Storm of the century?

Tonight, within the hour, winds of 65 mph (100 kph) PLUS will be buffeting the city.  80 mph gusts have been recorded on the coast, and Mt. Hebo, the highest peak in the coast range, has already seen a 103 mile an hour gust.

Eleven years ago, a similar storm struck Portland.  I was living in Japan, and it made the news there, it was so bad.  I am not excited at all to be driving a stepvan, a big billboard sized box, with the Friday papers tonight.  (I might well blow the papers off)  The transportation dept. told me to take home my Nextel radio in case schools are closed tomorrow morning, and to keep my cell phone on, just in case.

It has been a sucky day, weather-wise.  My Bluebird 83 passenger bus was…fun to drive today.  Because the buses are large wind targets, schools would be out because of that.  We expect power losses tonight.  My apartment faces south, and omg, the wind is whipping through the cracks in my sliding glass window.  My cat doesn’t know how lucky he is to be inside.

The hikers stranded on the mountain, Mt. Hood, are on their own.  Rescue crews have been pulled down due to the extreme hazards they face.  The "experienced" climbers look like fucking idiots – minimal supplies, no tracking device, only one cell phone between the three of them – and trying to climb Mt. Hood in DECEMBER.  None of them are locals – two are from Texas and one from New York.  They have been "lost" since Sunday.  I think they are popsickles by now.  Extreme blizzard conditions on Mt. Hood have and will reduce visiblity to zero.  The passes are closed to all but emergency traffic.

The power here in my apartment has blinked several times already – I am hurrying to type this while I can.

It’s here – time to go.