Category: Weather

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Monday/ a break in the bluster 🌬️

It was a blustery, rainy day here in the city (high 53°F/ 12°C), but there was a bit of quiet at 5 o’clock, which allowed me to go for a walk.

The pickleball courts at Pendleton Miller playfield on Capitol Hill were all soaked ..
.. but right next door some little leaguers were engaged in that team sport with the sticks with nets on. As I looked on, I could not for the life of me remember the name of the sport 😁.. thought about it as I walked, feeling my mind reach for it, only to have it slip away. I refused to look it up, got home and sat at the kitchen counter, and doodled a few words on paper: water polo .. hockey .. fuss ball .. foley .. polo .. lacrosse! got it 😚.
Lacrosse is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century.
The French Jesuit missionary Jean de Brébeuf saw Huron tribesmen play the game during 1637 in present-day Ontario. He called it la crosse, “the stick” in French. The name seems to be originated from the French term for field hockey, le jeu de la crosse.
[Source: Wikipedia. The picture is titled ‘Ball Players’ and the artist is George Catlin]
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Saturday/ a rainy weekend ☔

It’s a rainy weekend here in the city, with about 0.3 inches recorded as of 7 pm tonight. We may reach an inch or so by Monday morning.

Cybertruck spotting— one wrapped in dark gray, parked on 15th Avenue East here on Capitol Hill on Friday. 
“Does Elon Musk Still Care About Selling Cars?
Mr. Musk, one of President Trump’s main advisers, has not outlined a plan to reverse falling sales at the electric car company of which he is chief executive.
Tesla’s car sales fell 1 percent last year even as the global market for electric vehicles grew 25 percent.  .. Tesla sales fell 12 percent last year in California, which accounts for nearly one-third of the electric cars sold in the United States.”
– Jack Ewing writing for the New York Times
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Saturday/ scanning for the sun 🌇

I celebrated the end of the deep-freeze weather here in the city by walking down to the Melrose Avenue overlook of Interstate 5 late this afternoon.
The high today was 44°F  (7 °C).

On Melrose Avenue, with Interstate 5 below.
On the left is South Lake Union with Seattle’s downtown behind it; look for the Space Needle in the middle; and then Queen Anne hill with its broadcast antennas on the right.
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Wednesday/ clear and cold ☀️

There is one more cold morning in store for us— 25°F/ −4°C expected here in the city.
There might be rain and snow on Thursday afternoon.

Here’s 5.12 pm today, looking west from the intersection at 14th Avenue East and Thomas Street.
Sunset is now at 5.30 pm.
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Monday/ rooibos tea 🍵

I stocked up on a fresh pack of Freshpak rooibos tea* to keep me warm at night. I steep it for 5 minutes to get it really strong, and then I add milk and a little honey.
P.S. The cold weather has been relentless here. The temperature outside will drop down to 22 °F  (-5°C) tonight, which is record-low territory for February here in the city.

*Not a true tea, but rather an herbal tea. It’s made from the leaves of the Aspalathus linearis plant, which is native to South Africa.
– from Google Search Labs | AI Overview

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Thursday/ snow report ❄️

There were 2 more inches of snow this morning (most of yesterday’s had melted by last night).
I know it’s not a lot of snow compared to the Midwest or the Northeast, but even so, I went out and took a few pictures. Snow on the ground is not something I ever had while living in South Africa!

 

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Wednesday/ more snow 🌨

There were 2 inches of snow on the ground by 8:30 a.m. here on Capitol Hill this morning—just enough to prompt the city to send out an alert that my garbage pickup has been rescheduled for tomorrow.

Looking at these projections, this week’s garbage pickup may have to be postponed to next week.
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Snowy Sunday ❄️

We had just under an inch of snow on the ground here in Capitol Hill today. There might be more snow tomorrow.

The flakes are coming down nicely, this is at 9.53 am.
I measured 20 mm (0.8 in) after the first round of snow. A little more fell later, bringing the day’s total to an inch or so.
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Saturday/ freezing rain 🧊

There was a little bit of thunder at noon today, followed by a spell of freezing rain.
An hour or two later, there was blue sky. Today’s high was 40°F (4°C).
There might be a dusting of snow on the ground tomorrow here in the city, say the meteorologists.

The view from my window at 12.19 pm today.
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Friday/ rain ☔

There was rain last night and today, a welcome break in the dry weather of the last few weeks.
The snowpacks across Washington State are lagging from their normal levels, but there is still time to make up the deficit. The snowpacks on the mountains peak at around April 1.

Snowpacks (that melt during spring and summer) are a significant source of water for reservoirs around the state, for agriculture, and for hydroelectric power generation.

The map at top left shows the latest snowpack numbers. Worse than where we were in December, and on Jan. 1, but somewhat better than a year ago in Jan. 2024.
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Sunday ☀️

I made it to Volunteer Park today, all bundled up.
It felt colder than the 42 °F (5 °C) reported on my phone’s weather app.

Volunteer Park with its Victorian-style greenhouse structure in the distance, modeled on London’s Crystal Palace.
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Wednesday/ snow on the ground 🌨️

It started snowing at around 8 am this morning here in Munich, but it could not have been more than an inch an or so, from what I could tell.

I used the Line 19 streetcar again to get Hauptbahnhof (the main train station), and from there, ran out to Odeonsplatz and a comic book store on Fraunhoferstrasse.

The view from my hotel room (using my phone’s 5x zoom to zoom in on the Deutsche Bahn train maintenance station) at 8 this morning.
Here comes the Line 18 streetcar, at Am Lok-schuppen station.
At Sendlinger Tor station, I stepped off the streetcar and went underground to the U-bahn.
(The sidewalk surfaces were treacherous with the snow and ice, and there were no pedestrian crossings to speak of. Then I realized that is the other use of any U-bahn station: it’s an under passage for pedestrians to get from one side of an intersection to the other).
Here is Odeonsplatz, named for the former concert hall, the Odeon, on its northwestern side. The church is the Theatine Church of St. Cajetan and Adelaide (German: Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan und Adelheid)— a Roman Catholic church. It was consecrated 11 July, 1675.
Taking a closer look at the heraldic elements in the center (the lions and the white-and-blue checkered pattern is taken from the coat of arms of Bavaria).
Here is the nearby Hofgarten (Eng. ‘Courtyard garden’), established in 1613.
Back inside the Sendlinger Tor U-bahn station. I love the giant white saucer-shaped light fixtures.
This is a comic book store called Comic Company near Fraunhoferstrasse station.
I bought used three comic books for all of Є8.40. More books to weigh down my luggage but hey, I was still 10+ pounds under the weight limit with both my suitcases when I checked them in at Cape Town.
By the time I hopped off the Line 18 streetcar close to my hotel, the snow had started to melt.
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Tuesday/ a cold day in Munich 🥶

I put on full kit and kaboodle this morning, before venturing out in the frigid weather. I limited my excursions outside to Hauptbahnhof and Marienplatz.
(The day started at -7 °C and the high briefly reached 0°C.)

The Line 19 street car stops almost in front of my hotel, at Am Lok-schuppen station.
I used it to run out the Hauptbahnhof (main station), and to Marienplatz. There is a ticket machine on the street car– very convenient, and only €11,10 for a Zone 3 day ticket.
There is not much of the Hauptbahnhof buildings visible from the street, because of a major construction-refurbishment project that is underway.
Marienplatz and its ‘new’ town hall. New is a relative term here. Marienplatz has been the city’s main square since 1158. I took this picture from inside the Hugendubel bookstore on the square.
Taking a closer look at the clock tower of the town hall.
Inside the U-bahn station by Marienplatz. This track serves the trains running on the U3 and U6 lines.
Here are the platforms at the Münchner Freiheit U-bahn station.
Now I’m back at Marienplatz, and the sunlight that had added a few degrees to the chilly temperatures is fading fast. So it is getting really cold again.
The iconic town towers of the Frauenkirche nearby Marienplatz. This church was constructed from 1468–1488.
Volt Germany is a social-liberal pro-European, eurofederalist political party in Germany.
A federal election will be held in Germany on 23 February 2025 to elect the 630 members of the 21st Bundestag.
Check out this poster.
LET’S TAKE BACK THE FUTURE— with a strong Europe against Trump and Putin.
Sunset here is at 4.48 pm. I have just stepped off the street car at Am Lok-schuppen station for the 3 minute walk to my hotel.
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Friday/ rainy and dark ☔

Happy Friday the Thirteenth.
It was rainy and dark all day outside (but not quite as dark as in the forest from The Nutcracker in the picture below).

From the Seattle Times:
A ballerina from Pacific Northwest Ballet performs “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” on Wednesday evening at McCaw Hall in Seattle. [Photo by Kevin Clark / The Seattle Times]
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Thursday/ a foggy week 🌫

It has been foggy at night and into the early morning— and cold outside— the whole week, with a high of only 42°F (5°C) yesterday.
It is clearer outside tonight, and there will be rain tomorrow.

Posted on Tuesday night 10:34 PM by NWS Seattle @NWSSeattle on X:
One more night of widespread fog, as seen from the Space Needle Panocam.
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Tuesday/ a lot of gray 🌥

The rainy weather has stopped, and the forecast for the next week or so can be described as ‘morning fog, and partly sunny the rest of the day’.
The lows will be mid- to high 30s (3 °C) and the highs 46°F (8 °C) or so.

Looking south along 19th Avenue East by Stevens Elementary School, just as the light was fading today.
(Stevens Elementary School was on a list of schools to be closed, but Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones announced just yesterday that he and the school board will no longer pursue school closures and consolidations to solve the Seattle school district’s multi-million dollar budget shortfall.)
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Thursday/ colder ❄

The amigos played pickleball inside at the Sandman’s Courts in Columbia City today.
There was sun outside, but the high was only 55°F (13°C).

Mr Woodpecker (a Northern flicker, Colaptes auratus) looking for ants in the cracks of the sidewalk in front of my house. I wonder if it decided to stay put for winter, or if it will soon fly somewhere south where it will be warmer.
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Thursday/ gold 🍂

It was a beautiful fall day here in Seattle (63° F / 17°C), with a blue sky and sun this afternoon.

This time of year there is gold in the leaves of the trees that line Martin Luther King Boulevard in Seattle’s Central District.