Cats, Definitely

Day 310: No dogs were in evidence, but it was definitely raining cats as Merry ricocheted off every available surface in the house with the possible exception of the ceiling, and I'm not quite sure he missed that. Our weather went from partly cloudy to pitch-black dark over the space of a quarter hour, followed by thunder, lightning and a cloudburst which dumped approximately three-quarters of an inch of rain in ten minutes' time. By the time it was done, over an inch had accumulated in the pluviometer. The rain fascinated Merry as it flowed in rivers down the windows, but the thunder and lightning terrified him. It was a new and altogether frightening experience for him, and he was sure it was something I was making happen. As he bounced off chairs, walls, forbidden surfaces, he would launch attacks on my leg in passing, biting if he could, or nearly taking me down with a flying tackle from behind. I managed to drop the Containment Blanket over him at one point, and held him in my arms with just his head sticking out as I spoke softly and comfortingly to him to calm him down. Even after the storm subsided, he was wound tight as a clock spring until bedtime arrived. Then, he dropped like a rock and slept straight through until 4 AM. We don't often get powerful storms here like this one, and I have to admit that had I not been intensely focused on trying to project a sense of security to my poor kitty, I might have been a little frightened myself.

Cats N Dogs

Day 22: As yet, I have not determined what parameters inspire my Davis weather station to offer up this particular observation, but I believe it has something to do with conditions over the past 15 minutes. In any case, since midnight (10 hours), I have recorded 1.52" of rain. If you were to walk down my driveway, you'd have to avoid numerous poodles to get to the mailbox. Otherwise known as a "Pineapple Express," the Pacific Northwe't is currently at the bottom of an atmospheric river. Flood watches are in effect (not "flood warnings," not yet, because the runoff hasn't reached the river channels), particularly in southwest Washington. Because we received so little precip during the summer (in a 5 1/2-month period, my gauge only registered 0.11", mostly as fog/dew), the ground is exceedingly dry. As the top layer becomes saturated and heavy, the possibility of landslips increases dramatically. Fortunately, I am situated where neither flood or landslide is likely to have a direct effect, at least as far as potential property damage goes. However, I may find myself cut off from the rest of the world, either physically or virtually or both, by road closures, power outages or other secondary events. Something tells me we're in for a long winter.

Weather Humour

Day 246: I don't stand staring at the monitor for my weather station. I check it every day, record the highs, lows, precipitation and peak wind speed, and make appropriate notes on a paper graph of any significant event such as hail or a thundershower. I've been following this same routine for almost 50 years now using a succession of stations. Until yesterday, none had made me laugh out loud.

Yesterday morning was cloudy, giving way around noon to some sun. It was a pleasant day until late afternoon when in the span of a brief fifteen minutes, the skies turned dark and threatening. The beginnings of a squall shook the leaves of the Japanese maple, set the Mountain-ash to trembling. The Grosbeaks beat for cover, as if they could anticipate what would next occur. Suddenly, a torrent spilled from the grey overhead, so violent that after two or three minutes, my curiosity kicked in. I stood up from working on a jigsaw puzzle and stepped over to the weather station, observing that in those few moments, almost a quarter of an inch of rain had fallen. As I started to move away, the display changed to read, "Its raining cats n dogs." Even as I did a comedic double-take, it switched back to its customary verbiage. The downpour was beginning to abate, but continued until the display had cycled through "cats n dogs" a few more times, long enough for me to grab the camera to record the delightful weather "Easter egg" Davis had included in their software. I'm just surprised I hadn't seen it before in the year and a half I've owned this particular model.