Nooksack, Skagit, Elwha rivers record floods forecast

[rkcarguy]

There are ALOT of people posting on social media that they are tired of all the rain and flooding and are going to sell in the spring. Watch and see, even the flooded areas will be quickly forgotten and those homes gobbled up for top dollar by out of towners that don't know any better/don't read the fine print.
The same thing happened in Custer after the oil train derailment and fire, which was environmentalist sabotage. The little town sits near the BNSF "Wye" that runs the trains out to the refinery and it's at high risk for derailments and fire/explosions. Yet in a couple months it was all forgotten and those who feared a repeat listed their homes and the "deals" were quickly snapped up. Custer was very lucky that the train that derailed was going "in" with crude, instead of coming out with propane. The little core of town would have been leveled by a propane tank car explosion.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by freepelican

rkcarguy and Mayfair, thank you for the tips... very good to know about the north area not on rock.... is there any particular place in the area where the growlers would be worse? I was exploring the official city FAQ and one of the questions was "How do I file a NAS Whidbey Flight Noise Complaint?" so it must be an issue to some extent. I would think it would matter if a city (gov/admins/citizens) cares about this issue to put some pressure to not have them growling over. I seriously believe something must be done about this at the federal level. Seems completely wrong to me.

I think the federal gov't will just thumb their nose at you. Puget sound is a strategic area in the NW corner of our country and it's important that the area be militarily prepared. That is their reasoning and noise complaints aren't going to change anything. Further east outside of Anacortes it may be less.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

There are ALOT of people posting on social media that they are tired of all the rain and flooding and are going to sell in the spring. Watch and see, even the flooded areas will be quickly forgotten and those homes gobbled up for top dollar by out of towners that don't know any better/don't read the fine print.
The same thing happened in Custer after the oil train derailment and fire, which was environmentalist sabotage. The little town sits near the BNSF "Wye" that runs the trains out to the refinery and it's at high risk for derailments and fire/explosions. Yet in a couple months it was all forgotten and those who feared a repeat listed their homes and the "deals" were quickly snapped up. Custer was very lucky that the train that derailed was going "in" with crude, instead of coming out with propane. The little core of town would have been leveled by a propane tank car explosion.

I checked out Cliff Mass's blog and in addition to lots of rain we apparently just had as bad of a heatwave as the one in June. I knew it has been warm but in this season a little - or a lot- of extra warmth is enjoyed. I googled more information and came upon another local meteorologist's opinion... that these events, including the "blocking", which is the self-feeding heat dome that gave us the June burn, will only increase.

I'm creating a plan to go back to the upper midwest in 3-4 years. I've been spending a few hours identifying towns and villages that we might want to check out in-person next summer. Maybe check out some more the following summers until we can leave (younger son's graduation).

In order to stay long term here in the PNW we could get a heat pump or try to buy on stable land outside of a flood plain, but we can't escape wildfire smoke when it comes. Last summer ended up not being bad for smoke, but it could have been... it certainly was dry enough...

My sister in Minneapolis had smoke, it was either this year or end of last year. It was the first time they had it like we've had it for the last several years. There is no guarantee I can escape smoke there either. But climate change doesn't appear to be as dramatic (i.e. PNW wildfire, smoke, heat domes, landslides, windstorms, flooding) in the middle of the country. Of course you have to learn to appreciate the seasonal extremes of lots of heat and lots of cold, but communities were built to handle this from the very beginning.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

There are ALOT of people posting on social media that they are tired of all the rain and flooding and are going to sell in the spring. Watch and see, even the flooded areas will be quickly forgotten and those homes gobbled up for top dollar by out of towners that don't know any better/don't read the fine print.

This is a big problem with buying in summer- it can look dry and beautiful and green. Big pitfall in the PNW - you never know about flooding, bad drainage or water pooling unless you see the property in the winter months. Summer drought takes away the evidence. Even if its not in flood plain, the yard could be so wet you can't use it in winter.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by mayfair

This is a big problem with buying in summer- it can look dry and beautiful and green. Big pitfall in the PNW - you never know about flooding, bad drainage or water pooling unless you see the property in the winter months. Summer drought takes away the evidence. Even if its not in flood plain, the yard could be so wet you can't use it in winter.

I know someone that bought property to raise ducks. Specifically asked about flooding before purchase. Was told it doesn't flood. So what happened come winter: it flooded about 3" to 1' on 70% of the lot.

Good thing ducks like water.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by flyingsaucermom

I know someone that bought property to raise ducks. Specifically asked about flooding before purchase. Was told it doesn't flood. So what happened come winter: it flooded about 3" to 1' on 70% of the lot.

Good thing ducks like water.

They lucked out that it was for ducks.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by mayfair

This is a big problem with buying in summer- it can look dry and beautiful and green. Big pitfall in the PNW - you never know about flooding, bad drainage or water pooling unless you see the property in the winter months. Summer drought takes away the evidence. Even if its not in flood plain, the yard could be so wet you can't use it in winter.

Many landscapers or DIY landscapers manage to mess this up. The neighbors were landscaping their yard, out there grading it and checking with strings and levels all over to get the lawn areas perfectly flat. Well, that fall it was a swamp, their dog was out running in it flinging big chunks of muddy grass into the air from all 4 paws.
Everything needs to be sloped, graded, and drained to help clear tons of rain.

[xPlorer48]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

There are ALOT of people posting on social media that they are tired of all the rain and flooding and are going to sell in the spring. Watch and see, even the flooded areas will be quickly forgotten and those homes gobbled up for top dollar by out of towners that don't know any better/don't read the fine print.
The same thing happened in Custer after the oil train derailment and fire, which was environmentalist sabotage. The little town sits near the BNSF "Wye" that runs the trains out to the refinery and it's at high risk for derailments and fire/explosions. Yet in a couple months it was all forgotten and those who feared a repeat listed their homes and the "deals" were quickly snapped up. Custer was very lucky that the train that derailed was going "in" with crude, instead of coming out with propane. The little core of town would have been leveled by a propane tank car explosion.

I was once told by a chemical engineer that if the hydrocracker at one of the refineries (ARCO, at the time) exploded, it could wipe out Ferndale. The hydrocracker is a tower where fuels are separated by heat and pressure. KABOOM! Lots of safety precautions in place and I was told that 40 years ago.