this is about WEATHER -- in case you need something useful and cool

[fragger]

Nice - I watched a Southerly come up on windy.com last night Once every half-hour or so I'd tune in and see the cold blast moving further and further north, until it reached us.

We sometimes get those. A wall of cold air will race up straight from Antarctica, and it's quite the phenomenon. It will be hot and still outside one moment, and the next it'll be blowing like the devil and the temperature will abruptly plummet. From T-shirt to sweater within a minute

[PZ]

I'm watching the visibility reduce as the smoke rolls in

[fragger]

Geez, you're not in any danger there are you, PZ? I heard about the terrible bushfires raging in the mid- and western states, despite news of their existence being somewhat overshadowed by hurricanes.

[Art Blade]

I still haven't heard of them, but indeed.. I hope all goes well for you, PZ

[PZ]

The Pacific Northwest feels like it is on fire - this is the worst I have seen in 30 years, and I'm just so thankful there are no fires in my immediate area, however fires are found in all directions of the compass around our location.

A few days ago before it became so bad we were walking down our road and found a smoking cigarette butt on the asphalt - I cannot believe some idiot threw out a lit cigarette butt in conditions like this. It was only about 100 yards from home.  The Forest Service sign a couple of miles from home indicates fire hazard is "Extreme" the worst on their list. Today I put the fiver hitch back in the truck and made ready for a quick getaway, if needed.

I can't even go outside without sporting a full auto painters respirator - I've asthma, and the news reports that the conditions are "extremely unhealthy" yesterday the conditions were rated as "hazardous" (the worst rating they have in their list). It is a good thing I have plenty of inhalers. Now I know what my cheese feels like 

Click the pics to toggle full/normal size This is what it looks like on a relatively clear day - not even the best day.     This is what it looks like today - the haze is actually better today than yesterday. Cannot even see that there is a lake, let alone mountains in the distance. Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please Register or Login     Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please Register or Login Across the bay a couple of days ago. The sun is orange, and it's reflection in the water looks like the bay is on fire.     It is so hazy, I did not even need a filter on my camera to take this photo. Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please Register or Login     Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please Register or Login

[fragger]

 

I can totally empathize mate. We're no strangers to bushfires around here. One was actually burning about 30 kays south of us a couple of days ago (under control now) and our sky looked like the one in your pics. Had to close all the windows as the smell was going all through the house.

And yep, so many times the firefighters have believed a tossed cigarette butt to be the cause. Bloody people I've seen lit butts fly out of cars and I just want to smack the careless morons. If a cop here sees you do that, you'll cop a whopping fine, and rightly so. Doesn't stop idiots from doing it though, and there's never a cop around when you need one.

Good luck PZ, I hope you'll all be okay

[Art Blade]

whoa, PZ  All the best of luck and all that! I hope the fire never reaches your home.

Where I live, those kind of fires are virtually unknown but not impossible.

Many years ago, I was spending my holiday in The French Riviera (or Côte d'Azur), there were enormous fires spreading nearby and the skies were brown and sometimes black with smoke. You could see the sun as a pale disk through that haze. The fires were under control before long and I was able to spend the rest of my holiday without any problems.

I just found an article from the Los Angeles Times from July 26, 2017 -- the photo at the start of the article is almost exactly how I remember it from back in I think 1985.

http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-french-riviera-fires-20170726-story.html

[PZ]

Thanks gents - keeping our fingers crossed

[nex]

Hey guys,

usually weather isn't important but it may be. Right now there's a lot of kerfuffle because of those extreme storms so I thought it might be useful for some of you. It was originally developed for surfers. It's just a URL but as far as I know, they also offer an app. It shows real time weather like wind, rain, waves, temperature, pressure.. the list goes on. It can be customised to quite some extent. Of course it can also forecast weather and a lot more. You can zoom in until you get to see a map view. Who needs google maps with a site like that

It will pick your IP and start from there. Just take a look and go, "wow." 

https://www.windy.com/

hurricane Irma
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I passed the link on to my brother in Windsor Canada Art, he says thanks it comes in extremely handy.
He and a friend own a nice big boat and they often go fishing on the lakes around Windsor, this site gives them all the weather info they need.
So, thanks from me also  +1   

[Art Blade]

thank you, nex I'm glad that it helps your brother

You just reminded me. I have a friend with a boat and he's often away for a bit more than just a fishing trip. I just texted him the link

[Art Blade]

just got his reply: "Windy is a great little app which I use every day"

[nex]

Damn..... keep safe PZ

[Art Blade]

indeed.. awfully quiet, our PZ 

[PZ]

Thanks gents - the wind blew the smoke out of the area last night, and although a bit hazy, is much better today. Me and the missus are doing the breast cancer walk today, and I won't need to use my respirator!

I use the Windy site every day as well, and am tailoring it to my specific interests with the custom places markers 

[BinnZ]

PZ what your area needs is a hurricane! It's not fairly shared in the world