SEA to ATL

This is a picture I took flying back to Atlanta from Seattle. It shows a contrail from a plane during a December sunset.



This was a very unique situation where I was able to see a contrail from three sides. Usually when most people see contrails it is from the ground looking up. In this case I saw it as our plane approached it and then from behind and finally from the other side... by the time I got my camera ready we were flying away from it.



Same flight just outside of Seattle and just above the low clouds surrounding the city and Mt. Rainier.



You can see the snow blowing off the top of the mountain with the stronger winds at higher elevation.



This is a picture I took a couple days before flying back to Atlanta. The Argosy coming back to the Kirkland dock.

Heat Wave

We have had ten days in a row of above normal temperatures. This includes six days at 90 or warmer along with the all time record at Sea-Tac last Wednesday of 103.

The bright spot to the heat wave has to be the sunsets. I took this picture last week but with the smoke from recent fires on the Olympic Peninsula the sunsets have continued to impress.




This picture is from the hottest day every recorded at Sea-Tac. I was working that day and it was amazing to walk out from the air conditioned weather center on to the roof garden and feel the contrast. It was like a whole different world.



At the same time we had thunderstorms building over the Cascades as seen from the roof garden looking over Dexter Avenue.

Sound to San Juans

Now that the temperatures are soaring across the northwest I am dreaming of being back on the water. I spent some time on the water with my folks during my weekend. On Wednesday they picked me up after work on Lake Union, went through the locks and stayed at Shilshole Marina. It was nice to watch the sunset over the Olympics on a warm evening.




The next night we stayed in Port Townsend and then headed for Friday Harbor on Friday morning. We ran into some pretty thick fog crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Visibility ranged from about a mile to 100 feet at times. The fog was pretty thick but shallow. There was fog all around but we had blue sky overhead, it was like being in an arena.





It was warm Saturday morning in Friday Harbor as the sun rose on the eastern sky just north of Mt. Baker.



I had to work that night so I flew back on Kenmore Air and took this shot looking back over Shaw Island below and San Juan Island to on the left. The day already had a tropical feel and the clouds in the sky reminded me of the moisture in the atmosphere that would eventually help feed that evening's thunderstorms.

SPANISH SUNSHINE

Over the past couple of weeks I was missing out on the Seattle sunshine but I was fortunate to be traveling across the wonderful country of Spain. I enjoyed the great people and very pleasant weather.

I spent some time in Madrid and Barcelona, but I seem to be most captivated by the smaller towns. In Toledo some of the narrow lanes had canvas stretched out overhead to provide a little relief from the midday sunshine.



Tarifa in the southernmost point in Spain is famous for its wind. Kitesurfers swarm the beaches in the summer. This kitesurfer was harnessing wind on the Atlantic Ocean. Behind the land in the distance are the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar.



I took a day trip to Tangier, Morocco from Tarifa and enjoyed the blue sky behind the whitewashed buildings.




And a perfect end to the day in Ibiza.

Sunday Sunsets

Finally!!Some sunshine and warm temperatures for the Northwest. Highs were in the 60s and even 70s for many spots across the region.

The KING 5 Bellevue tower camera looks across Lake Washington and at the city of Seattle with the Olympics in the distance. We did get a little bit of color at sun down after a great day. Phantom Lake Elementary in Bellevue had a high of 73.
One of my favorite web cameras comes from the US Forest Service near the Columbia River Gorge. It looks from the Washington side of the Columbia River over at The Dalles with Mount Hood on the horizon and some purple in the sky. The high at The Dalles was 71 today.

We only have a couple more days to catch some color in the evening sky. The ridge of high pressure is already on the move east and when it goes we will be back to a more wet and cool weather pattern. We still might get some good sunsets between weather systems but it will be cold enough to keep most people inside so they will most likely be missed.