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The past few weeks featured a lot of flakes (of the snowy kind), followed by some frosting on top.
Over the past several days, the National Weather Service has issued a "stagnant air warning" for
most of Eastern Washington and North Idaho. We get a lot of weather around these parts, so you normally associate
our experience with fast-moving systems that, in winter, dump a pile of snow on the front porch. Well, sometimes we get the
other extreme as well: stationary systems that sit tight and produce inversion layers between the mountain ranges.
You might wonder what that means around here, particularly in winter. Well, given that many residents use some form of
wood combustion to produce heat, you get a buildup of chimney smoke that can reduce the air quality to dangerous levels at times.
If you have one of the old non-EPA-approved wood stoves, you might even have to shut it down if our air quality drops into the red zone.
To my knowledge, we haven't had a red air quality day in the past decade, but it can get pretty close during field burning season.
Another side effect of stagnant air is fog. This time of year, that means freezing fog. To everyone who has to commute to work,
there's almost nothing good to say about freezing fog. Overnight it ices the roads, making for perilous travel the next morning.
However, it has its charms in the quiet moments of the forest. As I stood outside last night during the final dog outing, I watched
tiny, glittery ice crystals float sideways through the air. When they encounter an obstacle, like a branch or a pine needle, they
stick to the branch or to another crystal. By morning, the trees are flocked with a delicate and magical frost.
This week, we have pictures that show how interesting freezing fog and some of its affects can be.
We also have another special installment of images from Betsy Fulling. She and Jim have been busy on their snowshoes again
this winter, and are generous enough to share a few photos with us.
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Trudge, trudge, trudge: Jim blazes the trail through heavy snowfall. Betsy tells us that their tracks were
filling rapidly behind them. Their journey on Schweitzer (before it opened) was over three hours up and over an hour down.
The winds were so bad that, at one point, Betsy was thrown about ten feet to the side. Man, talk about intrepid! |
Photo courtesy Betsy Fulling
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Photo courtesy Betsy Fulling
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On a more hospitable day (only 20 degrees, but less wind and snow), Betsy and Jim had beautiful views of Lake Pend Oreille
with snow-encased trees and a pastel cloud cover. |
If you are looking for exercise, there's no better way to work up a sweat than to hike up an incline like this
one in snow shoes through deep powder. Powder is the joy of skiers and boarders but the bane of snowshoers. Snow doesn't seem
all that fluffy when every step means you have to lift your snowshoe up and out of it. On the other hand, it is far easier to appreciate the
beauty that surrounds you when you pass through it on foot. |
Photo courtesy Betsy Fulling
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Photo courtesy James Byrd
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Each needle of this lodgepole pine is frosted with long, tiny, and delicate "hairs" of frost.
It takes hours of just the right conditions to build a fantastic coating such as this. |
