Look out here it comes!

Over the years, Seattle has seen its share of windstorms. The Inaugural Day Storm of 1993,    the Hanukkah Eve storm of 2006, and the November in August storm of 2015

With the potential damage our storms cause, the even slight possibility of course make the news.  More often than not though, the “MAJOR Windstorm” coming “down our throats” just misses us.

Given that, the discerning weather geek becomes a bit more discerning about who he believes.  Why do I mention this? Well, could be a storm is a comin tomorrow…

March is NOT usually one of our stormy time of year, but this year has been a bit strange,  For example, we have had rain for the last 16 days (not ALL day long, but it has rained part of the day each and every one of them.   Tomorrow will be 17.)

But, all over the twitter verse we are seeing reports of potential high winds.  So the first thing I check is whether it’s a wind advisory or a wind WARNING.

The difference?  Well I saw a Facebook post recently that explained it this way,

This is an advisory

This is a Warning

Yep, you got it, a warning is scarier, can cause more damage, and most importantly, it is much more likely to hit and hit hard!

This time, it is a Warning

High Wind Warning in effect from noon to 11 PM PDT Sunday... 

The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a High Wind
Warning... which is in effect from noon to 11 PM PDT Sunday. The high
wind watch is no longer in effect. 

* Timing... Sunday afternoon through Sunday evening. Strongest
  winds will likely be later Sunday afternoon through early
  evening.

* Winds... southeast winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph
  possible early in the afternoon. Winds will shift to south to
  southwest and rise... with strongest winds reaching 30 to 45 mph
  with gusts to around 70 mph in the late afternoon and early
  evening. Winds will gradually diminish through late evening.

* Impacts... widespread power outages and downed trees are likely.
  Some damage to buildings is possible. Remember that falling
  trees and tree limbs can cause serious injury or death.

Precautionary/preparedness actions... 

A High Wind Warning means a hazardous high wind event is expected or
occurring. Sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph or gusts of
58 mph or more can lead to property damage.

OK, but I still want more proof . You might be wondering why. Well, when a real storm is gonna hit there is stuff to get done. Break out the cooler and fill it with ice, bring up fire wood, get the kid home earlier than normal to keep us both off the road at the height of the storm move the cars away from the big tree, and NOT do the weekly shopping and fill the fridge….

For me, this means checking out the two meteorologists I trust,  One is Scott Sistek from KOMO News.  Over the last year he seems to be dead on pretty often.  More than once he has said “Yeah, not so much don’t worry” and he was right.  This time? He is saying “Batten down the hatches she is gonna blow!”

The other is Cliff Mass.  Even though he is a UW professor, he knows his stuff.  He hasn’t had a update in 7 hours, which normally means he is just not sure yet. I will keep an eye out.

Finally, it will be us looking outside during the day. If I see branches flying past, and garbage cans tumbling then we could be in trouble.

I have a sneaking feeling it is going to hit!

And it could knock out power and cable which means I could miss The Walking Dead!

NOW we are talking disaster!  Hope I am wrong!