Rough weather out west, headed our way

Three feet or more of snow at some points in the Cascades.

Wind gusts of 65 mph in Cheyenne (calm day there, in other words).

Willy says he’s expecting five inches of snow in Omaha tomorrow.

We’re supposed to get something tomorrow in Chicagoland–snow, most likely, for our first measurable accumulation in well over nine months.

But over in the rain belt west of the Cascades, the problems are of a slightly different nature:

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Freight-train-derails-in-Everett-183859751.html?tab=video&c=y

Wow , the guy with the camera was in the right place right time!

It’s December, doesn’t it snow every year at this time?

Of course it does…usually we don’t even have to wait this long.

Here in the Midwest our first storm of the year may be just what the doctor ordered–about five inches on Thursday, and temperatures cool enough to ensure that it will stay around for a while. But roads will be able to be cleared in time for travel on the weekend.

The point of my note wasn’t even the snow–it was the mudslide that took out the BNSF, stack train and all (check the link). Someone else started a post about that as well. It isn’t often you catch a wreck like that happening, and it sure shows how bad these slides can be, and how easily they wipe out even the heaviest of trains.

My native northeast Iowa and a good chunk of SW Wisconsin under a blizzard warning beginning later on today. I would imagine that my employer (CPRS) as well as CN will be heavily impacted.

Being a NE transplant to Atlanta, I miss the snow. All we get down here is a couple inches of slush from time to time. Send some of that stuff down here!

Nigel the weather dog says it’s snowing. Goes out the dog door black, comes in white.

Promised blizzard hasn’t happened or it is late. No wind and only an inch (if that) of snow. Supposed to have 4-6 by now.

Should make for some interesting railroading with the Polar Express trips this weekend.

And next week is looking to be Cold!

No accumulated snow here in our area yet this season. Haven’t put the special sand bags in the back of my little truck yet…Believe it was January last season that I finally installed them. Most seasons of this nature, I’ve had them in by perhaps late November.

But this big one is passing very close to us…and just north, northwest of our State…So this might be the one to show us some…We’re on it’s edge. I certainly won’t miss it if we’re spared of seeing any from it.

Actually, my yard appears to have grown since I last mowed it Nov. 17th, but I might be embarrassed to try to mow it now…Anyway, tractor has it’s winter plastic on it out in the little barn…So we’ll not attempt it.

Our forecast has been updated to remove much of the snow. They’re still talking about some tomorrow night, and it will probably be the first measurable snow of the year. But most of what falls tonight and tomorrow morning is expected to be rain now.

Still looks very bad for NE Iowa and SW Wisconsin. I would have to think that it’ll be a real mess around Marquette/McGregor, Lansing and New Albin; not to mention Dubuque for CPRS. Ditto for CN from Dubuque to Waterloo and BNSF on the other side of the River as well.

A cold wave is headed for central Texas. It will be in the 80s today, but the weather gurus say that it will only be in the mid 60s tomorrow. If it drops below 60, I’ll load up the buggy and boogie on down to Brownsville for a couple of days.

I also grew up in the NE: Altoona, PA., and I lived in New York for eight years. But I have been in Texas for the last 38 years. I don’t miss snow and ice. The only place that I want to see ice is in my martini shaker.

Carl, do you remember reports of mudslides north of Seattle in years gone by? I do not remember any until in the past few years, and now they seem to be quite common.

MC, we had a little snow in the Salt Lake Valley Monday, and none yesterday. Usually, you get the weather a day after we get it. We did get a heavy snow ten days ago, which called for work to get my driveway and sidewalk cleared. The wind, from the south, was particularly bothersome Monday, and was only annoying yesterday morning.

This issue was mentioned in a Newswire story several years ago. BNSF had looked through their records going back to the turn of the Twentieth Century on the GN, and could find no precedent at a number of locations. They then noticed that these new flood locations were downgrade from big parking lots built in the last 60 years or so. The water draining off of that asphalt has to go somewhere.

Bruce

Blizzard warning set to start at 6pm tonight and run until 6pm Thursday night for a swath across Iowa, southwest to northeast. The Des Moines news I have on just said some in central Iowa (centered just east of Ames and including about a 50 mile radius according to their map) could be getting thunder snow after midnight, resulting in up to a foot of snow before it’s over. If it doesn’t happen, we will only get 8 to 10 inches.

The UP seems to be recrewing all the Clinton - Missouri Valley long pool trains at Boone. A few deadheads on the line up, I’m sure by train. It’s moved up my mark from 8am tomorrow to about midnight, looks like the westbound salad shooter right now.

Jeff

As I write this, Becky just opened the door, light rain starting to change into snow.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90786/8064492.html

Go outside and build a snow train.