Wind and Rain

I thought I'd get some blogging in before my power inevitably shuts down. I guess there's a big storm brewing for today! Since living out here in Knappa, we haven't really experienced a BIG storm...or maybe we have? The weather here is very different from what I'm used to. Even though we only live maybe 20 miles away from the coast, it makes a big difference. At my parents' home in Warrenton you can actually hear the ocean! Storms in Warrenton/Astoria are epic and often. As a kid, I used to love storm season. I couldn't wait for the power to go out! For some reason, it didn't take much for the power to go out...but it hardly ever stayed out for longer than a few hours. This was always such a great disappointment...especially on school days.

I think there were only 2 or 3 times (all while I was in high school) when we either didn't have school, or were sent home because either the power went out for too long, or there was a big storm coming (big storm of '96). I also have a few memories of stormy elementary school days. One time, the wind was blowing SO hard, that as I was walking home from school, the wind literally lifted me off the ground! It happened right in front of my house...right were the HUGE mud puddle always sat during the rainy season. And, of course, that's where I landed. And to top that off, the bus drove through the puddle and drenched me even more. This is NO joke...this REALLY happened! It was a scene straight out of the movies! I remember my mom being upset with me as I walked through the door. I don't think she believed my Mary Poppins story.

Several years later (my sophomore year in hs), my parents were in the process of building their new house and we were all living in a tent (my parents in a trailer). We lived like the Beverly Hillbillies from August through November. Anyway, one time my best friend Ann invited me over to spend the night. I was sooo thankful that she did because sleeping in the tent would have been quite scary. She lived in Gearhart, less than a mile away from the beach, and we had the most exciting thunder and lighting storm I have ever seen! The whole sky lit up like it was day! I can't remember if that was the same storm that we chased her camp tent all the way through the neighborhood. It was hilarious! We chased that tent from house to house in horizontal rain.

Not long after that, we were still living outside, but we had moved our living quarters under the finished deck. This, in my opinion, was not a smart move, as our tent became more vulnerable. By this time, storm season was in full swing. Us kids lived in a very large 3-room tent. My brother and sister slept in one "room," I slept in another "room," and our 3 dressers lived in the large room in the front. The sleeping rooms were in the back, and were unprotected (no barrier from the wind). So, when the wind blew, we didn't sleep. One night in particular, I remember fighting to keep my bed from lifting off the ground! The wind would gust, and my head would bang on the ground. My mom called it "character building"....I called it...well...not that.

After high school, I went to college. I distinctly remember people complaining about the rain. And unless you are from the coast...particularly the North Oregon Coast you have little reason to complain. I did a quick Google search and found a website that listed the 10 wettest and rainiest cities in the United States...and Astoria, OR ranks 3rd!!!! 3rd in annual rainfall inches, and 3rd in annual rainy days!! Check it out... "ten rainiest cities" and "10 wettest cities" http://web2.airmail.net/danb1/usrecords.htm

It may rain a lot here, but I still love it....especially the mild summers. But, after living in the Portland area for most of 10 years, it has been an adjustment. You know, the DAY we moved back with my parents last year there was a storm and we lost power. What a welcome home!