California gets hammered by Pineapple Express - 164 [or 165] mph winds

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In summary, the wind gusts in the Lake Tahoe area were really high. One area had wind gusts reaching 165 mph.
  • #1
Ivan Seeking
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The Lake Tahoe area had wind gusts hitting 155 mph, and I saw that one area had 165 mph gusts. That is nuts! How would you like to be surrounded by 150-foot trees in 155 mph winds?!

12/19/2010 1233 PM

2 miles W of alpine meadowsne meadowsprings vvil, Placer County.

Non-thunderstorm wind gust m155 mph, reported by mesonet.


155 mile per hour wind gust measured near the Sierra
crest. Winds sustained at 124 miles per hour.
http://www.wunderground.com/US/CA/069.html
 
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  • #2


Some areas will get up to twelve feet of snow.

Merry Christmas!
 
  • #3


I'm building an ark.
 
  • #4


Math Is Hard said:
I'm building an ark.
I hope jelly has her waterwings.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN1VcgRrEM8
 
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  • #5


At least it must be drowning the fleas on the lawn!
 
  • #6


Math Is Hard said:
At least it must be drowning the fleas on the lawn!
I read it only takes 1/2 inch to get rid of fleas.
 
  • #7


Jelly and I are staying warm and cozy watching The Bishop's Wife tonight :)
 
  • #8


Math Is Hard said:
Jelly and I are staying warm and cozy watching The Bishop's Wife tonight :)

That brings back fond memories of the many nights that I spent with the Bishop's wife.

Do you know how much rain have you had and how much is coming? I was mainly following the reports for Northern California. I know there is a lot of concern about mudslides in some areas.
 
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  • #9


I wonder how well the wind farms handle these kinds of winds. I would think that sustained 125MPH winds can generate some serious electricity, if the windmills don't disintegrate...
 
  • #10


Climate change at its finest. :approve:
IMP said:
I wonder how well the wind farms handle these kinds of winds. I would think that sustained 125MPH winds can generate some serious electricity, if the windmills don't disintegrate...

Wind turbines generally don't operate with wind speeds above 50mph.
 
  • #11


My mom won't fly, but we are expecting her house to land here in the city any time now. Can't wait to see my mom. :!)
 
  • #12


Lacy33 said:
My mom won't fly, but we are expecting her house to land here in the city any time now. Can't wait to see my mom. :!)

:rofl:
 
  • #13


You do realize that, thanks to Judd Apatow, there are probably some stoners out there (in Cali... imagine that) who haven't stopped giggling since they heard the words, "Pineapple Express," for the first time on the news.
 
  • #14


nismaratwork said:
You do realize that, thanks to Judd Apatow, there are probably some stoners out there (in Cali... imagine that) who haven't stopped giggling since they heard the words, "Pineapple Express," for the first time on the news.

I had to do a quick Google

"Pineapple Express...a stoner action movie"
wiki

Now THAT'S funny!
 
  • #15


:uhh: I've scheduled some solo mountain time up in the High Sierra, starting this weekend. Keeping fingers crossed that conditions improve!
 
  • #16


Ivan Seeking said:
I had to do a quick Google

"Pineapple Express...a stoner action movie"
wiki

Now THAT'S funny!

...so he says... really you're smoking a bone right now and watching Cheech & Chong... tell it Tsu! :wink:
 
  • #17


Gokul43201 said:
:uhh: I've scheduled some solo mountain time up in the High Sierra, starting this weekend. Keeping fingers crossed that conditions improve!

Yeah... um... I like your posts, please don't die on a mountain?
 
  • #18


Math Is Hard said:
Jelly and I are staying warm and cozy watching The Bishop's Wife tonight :)
Aww, did you watch it all? Did you like it?
 
  • #19


I was raised on Tahoe's west shore (Homewood area). There are very few homes located along the ridges, which are the only places that the winds reach speeds above 90 mph. My father owned a glass business, and we did a few window replacements in people's homes out in Rubicon. The windows were extremely expensive and very heavy due to the wind rating requirements.

We did get a few feet of snow at lake level (about 6,200 ft.), but not 12 feet. The 12' predictions were probably for elevations above 7,000 feet.
 
  • #20


nismaratwork said:
...so he says... really you're smoking a bone right now and watching Cheech & Chong... tell it Tsu! :wink:

I smoke meat but never thought of smoking the bone. It's too hard to light.
 
  • #21


nismaratwork said:
Yeah... um... I like your posts, please don't die on a mountain?
I'm generally pretty good at turning back when conditions warrant that.

I'm a strong believer in Ed Viesturs' motto: getting to the summit is optional; getting back down is mandatory!
 
  • #22


Gokul43201 said:
I'm generally pretty good at turning back when conditions warrant that.

I'm a strong believer in Ed Viesturs' motto: getting to the summit is optional; getting back down is mandatory!

Going alone? Let people know your schedule, and watch for falling rocks...I didn't see "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/127_Hours" " but, dang :eek:!
 
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  • #23


Gokul43201 said:
I'm generally pretty good at turning back when conditions warrant that.

I'm a strong believer in Ed Viesturs' motto: getting to the summit is optional; getting back down is mandatory!

The biggest problem we see in the NW is people getting caught in a bad storm with no time to get out. The weather can change very quickly.

When I was in college, we lost a grad student from the physics dept. that way. I don't think they ever found the bodies.
 
  • #24


lisab said:
Going alone?
So far, it seems that way. My potential climbing partner couldn't make it.

Let people know your schedule,
Yup, standard procedure.

and watch for falling rocks...
More avalanche danger than rockslide danger where I'm headed, but I'll naturally be monitoring avalanche conditions.

I didn't see "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/127_Hours" " but, dang :eek:!
I've seen the preview but not the movie itself. I hope to watch it eventually though. Good for lessons on what to do when in trouble, and what not to do if you don't like getting into trouble.
 
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  • #25


Gokul43201 said:
So far, it seems that way. My potential climbing partner couldn't make it.

That is very surprising to me. You should NEVER do something like this by yourself.
 
  • #26


Evo said:
Aww, did you watch it all? Did you like it?

I did! I loved it! I would have found Cary Grant more believable as a devil than an angel, though! :devil:
 
  • #27


Ivan Seeking said:
That is very surprising to me. You should NEVER do something like this by yourself.
I'm still looking for a partner, but if I don't find one I'll have to settle for a much less ambitious trip, along a more popular route with zero technical difficulty, and which will likely have other folks on it anyway. And I won't do it if conditions are poor.
 
  • #28


Ivan Seeking said:
Do you know how much rain have you had and how much is coming? I was mainly following the reports for Northern California. I know there is a lot of concern about mudslides in some areas.

The rain has been been moderately light, but steady. It never stops. We've gotten 6 or 7 inches in my area:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/heavy-rainfall-recorded-across-la-area.html

We are supposed to get a break on Thursday, but I think more is coming next weekend. I've heard that some debris slid down over PCH near the Ventura/Los Angeles county line, but it has now been cleaned up. I'm sure there is more of that to come.
 
  • #29


Gokul43201 said:
I'm generally pretty good at turning back when conditions warrant that.

I'm a strong believer in Ed Viesturs' motto: getting to the summit is optional; getting back down is mandatory!

A very wise stance to take in regards to a recreational activity, I'm glad you'll be around and not drinking rainwater for the next week. :wink:

Ivan: Mmmm Hmmm... I saw that before you edited your post, you'd actually coughed. Honest!
 
  • #30


Gokul43201 said:
I'm still looking for a partner, but if I don't find one I'll have to settle for a much less ambitious trip, along a more popular route with zero technical difficulty, and which will likely have other folks on it anyway. And I won't do it if conditions are poor.

Ah. I was going to say that I did some really crazy stuff, but even I always stuck to the buddy system. Of course in my case, my buddy nearly killed me, but that's beside the point. :biggrin:
 
  • #31


Dembadon said:
I was raised on Tahoe's west shore (Homewood area). There are very few homes located along the ridges, which are the only places that the winds reach speeds above 90 mph. My father owned a glass business, and we did a few window replacements in people's homes out in Rubicon. The windows were extremely expensive and very heavy due to the wind rating requirements.

We did get a few feet of snow at lake level (about 6,200 ft.), but not 12 feet. The 12' predictions were probably for elevations above 7,000 feet.

It looks like the worst of it is hitting about 200 miles SE of Tahoe.

It's all courtesy of the "Pineapple Express," a potent stream of moisture originating near the Hawaiian Islands that streams across the Pacific Ocean until it slams into mountains along the West Coast of the U.S. There, it's already dumped over 15 feet of snow on Mammoth Mountain, Calif., and it's not done yet.

Mammoth residents and guests have been stranded by not only deep snow, but howling winds as well that severed phone service to Sugar Bowl Resort near Truckee, Calif. At Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort in Twin Bridges, Calif., those winds toppled a tree that fell upon a chairlift cable on Sunday, knocking five riders to the ground. Other ski areas have remained closed, waiting out the storm for a powder day that promises over six feet of new snow surrounding the Lake Tahoe basin...
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/Ne...ly-Christmas-Presents-to-Western-Ski-Resorts/
 
  • #32


I believe CNN reported the peak gust of 165 mph, but I'm still not seeing another source for that, so maybe that wasn't a reliable report. Does anyone else see the 165 mph reference? I do find several sources for the reported 155 mph, as was originally linked.

I may need to change the title.
 
  • #33


Wait... wait just a second...Ivan... you smoke meats? You cure/smoke your own meats? Have you talked about this in the food thread, because I'd like to hear about it.

Anyway, this is a pretty amazing weather event... 155 or 165, it's still one monstrous wind-speed. The kicker is that now they flood, mud-slides follow, then heat, then fires, which leads to more erosion, which leads to more mud... you get the idea.
 
  • #34


nismaratwork said:
Ivan... you smoke meats? You cure/smoke your own meats? Have you talked about this in the food thread, because I'd like to hear about it.

Not really. I made jerky a few times but that's about it. However, meat smokers are a common item around here. With all of the hunting and fishing, there are smoked meats of all kinds. Smoked Salmon is probably the most popular. [not smoked, but we recently had some bear pepperoni!]
 
  • #35


Gokul, your weekend isn't looking very promising. Many areas are surely too dangerous for hiking and will be for some time.

This is ridiculous! Some areas are supposed to get another 10 inches of rain over a period of about 24 hours. I saw that one mountain area was claiming over 200 inches of snow with lots more on the way. One person stated that they may get as much rain this year as they've had in the last ten.
 
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