Sounds like you're in for some nasty weather, but are well prepared. Hope you'll all stay safe!

Winter has sure begun to assert itself across the country. After a mild, warm autumn here in NJ, tonight's dip to 17 degrees with gusting winds will put our preparations to the test. Heater is in the koi pond and the filter and pump are covered. Didn't get the solar pool cover on the greenhouse yet, but it's holding steady just above 50 in there. Except for a few flurries, no snow ... yet.

Diane

Play it safe, don't go out in it unless absolutely necessary. We were expecting high winds here yesterday but they never materialized thank goodness. We've had some bad ones here with old growth trees uprooting and some even snapping in half. The sound of that can sends shivers up your spine. Heavy rain and high winds together is something else again, I don't envy any of you and I hope you all get through without having any damage. Keep us posted so we know you guys are O.K. Stay warm and SAFE.

Annette

Hi Steven, hope you ride through your storm unharmed. We are having similar bad weather here too - loads of rain and a lot of wind. It's not fun either, especially because we have a long commute to work and either way it implies crossing bridges, which sometimes have to be closed due to sideways winds. Not fun, I can assure you. Stay safe and warm everyone.

Eduarda

Steven ~ I hope you and Brian will be safe from these storms headed your way. It sounds nasty that's for sure. Glad you got your 200 bulbs planted. You must be worn out from that little project. : -)

It is cold here, 35 and feels like it is 21. Brrr. It is supposed to warm up here by the weekend though.

FlowerLady

Steven,
I just saw the weather on FOX and they say the coming storm(s) will be the worse in history!!! You will get lots and lots of rain and wind and the mountains will get possibly 19' of snow! Can that be right...19 feet?

Oh my, what a nightmare...this is what, we on this coast, go through in anticipation of a hurricane.

Think about doing the following:
Buy bottled water
Fill the bathtub and washing machine up with water
Fill the vehicles up with gas
Have cash on hand...ATM and all those card readers don't work without electricity
Get lots of batteries
Fill the propane gas grill tank up (if you have a gas grill) so at least you can make coffee

I'll be praying that you and Brian remain safe and you sustain no damage.
Vikki

I hope everyone in CA stays safe. Thinking of you . C

Stay safe Steven! We're battling the cold here, trying to keep our pipes from freezing. BRRRR!

Yep, an estimated 8" of rainfall *yikes*. I don't know if our hills can sustain a drenching. I wouldn't want to be a homeowner on the Berkeley hills for all the tea in China.

Stay safe Diana and Steven.

Edna

Dh was up early this morning watching the weather channel. We had our first hard freeze overnight. He told me about the 3 storms approaching the west coast.

Steven, Edna, Diana ... and all of you potentially impacted stay safe!

Battle down the hatch and stay safe. Looks like all of the US is having some kind of bad weather.
Barb

Steven,

It sounds like you have a "Perfect Storm" headed your way. Thankfully you have time to prepare a bit before it hits. ( Hopefully, it won't hit at all.)

Is this storm going to hit as far south as where Diana is? I'm particularly worried because she is in the mountains!

Stay safe everyone.

Marilyn

Steven, here's hoping you stay safe and sound. I will be praying for you and Brian as well as my DH. He left Wisconsin late yesterday afternoon for California. He will need to drive through Donner Pass. :-(
Marylu

Whoa, that forecast sounds like hurricane winds which are rare in your area, stay safe all and check in again soon, M

Do take every precaution Steven and all of you in harms way.
Flying debris can be as dangerous as anything. Don't go outside to take any photos for us!!!
Close your curtains or pull down your shades/blinds too.

Let us know how you fare. I'll be thinking of you.
Patti

I don't know where Diana is,but i'm in S.Calif,n.san diego cnty,and we're supposed to get hit as well.I went out today and did all i had to do.

Usually when they hype these storms,they don't materialize as they predict,so we'll see.I'm prepared what ever they bring.
Kathi

Stay safe! I've been watching the news about all this and it sounds rough. Last night, I was chatting on the phone with my best friend who lives in Berkeley and she's very concerned.

We'll be keeping you all in our thoughts.
Cameron

I don't know what to wish for. Here in the South Bay a lot of the storms pass us by. That means less damage, which is good, but can also mean drought, which is very bad. About ten years ago in a heavy December storm a tree fell on our house. Two minutes earlier my son had come home from school without his key, propped a ladder up and climbed in through a second storey window which was not locked. As he made his way down the hall to his bedroom, the tree fell onto the roof and dashed the ladder to the ground. So I do understand that bad storms can be dangerous, and I hope everyone keeps safe. But there is a part of me that hopes we get enough rain to catch up to normal, without causing havoc for anyone.

In any case, if I do not post for a few days, it probably means we are without power. We are up in the hills just a little bit, and often lose our power (and water) when the winds get high.

R

We weathered today pretty well. A lot of wind and rain, but all in all not too bad. As the storm front passed we experienced about 20-30 minutes of some pretty powerful gusts that shook the house. Of course I had forgotten our yard waste recycling container was in the alley. I heard it bang into the fence so I had to put it in the garage during the worst of it. That was fun. But this was just a prelude to the next storm. It's supposed to start up again late tonight and really be nasty by morning. It wouldn't suprise me if we lost electricity tomorrow.

Of course, the burn areas down south will become a big concern. I really hope the brunt of this storm stays north of them. The snow predicitions for the mountains are just staggering. Marylu, it sounds like your husband will have a difficult time getting over the pass. There's really no question that all roads over the Sierras will be impassable as the day progresses.

It's rather still outside right now. The proverbial calm before the storm.

Steven

It's here...!!!!

OMGoodness, the winds are unbelievable. The neighbors fence blew down. All my tall plants are laying flat on the ground. Worst storm I've seen in years.

I'm here in the valley too (SJ) and it's not too bad. We lost power a short while this morning, but it's back now and me and my 3yo son are cuddled up watching movies and drinking hot cocoa. We bundled up and took my 6yo daughter to school this morning, had to go outside to get in the car with the power off and the garage door not working, and her in her jammies! It's "pajama day" at her school, which I thought was an awful idea in this storm, but when I dropped her off and saw all the kids in the classroom with their blankets and stuffed animals and a mom making pancakes for them in the room, I wished I could have stayed around too! They looked so cozy. I bet it will be fun for them while watching the rain out the window all day. Very magical for a kid, I'd think.

I supposed I should go to the store today and stock up on some stuff as we're not very well prepared, but we're not in a huge risk area either. I feel for those in flood/mud slide risky places. Two years ago a part of our fence fell, so I'm watching the rest of our fences, but they are all far enough from the house it's not a big deal, and that's the worst problem for us.

Take care to the rest of you in CA. (I know I'm not here much, but I lurk and want a cottege garden someday!)

Edna ~ I feel for all of you going through this, as it reminds me of going through hurricanes. I do hope the storms let up soon and your lives can get back to normal.

I hope we hear something from Diana soon, and I hope others check in as well.

Rosefolly ~ I know what you mean about storms passing you by means drought conditions a lot of times. That's the way it's been the past two years without any hurricanes. I hate hurricanes, but being in drought conditions is really bad too. We're going to one day a week watering with the new water restrictions coming up on the 15th. The whole east coast and a bit inland too needs rain.

Edna, Steven and others, do keep us posted. We care about you. Marylu let us know about your DH also.

FlowerLady

Echoing Rainy, yes please let us know how you are, I've been watching the storm on accu weather and its scary ! M

We were watching the news tonight and are concerned about you all in the storm area. Hold tight, I'll be praying for you all!

GGG

Hi All - be safe. Yesterday, I woke up to -24C. I have so much snow on my deck that I can't see out my kitchen window right now, for the snow pile on the table in front of it!! Next week, the temps will be above 0C, and it will rain. Newpapers today were reminding us that today is the 10 year anniversary of the Great Ice Storm. How well I remember it. I move in a week. Cue my nervous breakdown, and remind me that the precipation is good for the Spring Flowers...

Nancy.

Just checking in to see how everyone is doing? Hope all is well! I too have been following the storm on the weather channel. Stay safe everyone!

DH got a call from his dispatch last night and he routed him a different way. Much longer route but will by-pass the worst of the mountains, so I won't have to worry about him trying to get through Donner Pass.
Marylu

6am here and I just turned on the computer. My MSN homepage has a headline that says over 1 million have lost power as a result of the storm.

Diana - Edna - Steven...Hope you are okay and will be able to post a note soon. I know everyone is concerned that you made it through the storm safely.

Vikki

I hope Diana Edna and Steven are all hunkered down safely. I just watched the Today show and the California storms. I hope you can post soon and let us know your well and dry as can be. Steven, I hope your bulbs don't float away!

Hello everyone. We made it through with surprisingly little damage. We may lose one of our 15' pittosporum tenuifoliums that was nearly knocked to the ground. We went out in the late afternoon and tied it to the fence. I'll inspect the roots later today.

What a storm! I've been through some bad ones, but this was hands down the most intense. The wind was unbelievable and went on for hours and hours. We lost electricity at 10:45 a.m. I have no clue when it came back on, sometime in the middle of the night. I haven't done a close inspection, but we surely lost a couple hundred dollars worth of food in the fridge.

By mid-afternoon the worst was over. But with the electricity out, the house quickly got cold. So I built a nice roaring fire and got everything ready for the dark night ahead. By the time the sun set, I had enough candles set out to make the house very well-lit. Brian cooked chicken apple sausages and made a huge salad. After our candlelight dinner we broke out some board games and some very nice wine, of which we indulged perhaps a bit too much. But hey, after that scary storm, who wouldn't?

I'll be waiting anxiously to hear from Edna and Diane. I hope they stayed safe and made the best of the situation.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers everyone. And Marylu, I'm relieved to hear your husband wasn't being sent in harms' way. This storm was nothing to mess with.

Regards,

Steven

Steven ~ Thank you for letting us know you and Brian survived the storm. After going through Frances, Jeanne and then horrible Wilma, I can really relate to damaging storms and their scariness. It sounds like you had a nice 'after' dinner party and I don't blame you one bit. It is such a relief to have electricity again after you've done without. We were without for 13 days. I hope you didn't lose too much from your lovely gardens.

Hope we hear from Diana and Edna soon.

Hugs ~ FlowerLady

Steven, I'm so glad you got through it OK, there was a lot of wind and power outages up here on the island but nothing like you guys have had to contend with. Both the upper and lower island were hit harder than we were, our lights flickered only once, I'm beginning to think we've got horseshoes stuck down our pants. Hope we hear soon from Edna and Diane.

Annette

I think that storm #3 is passing by, tons of sporadic downpours. The wind has been the most intense I've ever seen. My young Brugmansia lost a branch in each storm and now it's just a 4 foot green stick, geez!

But it's nothing to complain about compared to anyone having to travel in this weather. Two of our three bayarea bridges were closed for awhile because of winds and accidents and over 100,000 people lost power. We're fine here in our little Berkeley flats neighborhood, but I see some traffic lights out here and there.

I wish safe traveling for anyone that is out in this weather. Take care, Cathy

I was just out for lunch and there are still quite a few folks in Vallejo without power.

We had a another good soaking this morning with a real whopper of a thunderclap. The dogs barked at it.

The storm that hit here in '95 was worse for the amount of damage it caused. There were gusts of over 80 mph in Golden Gate Park. But that storm didn't rival the intensity of this one. The high winds didn't last nearly as long. Yesterday's winds were so amazing because they sustained their intensity for hours on end. I used to think that I would like to experience a hurricane. I'm no longer interested, thank you very much.

Edna and Diana must still be without power. Check in as soon as you get back up my friends.

Steven

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for caring and keeping us in your thoughts. We are fine down here in So.Cal. We've had rain and snow for the last 24 hours and horrific winds but things are calm right now. One of my birdhouses went flying from an ash tree and broke and Mark's grill got blown to the east side of the property before we could get to it. Good thing we are on acreage and no close neighbors or they might have had a grill in their living room. lol!

The next storm is supposed to come in shortly. We are starting to get a few sprinkles as I type. And it is COLD! Only in the twenties and supposed to be in the teens tonight, so we'll probably get snow. That's good for our local ski resort, which is about 15 minutes from us. Anyone in So.Cal coming up to hwy. 2 beware - it's a madhouse of people and cars. Bring chains, food/water and extra change of clothes.

My DS just got here with season 3 of Lost. We're hunkering down with popcorn, shrimp salsa and Pepsi. Gonna watch those epis for the third time. : ))) Can't wait until Jan. 31st! Again, thanks for thinking of us. Will try and get back here when I can. But you know, that Matthew Fox is some real eye candy so I may not be able to tear myself away from the telly. ; )

Bear Hugs, Diana

Here is a link that might be useful: the greatest show on television!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Diana and Steven, so glad to hear you're ok! The storms are all over the news here. The ones in California, but also in Australia (major flooding) and several European countries (namely Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania which seem to have disappeared under a blanket of snow and fierce winds). We have had quite high winds over the last few days as well, and a lot of rain, but nothing comparable. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it stays that way and that our traditionally mild climate continues true to itself.

I wish Edna would report back here. Stay safe everyone!
Eduarda

Diana,

I'm so glad to hear from you. I was about to rent a snow cat and head up the mountains looking for you, a la "The Shining"! (Now there's a movie that scared the heck out of me.) Stay where you are and break out that secret stash of chocolate you've been saving. ;-) Glad to hear that you are safe and warm.

Steven,

I'm so glad you are safe, as well. I have seen some horrific video from the SF area, really frightening stuff. I'm glad that you have power and have come through this relatively unscathed. I hope that the worst is over.

Edna,

I hope all is well with you and your family, and that you will be able to check in soon.

To all CA gardeners, no heroic garden rescues! Let it all be crushed, blown away or whatever. We can rally together here and replace everything that you lose. We can't replace YOU!

Marilyn

Doing okay here :-)

My poor little hummer came around this morning and God love him...he's soaked to the bone. DH is going to build a special perch for the little guy under the window awning so he has a place to stay dry.

Winds have subsided a bit. We've had thunder all day. Scares the bee-zees out of my big dog.

Glad to hear from you Diana and Steven.

Rest of you stay warm and safe. Stock up on hot cocoa and marshmallows in case of emergency :-)

What a relief to see that the news from you in the west is not too bad and that damage has been relatively minor for you. I sure hope that is the case for the ones who haven't checked in yet, too. It's amazing how quickly you come to care about people whose comments you have only read!

We lost electricity at 10:45 a.m. I have no clue when it came back on, sometime in the middle of the night. I haven't done a close inspection, but we surely lost a couple hundred dollars worth of food in the fridge.

Been through a few hurricanes that brought loss of power. The fridge contents should be safe for 24 hours. After that it's a crapshoot. The fuller the fridge and freezer are the longer the temp stays cold.

You can always use your washing machine as an emergency freezer. Just put your food in the machine and pack it well with bags of ice. We had to do this over Labor Day when our refrigerator/freezer suddenly quit, and we had to wait 2 days for the part. Our appliance repairman suggested this and it worked well. Also works as an additional cooler for cans and bottles during a party.

I hope your food is still salvagable, Steven!

Marilyn

Here's a video I found on youtube.com shot in San Francisco. It gives you a really good idea of what this storm looked like. This is only 19 seconds long, so you can imagine what it was like for 6-8 hours.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wind in San Francisco

Thank goodness you are all safe and Marylu's DH too. Sensible dogs. I'd bark too!
Thanks for checking in and keeping us updated.

Patti

By the way, all our frozen food survived. We ended up tossing things from the fridge that should have been evicted a while ago anyway. No great loss and clean slate.

Check this little video out...

Here is a link that might be useful: Storm '08