Oh, the weather outside ain't frightful...

So from the moment that I started telling people that I was moving out to Seattle I was asked if I enjoyed being depressed or if I just liked water or if I hated the sun or what it was that drew me here. Heck, I didn't even know, but come to find out it was for my beautiful bride and a great job. But now, after everyone always saying how much it rains in Seattle (which really isn't all that much. In fact Portland and New York get more than us - and its not rain, its a steady mist) I'm getting hit with a bunch of people making sure we are ok.

Well, I must say that I like hearing from old friends and it's actually comforting to know that when people see drastic things on the news about the PacNW they think of us. Seattle itself is doing just fine, despite the weather. It has definitely been a crazy fall/winter though. First all of the snow, which was fun until the city couldnt do anything about it which led to people hating snow and not wanting a white Christmas in Seattle for another 20 years, then people were excited when it was raining instead of snowing, and now they say there is too much rain.

Well if you look around, it is rather soggy, I must say, and it's never a good thing. People are getting stranded, homes are getting flooded, and avalanches are becoming an everyday thing on the evening news. You don't have to go even 20 miles out of Seattle to start seeing signs of roads being closed for flooding. Thankfully, we are all on higher ground - even Matt is dry out in Issaquah.

But the funny thing is - well some may not find it funny - we are essentially stuck. Due to avalanches the passes are closed, due to flooding I-5 south of Seattle is closed (near Fife), and because of all of the snow in Spokane they have even been having some airport closures. Therefore, if for some reason people need to get to eastern Washington, they first better start singing "O, Canada!"

Earlier we got an email from Dad Leopold that the water levels on the Skykomish are definitely high, but NO WHERE near the levels they were at when it damaged the river bank.

It's just that wet time of year- which I guess for today means going home and going for a run in the rain (need to do something to "pour" off the pounds from Christmas... and maybe before then too :-) ).

Here is a picture from the Seattle Times of I-5