Two weeks ago I lost my electricity for almost two days, and last night I lost power repeatedly.
The wind has been blowing so hard that it has blown away everything not nailed down.
For instance here is my neighbor's tree.
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And another one just down the street.
However the wind has not simply been blowing the hell out of Anchorage, it has also extended out to Palmer. This is video that my friend Dennis Zaki took about two hours ago out in Palmer, which is about forty three miles away.
Did you hear that wind? That is what it has been like outside of my window for weeks now.
That giant tree you see laying across the ground is just one of the many trees that Dennis has had crash down on his property, and there are a number of other giant trees uncomfortably close to his rather tiny cabin.
Anyhow that is what it has been like up here for the last three weeks, off and on. So if I suddenly disappear from the internet for several hours at some point in the near future you will probably have some understanding as to why.
I love Alaska, I just love it better when it is not picking shit up and throwing it at my house.
Wow, Jesse, I'm down in Washington on the Olympic Peninsula for awhile. Juneau has had the wettest and coldest summer on record. I haven't heard what the weather is like right now, but it can't be any worse than what you are having. Just listening to that wind makes me shiver.
ReplyDeleteNot to brag (much), but I got here August 10th, and we've had 1/2 inch of rain. The rest of the time has been sunshine. Heavenly!
I hope things have normalized by the time I get home. Lots of snow is fine with me for the winter. I sure don't envy what you're going through right now. Pretty scary stuff with those trees.
I'm waiting for rain to come to our area :( I'm in Kitsap County and I'm honestly getting tired of sweating when I go walking and biking.
DeleteThe howling wind was a lot worse in January 1989 and very, very cold with the windchill.
DeleteThanks for the pics and video, Gryph. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteNow that's funny, G.! I thought Alaska sucked.
ReplyDeleteJust to up the anti now we are getting flood warnings.
ReplyDeleteI am too high up for that to affect me directly, but it is still bad news for a number of my fellow Alaskans.
This storm has pretty much bypassed my area of Wasilla; we had max 55 wind gusts here and now power loss as all of our utilities are underground in our neighborhood, but we've had our share of 80-90 winds since I've been in this house and it is a frightening thing. I was in Palmer this afternoon and the wind was whipping but it was 55 degrees and the rain had stopped and it was magnificent walking in the wind and feeling the warmth. I personally love inclement weather, but I feel for you guys that have felt the brunt of these last few storms. I'm sure that Wasilla/Palmer will have our chance this winter when the weather systems change to target us instead of Anchorage.
ReplyDeletethat is strange that you are getting such unusual winds gryphen, I hope that the results are more pleasant than damaging. the wind video doesn't look all that scary to me - we get some good winds here and the trees blow, however, if this is not usual for you I can see that it would be scary. hope you get minimal/no damage and maximum enjoyment!
ReplyDeleteIt was bad in Palmer today, leaving work a wind gust would have knocked me over but for the intervention of a burly coworker that walked me to the car.
ReplyDeleteJesse, is this unusual, or happening earlier or later than usual? wondering because of the ice melt issue in the Arctic.
ReplyDeleteWe had 60+ mph wind gusts on the east coast, and hurricane warnings, the power went out for a six hours and we had a torrential rain for about two hours - watching the news you'd think it was the end of the world. Compared to that video, it was nothing.
ReplyDeleteHang in there and stay safe.
Yup, we're probably neighbors, because my huge old cherry tree was downed in that wind and I've got random branches from all kinds of trees all over my yard. We had a summer of record-breaking heat and drought and the trees just can't take anymore.
DeleteOh damn Gryphen...are you sure all that wind isn't coming from the bald fella that lives on the dead lake?
ReplyDeleteI've heard that her breath is pretty darn fierce in addition to it being stinky! Just a thought! LOL!
http://www.weather.com/news/arctic-sea-ice-record-low-20120911
ReplyDeleteI just thought that you needed this picture of Palin.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=477413218959767&set=a.149730225061403.24294.125955227438903&type=1&theater
lol What the hell...? Is that the beginning of a wink? That's so funny!
Delete:::splort:::
DeleteShe's trying to imitate Cher, bless her retread heart!
DeleteEverybody knows that Todd Palin can't build a fucking simple fence without it falling over with the first wind so how did the Palin two story red house that Todd built do against the harsh winds?
ReplyDeleteIs it a disaster area?
Jon Stewart Blasts Fox News Over Romney Video: ‘Chaos On Bullsh*t Mountain’
ReplyDeleteJon Stewart used the first act of The Daily Show tonight to look at how Fox News has reacted to a leaked video of Mitt Romney talking about the 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay income taxes. What became increasingly clear, according to Stewart, was that no one at Fox knew quite how to react, with hosts running the gambit from attacks on liberal media misquotations to full-throated defenses of what Romney said.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jon-stewart-blasts-fox-news-over-romney-video-chaos-on-bullsht-mountain/
Uncle Gryph how did you and the other Alaskans manage to survive those high winds and falling trees?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Bristol Palin, nobody in Alaska has cell phones and lives deep in the woods isolated from help, roads and civilization.
Jesse, y'all must be kinda uppity up there with E-lectric clothes dryers inside your houses like them one-percenters on the TV that Mitt loves so much.
ReplyDeleteBecuz I don't see nobody's underbritches and t-shirts blowed off the clothes-line in the back yard and into the trees.
[I'm giving you a hint that when you see a picture of an uprooted tree that looks like somebody dumped their laundry basket into, you might be looking at a pitcher from an area real close to where I grew up. As they/we say, "If you're not from the South, you wouldn't understand."]
Gryphen, a little secret. I love the wind. But here, it is almost never dangerous even when it blows hard (and it has). But we are not surrounded by all those wonderful trees (wonderful until they topple on you).
ReplyDeleteStay safe.
You know what? I also have always loved the wind.
DeleteAnd it's not like we have not had impressive windstorms in the past, we have.
However the winds up near my place the other week were 130 miles per hour. That is NOT just a wined, that is a freaking hurricane.
And we have never had it last so long or be so constant.
If this is due to climate change then I regret every aerosol can I ever used in my youth, cause this blows.
Literally!
Aerosols cause the hole in the ozone and higher risk of skin cancers. Carbon emissions, Carbon monoxide and Carbon dioxide are the "greenhouse" gasses that cause global climate change. Just wanted to clear that up.
DeleteKenai streets are flooding because all the drains are full to capacity, Nikiski has flooding across the main road, local streams are over flowing their banks, there's a flood watch from Homer to Soldotna, rumors of a bridge out at Anchor Point, Seward is cut off due to hellish rain issues -one waterfall washed a piece of heavy earth moving equipment into the ocean, not to mention the wind events in Anchorage... no one has seen weather like this here. Ever. And none of it makes the national news. There is no global warming. There is no climate change. If they don't report it, it doesn't exist, right? Right.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is adamant about moving to Alaska after he gets out of the service :) I told him I was game as long as we got a house with the most kickass insulation known to mankind. And if i was allowed to try my hand at dog sledding :P Which I've wanted to do since I was in first grade. So look out alaska! The Helms Family has their sights set on you!
ReplyDeleteGryph:when I lived at 9000 feet outside of Denver for years, the slope of the mountain was about 12 % toward the North east. If you know anything about low pressure systems, that creates an up-slope that REALLY howled - sometimes for weeks at a time,,..
ReplyDeleteI can relate.. Is this really out of character for your area??
thanks for sharing the information. great share :)
ReplyDeleteMeh, that's become a semi regular occurrence here in the DC area...we lose power any time the winds top 40 MPH, lightning strikes, or snow is too wet and heavy. Low lying neighborhoods by the Potomac and even in downtown DC have been flooding since the spring. I live in a neighborhood with lots of beautiful mature trees...oaks, pines, etc, and there are always downed trees with every storm lately..they land on houses, cars, tragically even people.
ReplyDeleteIf someone tells me climate change is a hoax, they obviously don't ever go outside.
OK, I am sorry, BUT, I spent 4 full days this summer in VA with NO power or water, in 100 degree weather. They are still chipping trees around here and the ones that did not fall then, continue to fall when we get a little storm. I am sorry, Jesse, it is a bitch, but man up would you? Just kidding.....you are the man! Hang in there.
ReplyDeleteThe staggering decline of sea ice at the frontline of climate change
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/14/decline-sea-ice-arctic?intcmp=239
The new ice made from re-freezing will melt too quickly next year! According to the article, this is seriously messin' with the Jet Stream.
Wow, Gryphen, those uprooted trees look nasty. I can't imagine having daily winds like that for a long period of time. Must be sort of what a hurricane feels like. Stay safe!
ReplyDelete