Why Did the Salmon Cross the Road?

Seattle has been hit by a powerful Pacific storm, that felt somewhere between a hurricane, a tropical rainstorm and a massive snowstorm. Needless to say the driving conditions were extremely poor due with 70mph winds, heavy downpour, and some places expecting several feet of snow. But for those along the Skokomish Valley Road the driving conditions were even more dangerous. The torrential rains flooded a nearby river pushing salmon right over the banks and across the road.

via komonews.com

The Calm Before The Storm

I live in Nova Scotia, Canada – in a tidy little city called Halifax. Its pretty far north. Usually we are well out of range of hurricanes, but every now and then one decides to pay us a visit. In September 2003, well before I moved here, hurricane Juan made landfall on an rather unsuspecting Halifax with winds reaching 105 mph (165 km/h). It was the biggest storm Atlantic Canada had seen in over 100 years, causing several fatalities and millions in damage. The effects can still be seen in many provincial parks in the form of once proud fallen trees by the thousands.

Typically the waters off of Nova Scotia are very cold. So cold in fact, that its rare to see more then a handful of swimmers in the water at the beach on any given day. This week has been abnormally warm and I’ve witnessed more swimmers in the water here then ever before. While thats sounds finer and dandy, its also a recipe for disaster as far as hurricanes are concerned.

Its pretty calm and cool outside right now, but in about five hours we expect the hurricane to hit the southern coast of Nova Scotia. Most predictions anticipate that the storm will be downgraded from a hurricane by the time it reaches us, but only time will tell for sure.

Bill Arrived In Canada

It started raining here in Halifax a couple hours ago, the first effects we’ve seen of Hurricane Bill. It’s a little windy, but nothing major. Cars are still driving around, and a group of joggers just ran past thirty minutes ago. Business as usual I guess. The storm has been downgraded over the past couple of days, and winds are not expected to reach the previously predicted 80+ mph.

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