not open.
Summary of the weather here in 2012:
This year started with very severe weather:
January: Severe snowstorm. Here we had 14 inches of snow and 1/2 inch of ice on top of that. Many trees and hundreds of branches downed. This was a major weather event. Temperatures in the 20’s most of the time. Below freezing weather started the last few days of December 2011. The snow started Jan 14. By the 15th there was 7 inches. Over the next 3 days this increased to 14 inches. Then the freezing rain started and ice built up on the snow. At least 4 very large trees (30 inch diamter 80 foot tall) were downed at this location, and hundreds of branches torn off – many were at least 6 inches in diameter, some larger. One person lost their life from a falling tree in east King county. Many locations lost over half of their trees. Power was out for hundreds of thousands of people for close to a week. Power out here for 3 days, and very cold. This was a major event. A state of emergency was delcared by the governor of the state. The total precip. for January was 4.75 inches (including snowmelt).
February has brought some very strong windstorms (50 mph gusts) and much rain; several large (80 foot tall) trees, damaged by the ice/snow storm, were blown down. As of Feb. 21: 3.65 inches of rain has fallen here; 2.25 inches in the last week; and 1.25 inches in the last day. So far, here we have been extremely fortunate: no major damage to any property or injuries to anyone at this location.
March and April have been cool with slightly lower precipitation than “normal”, some windy days but no damaging winds – yet. . . . As of May first, the leaves on the big leaf maples are just starting to appear as small vine-maple sized leaves. The vine maple blossoms are out. The big leaf maples blossoms are out. Lots of salmonberry blossoms this year, more than “usual”. The elderberry blossoms have been out for about a week.
On June 23, there was a storm system that passed over us. High wind gusts, thunder and heavy rain resulted. There was an accumulation of .35 inches of rain in 15 minutes. The water was coming off the roof as if from a small stream overflowing at each downspout. There has been 4.8 inches of rain total in June as of the 23rd in the clearing. There is an abundance of salmonberry fruit this year.
July 9 at approximately 2:45 am: A strong thunderstorm passed within 2 miles of this location causing .2 inches of rain to fall in about 4 minutes.
The downpour was thunderous; EXTREMLEY heavy rain. Thunder and lightning also – very little wind.
The last week in July, and the first week of August have been moderately warm with considerably overcast skies about half the time. No rainfall (as of
August 10) since the middle of July. The second week of August has been sunny and warm, but not hot. Very nice weather. 85 degree F max here.
Surface well / winter creek:
May 1: The surface well is still providing water as of May 1, and the winter creek is not flowing.
July 8: The surface well has 6 feet of water in it and is still producing a good clean flow of water.
As of August 8, The surface well was still Supplying water.
August 9: The surface well has 10 inches of water in it and not supplying water now. (The pump can’t pull the water up).
November 1: The surface well was dry, even after 7.2 inches of rain total from October 1 , to Nov 1.
November 4: The surface well has 6 inches of water in it.
November 6: The surface well has 12 inches of water in it, and the pump is bringing water up, but just barely.
November 18: The surface well has 16 inches of water in it, the pump is bringing water up.
November 20: The surface well is completely full and the winter creek is running 3 feet wide and 3 inches deep. In the past 3 days (70 hours) – just the past 3 days-the total rainfall has been 3.86 inches at this location. A 50 year record was broken at the Seattle-Tacoma airport for rainfall.
Novemter 29: The surface well is still full, but the winter creek is not running.
December 17: The surface well is full. The winter creek is running 8 inches deep and 5 feet wide and moving at about 3 feet per second.
end Surface well / winter creek
October 1: As of today we have had .65 inches of rainfall here since July 14. September 9th brought .45 inches of rainfall, and .15 inches fell on the 25th of September. It has been, for the most part, very dry, sunny and warm for about the past 80 days. Temps in the 70’s. The leaves on the big leaf maples, and the vine maples, as of today, have just barely started to change color at this location. In other places trees are changing color. It was a good year for blackberries, salmon berries, and gardening in general. No storms yet. . . but, no doubt we will be in for it soon.
October 31: As of today at 12:00 noon the total rainfall is 7.01 inches. There have been some windy days but nothing destructiive. The power did go out briefly for just a few moments on Monday of this week. Leaves on the big leaf maples are changing and very colorful. Still about 50 percent of the leaves have not fallen. Temps have been in the upper 50s.
November 7: As of today most of the leaves on the maple trees have fallen. The weather has been very breezy and windy at times, but no serious damaging winter wind storms . . . yet.
November 19: As of today all of the leaves on the maple trees have fallen, with the exception of some of the small ones under the canopy, and their leaves are still green. The elderberry, and salmonberry leaves are half gone.
November 19: The total rainfall for November has been 4.56 inches as of Nov 19. In the past 18 hours there has been a total of 1.76 inches of rainfall here and it is still raining moderately. Some wind, and some very violent sudden gusts lasting 4 or 5 minutes – very powerful. The power was out briefly, but was back on in minutes.
November 20: Another .4 inches of rain fell last night.
November 21 (6:00 am pst) : Raining now and has been for most of the night; .7 inches total (since Nov. 20 measurement) as of 6:12 pst. still raining.
Total for the month of November 5.66 inches (in the clearing). The chart above will be updated in 3 hours. Ok, now at 9:00 am .03 inches additional precip, for a total of .73 for today the 21st of November.
November 29: So far, the temps have been “normal” or slightly above.
Here at this location, the rainfall total to date (nov. 29) this year: 41.545 inches.
Median (the middle amount between the highest and the lowest) for the totals to date of the past 7 years for this same date at this location: 35.44 inches.
The numerical average (in other words, the mean; add them all up and divide by how many values there are, in this case 7) is 32.89 inches.
December 18: As of 6:00 am pst: temp: 32 degrees F. snowing/freezing rain and we are expecting more – no accumulation yet. There was a moderately powerful windstorm (50-60 mph gusts) yesterday that knocked power out to parts of King county (the Seattle area). The wind here was not as strong. Lots of rain here: 5.6 inches (in the clearing) so far this month (the chart above will be updated later).
December 19: As of 5:00 am pst, snow is falling at this location. 1 inch accumulation. 33 degrees F. More is forcast, then rain.
December 31: Record rain total for December here (since 2005): 9.93 inches. 27 degree temps on the night of December 30.
Summary of the weather here in 2011:
There was very heavy precipitation in March along with high winds in February and also for the first two weeks of March.
typically around 40 mph – 50mph. There was about 1 inch of hail here on the 15th and very heavy rain along with thunder
and lightning and high winds 35 – 45 mph very gusty. There was 1/2 inch of additional water in the gauge in a little over an hour
on the 15th and on the 14th 1/4 inch of rain fell in less than 15 minutes at this location. In general the last 2 weeks of February
and the first two weeks of March were very cold very wet and very windy.
In April, May, and June the weather was cool and wet and cloudy. The temp did not get over 70 until the middle of June.
The last two weeks of August and the first week of September were very warm and sunny – low 70’s to upper 80’s. No measurable precip in August.
As of October 9, the leaves have not started to change overall. There are a few starting, but generally, 95 percent of all the leaves are still green, and still on the trees.
Temperatures the last half of September and the first week of October have been mild, in the 50’s and upper 60’s. Some sun and partly cloudy breezy days, very nice.
As of October 19, the leaves on the big leaf maples and vine maples have started changing and some are falling. Elsewhere, around Snohomish and King counties, lots of leaves on are changing color and very bright. No frost yet, but 40 degree temps at night. The big storms have yet to start.
Surface well / winter creek The surface well was at 6 feet deep on June 29 – the water was 3 feet below the surface at the well pipe and 4 feet below average terrain.
The surface well was at 2 feet deep on August 3; and at 4 inches on August 19.
As of November 23 the surface well was dry.
As of November 25 the surface well had 1.5 feet of water in it – not enough to keep up with the pump. In the last 48 hours we have had 2.87 inches of rain at this location.
As of November 28 the surface well had 7 feet of water in it – A 5.5 foot increase in 3 days with an additional .4 inches of rain since the 25th of Nov.
The surface well went dry in December and was basically unusable for the entire month.
As of Dec 17 there was 57 inches of water in the well.
As of Dec 21 there was 54.5 inches of water in the well.
end surface well / winter creek
As of November 25 all but the salmonberry leaves have completely fallen. We have had 1.5 inches of snow, several days of below freezing (25 deg. F.) and heavy rain. Some wind (35 mph) but nothing big . . . yet. The power did go out 2 times but only for a few minutes.
December was one of the driest on record. .7 inches total here for the entire month. Not much wind to speak of except for Christmas day – there was a very strong storm that blew through in the afternoon. 50 mph winds. The temps were cool and there were numerous days below freezing, but no unusually cold temps. The coldest here was 20 degrees F.
Summary of the weather here in 2010:
Mild winter. Not much snow. Cool spring – felt like winter. Below average temps into September. Several storms blew through, the one in May being quite strong. 40 mph Wind and rain in this location. More severe on the coast and towards the south east.
Surface well / winter creek:
The surface well (97 inches deep) went dry on July 9.
The surface well, (97 inches deep) on September 24, had water at the bottom but not enough to keep up with the pump. On October 2, more water but still went went slowly and lost its prime.
As of October 29 the surface well was completely dry (visual inspection)
As of November 7 the surface well had 12 inches of water in it,but that was not enough to keep it from being sucked dry by the pump. The rainfall total for November up to the 7th has been 2.1 inches in the clearing and 1.29 inches in the forest. The total for September, October and up to November 7 is 8.39 inches in the clearing and 4.03 inches in the forest.
As of November 21 there was 3 feet of water in the surface well. Pumping ok.
As of November 30 there was 6 feet 4 inches of water in the surface well (2 feet 8 inches below the surrounding surface). As the pump was running at maximum flow, the depth of the water in the well did not change. (visual observation)
As of December 9 the winter creek was flowing at 50 – 75 gallons per minute. This is a typical maximum winter flow that has been observed over the past 35 years (the surface well was full – 9 feet of water). The water flowing is twice as wide as a 5 gallon bucket and 3 inches deep. The flow is sufficient to fill a 5 gallon bucket in less than 5 seconds.
As of December 12 I cannot accurately estimate the flow of the winter creek. Maybe 2000 gallons per minute. At the widest it is about 15 feet and about 6 inches deep. At the deepest about 8 – 9 inches and about 6 feet wide. Enough volume and velocity to throw a 200 pound adult off balance if they are not paying attention. At the very least 1 foot per second, probably closer to 2 feet per second at the point where it is 8 inches deep this is between 35 and 70 gallons per second. or between 4.5 cf per sec and 9 cf per second. In gallons per minute 2100 to 4200 gallons per minute. In 35 years I have only seen the creek close to this way once.
end surface well / winter creek
the week of July 5. Temperatures were in the low 90’s
September 28:Leaves started to change
As of October 17 leaves still mostly green
October 25 windy: about 25-35 mph gusts – right at the point of being a dangerous situation – but not quite – still I am very reluctant to venture outside near any of the large Maples or alders.
By the beginning of November most of the leaves were gone from the maples; only remaining leaves were on the salmonberry plants, and the elderberry bushes. By November 23 leaves still on the elderberry bushes and the freezing weather wilted them.
November 7: warm and partly sunny in the after noon. Slight trace of rain, not measurable.
November 22: cold and snowing
November 23: very cold 18 degrees
November 24: 9 degrees F low at night
As of November 25: 5 inches of snow total and 31 degrees F
December 8: Record high temp 55 degrees yesterday – this morning violent thunderstorms wind, and rain 3/4 inch fell here in 1 hour.
December 13: A violent thunderstorm blew through the pacific northwest just after the record rainfall. This storm had 70 mph winds in places and here several large trees blew down about 3000 feet to the east. The power was out here and it was very windy. 40 mph. This was a very fast moving storm, the weather service reported it moving at about 65 mph through the area. The lightning was very impressive and other areas in the pacific nw had it much worse. Also the recent heavy rain caused flooding and numerous landslides.
December 29: Snow and 32 degrees. About 4 inches fell here over night. Very local snow accumulation. Extrememly dangerous drving conditions as the snow is very localized. One inch was forcast. The roads were a mess here locally. 30 miles south had no snow at all. Several people in the ditch and as the morning wore on; more and more unprepared people were in the ditch. Now is the time to realize that studded tires are a good thing to have. Here in this part of the country we have hills and lots of them. Its not like the midwest where everything is flat. People get serioulsy hurt here because they drive without the proper traction devices. Yes, studded tires wear out the roads – but What’s more important roads or people’s safety? I’ve driven here for 45 years and I can tell you studded tires do make a big difference and provide safe traction in the kind of snow situations we have here. The last days of December were very cold – down to 15 degrees F at night.
Summary of the weather here in 2009:
Between May 19 and May 20, 1.32 inches of rain fell at this location. On the 20th .57 inches of rain fell in less than 6 hours at this location.
surface well
The surface well (9 feet deep) went dry on June 18.
end surface well
Last week in July: all time record high temperatures set. Here high temp was 105 deg F in the shade. Ten days of over 95 degree temps.
Summary of the weather here in 2008:
December:
On December 13th the high temperature was 30 degrees F. The below freezing weather lasted through December 31.
Dec 15: 18 deg F
Dec 16: 18 deg F
Dec 17: 34 deg F
Dec 18: 29 deg F
Dec 20: 12 deg F
Dec 24: 32 deg F
There was 3 inches of snow on the 13th, 6 inches on the 19th, and 7 inches on the 21st, and 3 inches on the 24th. The storm on the 24th brought significant winds and below freezing temps in some areas (50 plus mph). This was a major storm. Lots of power outages dangerous driving conditions. The snow resulted in 3.5 inches of water in the rain gauge (clearing) and 1.5 inches in the forest rain gauge at the end of December. Total snow depth 16 inches.
Dec. 28 – significant wind 40 mph plus.
end DecemberOct. 7: 30 mph winds
April 12: record high temp: 82 deg F in the shade
April 15: hail and snow and 39 deg F.
April 18: snow.
March 11: windy – 25 mph.
March 29,30,31: snow 3 inches.
Feb 5 35 mph winds.
Jan 4: major wind storm 40 plus mph winds. 6 and 1/4 inches of snow for January
Summary of the weather here in 2007:
Dec 24: Total rainfall here so far this year is 41.245 inches.
Forest rain measure for the same time interval is approx. 19.9 inches.
January 5 2007: A strong windstorm hit at about 10:00 pm and the power was out for a few hours here.
This was a strong storm with wind gusts at about 50 mph and heavy rain. The sky cleared at about 2:30 AM as the winds
died down. Another one is on the way for Sunday.
January 9 2007: 40 mph wind gusts today.
January 12 2007: Temp. got down to 17 deg. F. and skies were clear.
January 24: Sunny and warm 56 deg. F.
October 18: Windstorm – 45 mph winds. Leaves still on trees. Power was out for several hours, but much longer in other areas.
October 22: Warm temperatures 68 degrees here. windy 20 mph.
Summary of the weather here in 2006:
precipitation:
Jan 2006 total + Dec 2005 total : 23.784 inches
Jan 2006 total + Dec 2005 total in the forest : 5.4617 inches
Feb 3,4,5 strong windstorm. Winds in excess of 50 mph. Snapped an 18inch diameter hemlock tree in half
Blew down an 80 foot tall fir tree 30 inches in diameter at shoulder height
Feb 13/14 snow approx 1/2 inch. Most melted on ground.
March 10 6:00 pm P.S.T. hail/snow 1.6 inches.
Last half of June: dry and hot with several days in excess of 90 degrees F.
Early in July there was some light mist but not enough to measure here. Essentially there was only 1 day of measurable rainfall here in the month of July. The temperature in the immediate area outside of this small forest got up to 98 degrees F; (much hotter near pavement and blacktop) but never got above 90 degrees F here in the forest in the month of July, and additionally the temperature in the house never got above 82 degrees F.
As of August 28 there has only been 1 day when there was any measurable precipitation in the month of August. In the past 73 days we have had .21 inches of precipitation. Last year for the same time period there was .61 inches and it was spread out over more often occurances so the vegetation did not dry out; and furthermore on August 29th of last year there was .5 inches of rain which would bring the total to 1.11 inches which means (unless it rains tomorrow) there was over five times more rain last year than now in the same seasonal interval and the precipitation was more evenly distributed over time last year.This dry weather is taking its toll on the hemlock and maple trees here.
August 29 2006: Rain started this morning at 9:15 AM pdt and by 9:45 AM it was moderate to heavy and steady – what would be considered normal rainfall by a person familiar with the weather patterns in this area over the last half-century.
10:30 AM .25 inches of rain since 9:15 AM.
September 10 2006: The first cold morning since the beginning of summer. 52 degrees F at 07:19 AM pdt in “the clearing”.
September 14 2006: Last year as of this date we had 1.34 inches total; this year we have 1.65 inches total. That is in this location. More this year than last year. The total for the entire month of September last year was 1.715 inches.The total up to this date is 37.31 inches for this year (2006). Last year (2005) up to this same time the total was 22.8 inches ( Last year (2005) the winter was the one of the driest on record and virtually no snow fell in the mountains – most ski areas were closed – no appreciable rain fell in January or February).
October 29th: precipitation in the form of hail lasted less than 10 minutes.
November 4: There was an omnious red sunrise among the storm clouds this am along with brisk wind (about 15 mph gusts). The wind has been picking up steadily nothing serious yet… 3 storms on the way according to weather service. Temps near 60 deg F past 2 days.
November 5,6,7: There has been severe flooding in the areas around major rivers and creeks in the pacific northwest. This exact location, however, received much less rainfall than those areas to the south, north or east (3.73 inches since the beginning of November. It is interesting to note that in the cover of the forest only 1.81 inches of rain reached the surface – the amount of water on the ground in the forest was less than half of that in the open and it was all absorbed and held in the ground because of the trees and associated understory vegetation). The wind on the 5th and 6th was heavy: 35 mph gusts. Temperatures in the high 50’s.
November 10: The total this month up to today is 5.92 inches in the clearing and 3.26 inches in the forest. The total last year at this time: 4.56 inches in the clearing.
November 13: The total this month up to today is 7.7325 inches in the clearing and 4.406 inches in the forest. The total last year at this time: 5.998 inches in the clearing.
November 15: A strong windstorm came through starting on the 14th and lasting through about 10:00 pm pst on the 15th. Numerous branches were snapped off but no major damage occured here. Estimate of highest gusts near the house: about 30-35 mph; at about 75 feet higher – likely closer to 45 mph. Other parts of the Pacific Northwest had it much worse and there were many downed trees and some damage to buildings. This was a strong November weather system with lots of rain and wind.
November 18: Temperature 58 degrees F at 1:00 pm pst. no rain.
Novemter 19: Temperature 51 degrees F at 10:00 am pst. rain.
Novemter 28: Temperature 16 degrees F at 8:00 am pst. total snow fall past 3 days: 8 inches in the clearing
1.2 inches in the forest. More snow reached the ground on the 28th because the trees were already loaded with
snow. The evening of the 27th traffic was gridlocked for hours in Snohomish county. EXTREMELY dangerous driving
conditions in this area.
December 14/15: A powerful wind storm occurred with 65-70mph wind gusts here and over 80 mph in other areas.
This was the third in a series of storm systems that passed through in the past week bringing heavy winds and rain. It
Left 1.5 million people without electricity. This storm caused severe damage throughout the entire Pacific Northwest
region of Washington state. The most damaging winds lasted only about 6 hours but the effects were devastating. A
number of people lost their lives in this weather event due to falling trees from the heavy winds, carbon monoxide
poisioning from improper use of generators and gas powered portable stoves, and flooding. This storm was much stronger
than the one that occured in February of this year; it blew down an 80 foot tall fir tree 2.5 feet in diameter, and a
60 foot tall alder tree one foot in diameter that severly damaged 2 buildings on this property; and snapped a 14 inch
diameter 75 foot tall hemlock in half and blew the top half 75 feet into another building on the property.
Summary of the weather here in 2005:
Over this past year (2004/2005), the winter was drier that most on record. Virtually no snow fell in the Cascades and the ski areas were not opened; however this has been a wet spring. According to records of tree growth, (get records of drought from tree ring growth records at the NOAA site) it rains here quite often; and there have been hot dry spells in the past. The volume of rain is what I am recording here; however it is also important to consider the time period over which the rain accumulates. Most of the rainfall usually occurs here in the fall and winter months. Light rain and mist/fog and/or cloudy conditions are “normal” in the late spring and summer; not repeated torrential downpours like what we have seen here since the end of March. Note that glaciers in the North Cascades have melted considerably and some have disappeared completely because of a global warming trend. This is the part to be VERY concered about; if you are one of those who think global warming is a “myth” or “not a real problem”, you had better take a very close look at this website: to find out more from those who study these things from a scientific standpoint. This condition cannot be made up for by lots of rain in the summer; although it helps the small areas of forest locally by supplying much needed water to the vegegation, the overall larger picture is not that good. So please, do not misinterpret these records as meaning everything is ok, back to “normal” and that “mother nature” is somehow making up for the lost precipitation.
1. The precip measurments consist of that which has accumulated from the previous day up until 9:00 am on the date of measure and recording. Because of this, it is possible for the weather to be listed as clear and sunny on a day when any amout of rain or snow is recorded.