I can’t believe how incredibly windy it is today. The truck was blown all over the lane I was in. The Columbia River, which I saw from here had whitecaps on it. Pretty amazing.

Update:

From the National Weather Service:

HIGH WIND WARNING

URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
742 AM PST THU DEC 4 2003

ORZ006-WAZ039-040-042300-
GREATER PORTLAND METRO AREA-GREATER VANCOUVER AREA-
SOUTH WASHINGTON CASCADE FOOTHILLS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…BATTLE GROUND…COUGAR…
DOWNTOWN PORTLAND…DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER…HILLSBORO…
OREGON CITY AND TOUTLE
742 AM PST THU DEC 4 2003

…A HIGH WIND WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR TODAY FOR THE PORTLAND
METRO AREA NEAR THE COLUMBIA GORGE…THE GREATER VANCOUVER AREA AND
THE SOUTH WASHINGTON CASCADE FOOTHILLS…

HIGH PRESSURE EAST OF THE CASCADES AND A LOW PRESSURE AREA OFFSHORE
ARE PRODUCING STRONG EAST WINDS PARTICULARLY IN THE AREAS NEAR THE
COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE. EAST WINDS TO 35 MPH WITH GUST 60 MPH ARE
POSSIBLE IN THE WARNING AREA…SOME HIGHER ELEVATIONS IN EASTERN
CLARK COUNTY MAY SEE GUSTS TO 70 MPH.

RESIDENTS SHOULD TAKE ACTION NOW TO TIE DOWN LOOSE OBJECTS IN YARDS.
SOME DAMAGE CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THE HIGH WINDS…ESPECIALLY TO
SIGNS…TREE LIMBS AND POWER LINES. POWER OUTAGES ARE POSSIBLE. DRIVE
WITH EXTREME CAUTION IN THE WARNING AREA AND BE PREPARED FOR FLYING
DEBRIS.

The snow stopped around 1:00 today in Vancouver. Hopefully it will stay warm until I head home, as it is around 35 outside right now.

It is snowing! Whee!

From the National Weather Service Portland Page:

SHORT TERM FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
853 AM PST WED NOV 19 2003

ORZ006-010-WAZ022-039-040-192100-
GREATER PORTLAND METRO AREA-GREATER VANCOUVER AREA-
LOWER COLUMBIA AND I – 5 CORRIDOR IN COWLITZ COUNTY-
NORTHERN OREGON CASCADE FOOTHILLS-SOUTH WASHINGTON CASCADE FOOTHILLS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…TOUTLE…LONGVIEW…DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER…
COUGAR…CASTLE ROCK…BATTLE GROUND…SWEET HOME…SANDY…
OREGON CITY…MILL CITY…HILLSBORO AND DOWNTOWN PORTLAND
853 AM PST WED NOV 19 2003

.NOW…

…WET SNOW ACROSS SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON
LOWLANDS…
WET SNOW IS FALLING OVER THE SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND EXTREME
NORTHWEST OREGON LOWLANDS. SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT
SEVERAL HOURS AS A COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. WARM ROADWAYS
AND SURFACE AIR TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN JUST WARM ENOUGH TO KEEP
ACCUMULATIONS LESS THAN AN INCH ON THE ROADWAYS. HOWEVER…GREATER
ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE IN AREAS ABOVE 500 FEET ESPECIALLY ON
VEGETATION.

REMEMBER TO DRIVE SLOWER AND USE EXTRA CARE AND COURTESY ON THE
COMMUTE TO WORK THIS MORNING.

This article on Yahoo! is quite interesting.

Interesting too that “Most of Portland is a big sand and debris bar”. Personally, I don’t find sand all that appetizing, much less debris. A scotch or port bar would be much better.