Up here in Olympia, WA

Snow

Snow

Joined
Jun 3, 2001
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Came up to Olympia for a wedding with my girlfriend and her family. I don't know much about the climate of the area, but apparently heavy snow is rare here. Anyway, there is a good 8 inches on the ground and since nobody expects it, it's nuts here. No snow plows, etc. It just reminded me how important it is to plan for the unexpected.

I brought along my daily bag as posted in the "Your Kit for the CIty" thread. Of course, I had to take out most of the truly critical things, such as my leatherman and firesteel, but I still have many useful items. My chemical handwarmers, gloves, emergency Starburst (for low blood sugar), and edc flashlight have already come in handy. I also have my fold up Platypus bottle, emergency blanket, and a few others items that could really come in handy in the weather up here should be get stranded someplace.

Ok, I guess my rambling is over. Now you guys know why I rarely make threads! :D Hopefully somebody reads it.
 
You know, I'm surprised that they don't get a ton of snow up there. Any clue why not?

Have fun and take some pics for us!
 
It surprised me as well. I really don't know why; I'll have to investigate.
 
Rockywolf said:
.....Any clue why not?....
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Olympia is at the southern tip of the Puget Sound, between two mountain ranges and is considered "temperate." When I first flew in there, the day after Christmas, in '79, I was shocked that everything was GREEN! For the next three years, my winters were green, for the most part. We got about an inch or two of snow, one or two days a year and it was tricky diving - because no one was used to it. I saw more snow in Arizona in two months than I did in Washington in three years.

Fantastically wonderful place though and the people were great. I still get "homesick" for it.
 
We are in for it now. We have a very heavy storm and blizzard warning here. I'm about an hour North of Olympia. Freaky stuff for my area, but thank God I'm one of those preparedness/survival nuts.;):D
 
mymindisamob said:
We are in for it now. We have a very heavy storm and blizzard warning here. I'm about an hour North of Olympia. Freaky stuff for my area, but thank God I'm one of those preparedness/survival nuts.;):D
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Yep, you should be good to go. My girlfriend's grandparents have a wood burning stove. I'm half hoping the power will go out so we can use it. :D Actually not really, but I wouldn't mind if it snowed so much my flight got canceled.
 
Snow said:
Yep, you should be good to go. My girlfriend's grandparents have a wood burning stove. I'm half hoping the power will go out so we can use it. :D Actually not really, but I wouldn't mind if it snowed so much my flight got canceled.
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I love being snowed in. It's like enforced time out that I want. I really don't want the power to go out since both my little ones have very nasty colds, but we can deal. Good luck Snow. I hope your Christmas season is enjoyable and white.:thumbup:
 
I used to live there, Tacoma/Gig Harbor/ Belfair. It is a big event when it snows like that around the sound. Up in the cascades( Mt Rainier)... saw more snow than anywhere else in my life.
 
I think its great, I'm in oly, been here 7 years now and this is my first big time snow storm. I grew up in Nevada and I'm used to it. Bunch of idiot drivers though. Seriously is you cant drive safely faster than 15MPH you need to stay home.

Let me know if you need any help dude.
 
I grew up just north of Olympia (Grapeview); moved to eastern WA for highschool and when to college in Ellensburg (CWU). Outside of the Olympic mountains, most of the areas west of the Cascades don't get a lot of snow...just the dynamics of the pennisula. Because of that, people in the Seattle/Tocoma area that don't venture out much have little to no experience driving in snow. Add to the fact that those areas don't budget for snow plows or salt doesn't help matters.

Anyways, I hope you stay safe. Everytime I've had to travel up to Fort Lewis, I try and stay in Lacy just outside of Olympia...there's a great little college bar, "Pints and Quarts" that has a great selection of beer and friendly crowd:D

ROCK6
 
Rockywolf said:
You know, I'm surprised that they don't get a ton of snow up there. Any clue why not?
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That's the Pacific Ocean. The Alaska Current is a warm current that rides up the NW coast of the US (the California current is its colder counterpart, which delivers ice cold water to the California coast... put your bare foot into Monterey Bay and you'll see how cold it can get!)...

This warm water current warms the air above the water surface. Guess what part of the country receives the full brunt of the current? You guessed it! Olympic peninsula.

So you have warm water producing warm, moist air. It hits the Westbound prevailing winds, which haven't hit much cold air from any nearby mountains yet... so warm moist air meets warm winds.

This delivers a lot of warm rain to the peninsula year round. But not a lot of snow on average.

If you have never been to Olympic Peninsula, you should go. It's a bona fide rain forest right on the continental US, with luxurious growth and massive trees. Maple leaves the side of your head! Walking through there, you can't help but wonder why no dinosaurs come plowing through the trees.
 
Whoa I live in Olympia normaly but am up in Everett for Christmas with my Dad. Good to know that there's some locals around me! :) There was a foot at my house in Olympia before I left Monday night.
 
Yeah I was unlucky enough that despite the snow, my flight was on time and I had to take my OB oral exam yesterday. :( I would have loved to stay in WA and enjoy the snow.
 
Watchful said:
If you have never been to Olympic Peninsula, you should go. It's a bona fide rain forest right on the continental US, with luxurious growth and massive trees. Maple leaves the side of your head! Walking through there, you can't help but wonder why no dinosaurs come plowing through the trees.
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The sasquatch got all of them.
 
Sweet Jeebus, make it stop! This is why I LEFT Chicago! the drive from Portland to Salem (50 miles) took 7:45 hours on Tuesday night!!!!!! Seriously, I know that there's not much snow in the PNW but someone at Oregon DOT needs to be stoned to death. At least in Seattle they got the main roads and Interstate plowed. It's rare to pray for rain in Seattle, but that's what I want for Xmas.
 
I sit here in Vancouver, Wa (Think Portland) with 18"-20" of snow in my yard. I live on a steep hill. My two four wheel drive Toyotas have earned their keep this week. Most snow since 1968. I remember that storm also. Ain't Global Warming Great.
 
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