The Great Rains and Windstorm Of Seattle Dec 2006

There was no escaping the rain the last few days here in Seattle and most of western Washington and Oregon.  Record breaking wind and rainstorms hit the region.  I should have known something was coming when I saw the beautiful sunrises a few days ago...you know that old saying red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.  I took a couple of sunrise photos that appear so peaceful and the blanket of fog was so picturesque in the valley.  The wind storms that hit Western Washington were incredibly powerful...as of this morning there were still 1/2 million people without power...since Thursday night.  We were lucky..and I count my blessings.   Our power is on ..but we have neighboring housing developments all around us that are without power.   Even our local grocery store...Safeway...was on generators.   Could only buy dry goods...no refrigerated or frozen items.   Most of the gas stations are closed due to no power.   On top of all that my work PC went on the blink on Friday and I've come down with a strong case of sneezing and a runny nose.    Tried to go shopping today but the stores near my home were all without power...not so good for business this time of year. 

I had bought tickets for my sister, my daughter and I to see the Pacific NW Ballet Nutcracker for Thursday night in Downtown Seattle at the center Opera House....of course that was when the beginning of the storm hit us.  Took us two hours to get there for what is usually a 20 minute drive.  It was a wonderful show...the trip home was quite exciting...main roads downtown were closed and we had to take alternate routes...a garbage can flew across the street right behind my car as I was driving down 1st avenue..missing us by just one second.  The winds were incredible.   Bridges were being closed and friends and family were getting power losses at their homes.   A few sad occurances of accidental deaths by floods and trees falling.    The great rains and windstorm of Seattle Dec 2006 will not be soon forgotten....areas have been declared emergency zones....today it was calm...but many are still without electricity.  Here are a couple of links to some news articles you may find interesting.
Seattle times link  and King 5 News Link .     I do count my blessings! 

 

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