For 48 degrees North latitude, we are really very lucky here in Western Washington when it comes to cold weather. Yeah, we have to put up with a lot of precipitation, but down here in the lowlands (we’re at 500′), we don’t get a lot of snow and sustained below-freezing temperatures. What snow and ice arrives usually doesn’t last more than a couple of days – it just always warms up again.
The primary reason for our benign winters is, of course, that big, salty heat sink – the Pacific Ocean. The Alaskan Peninsula helps, too – it prevents the cold Arctic Ocean water from mingling much with the (relatively) warm Pacific water. Pacific marine climate is considered one of the best working climates in the world – benign winters and coolish summers mean there are very few days when you can’t be outside, working comfortably in the weather (although good rain gear sure helps).
One of the problems with this it-never-snows-much-and-always-goes-away-fast set-up is the natives don’t get very skilled at snow and ice driving; AND, snow removal dollars are very small line items on most government budgets. Traffic can be a nightmare when snow and ice arrive with zeal and stick around – which happens every once in awhile.
Forecasters are predicting our current Arctic blast (sub-freezing temps with no daytime thaw) will last through this entire week. (So far we only have about an inch of snow, though, so that might make it tolerable.) They say the last time this happened was 1990, although I think we came pretty close in 2006, which included record snowfall (30 inches here) and lengthy power outages (10 days for some people – 4 days for us).
In 1990, we were still living aboard s/v WaterBrother at Seattle’s Shilshole Bay Marina. I remember our on-the-boat Arctic blast. Griz was in Phoenix on business for most of the week (the dog). I got to do arctic boat bunny by myself. Fortunately, my job was close – a very short drive. I was also driving a dependable little 20-year-old Toyota beater at the time and it had vicious studded tires. There is great vehicular power and psychological freedom in driving a beater in ice and snow.
When you live aboard in a large marina, you get used to the sound of wind in the rigging as background noise. But the 50 knot northerly that brought in that 1990 Arctic blast was an unusual, high-pitched howler – and it howled for days. WaterBrother was moored with her bow facing north and we slept in the V-berth. Although WaterBrother had an insulated hull, insulation is pretty minimalist on a 37′ sailboat. Our Dickinson diesel heater - which generally kept us toasty through Seattle winters – did a fine job on most of the cabin, but that strong northerly wind cooling the bow made the V-berth frigid. Before Griz got home, I had rigged a cocoon for myself with extra sleeping bags and space blankets. I’d also revitalized my appreciation of polypropylene long underwear.
And Griz didn’t get off the hook completely. Although the cold wind had subsided by the time he got home, there was still ice and snow on the ground. He didn’t want me to pick him up at the airport (25 miles from the marina), so he took a cab from Sea-Tac. Considering the road conditions – that was probably the greatest danger to either of us all week.
And there was a gift in that chilly week aboard. Made me re-evaluate whether I was really interested in over-wintering aboard in Alaska. Glad we never did.
