I just experienced one of the finest weather experiences of my life. I knew a very major push was coming (see my previous post) and headed to the kite hill of Magnuson Park with my wife to experience it. We got to the top of the hill about 8:30 PM, with an extraordinary sunset...the sky aflame in orange and red. I looked to the south wherethe visibility was clearly less...a good sign of an approaching push (see my book for a discussion of this). It was warm up there, with little wind.
And then IT hit. The winds started gusting and a veritable dust storm surrounded us. Some of the dust was from dirt paths, but much of it was pollen and cottenwood debris that had fallen during the past weeks.
The winds increased progressively until there were 25-35 mph gusts. I could hear branches snapping in the nearby woods and my dog became agitated. Looking towards Lake Washington I could see white caps over much of its surface, while far to the north near Kenmore the lake seemed placid. Clouds were moving in aloft with an occasional drop or two. Temperatures had dropped at least 10F in a few minutes. Heading home around 9:15 PM we passed a fire engine approach the park with sirens and lights: someone was probably in trouble.
Arriving home we found a big tree branch downed in our backyard and our plastic patio chairs overturned. My wind chimes are ringing as I write this.
For a meteorologist it doesn't get much better than this!
On the weather radar loop you can see the leading edge of the marine push as a thin line of echo moving NE.
And by the way, did I say that today is my birthday. What a present!
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