You should see Puget Sound right now.
We get a very interesting phenomenon here in the aftermath of a particular kind of winter storm, locally called a “pineapple express,” in which warm temperatures combine with heavy rain to cause massive river-flooding. The phenomenon is that Puget Sound is two colors instead of one. For a distance of maybe a quarter of a mile from shore, the water is pale green, and beyond that it is the usual grey.
I remember staring at this oddity in befuddlement the first time I ever spotted it, and then suddenly realizing what it is. Silt, of course.
It’s incredibly impressive. That is one hell of a lot of mud, that can turn all that water a different color. Do admit.
It’s been changing all morning, as the clouds thicken or thin. One minute it’s a subtle effect, and the next it stands out as if lit by a spotlight. From where I’m sitting I can see a grain ship at anchor (the grain terminal is just at the bottom of the hill) in the middle of all the pale green – the line between the green and the grey is well to the west of the ship.
Comments
15 responses to “After the storm”
Two colours, eh? Sounds impressive. Where can we see a picture (I didn’t find anything doing the obvious searches)? I must say, however, that I’m very relieved it stopped at two colours; if it had been three, you couldn’t have seen it without becoming a Christian.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Skeptic South Africa, Ophelia Benson. Ophelia Benson said: After the storm http://dlvr.it/BNlwN […]
I’ve never been to Puget Sound, so I haven’t seen that particular spectacle. I do know that ‘what the…’ feeling though.
I remember a rafting trip several years ago through an area that suffered a forest fire several months earlier. It had rained the day before our trip and all of the ash washed into the river made it look like chocolate milk. The rapids looked like Willy Wonka’s nightmare.
When we first saw the river from the road everyone went silent until finally someone remembered the fires and figured it out. It is amazing how much can be scoured away and transported out to sea, and the weird visual effects it has along the way.
Stewart, the closest thing I found (via Google images and puget sound silt) is this
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1200/1480941230_c50c899e1f.jpg?v=0
which is a very small localized version. Just picture that happening over a whole large region and spreading much farther from shore, and you have it. The water was choppy like that, too, today.
I am semi-envious! Completely envious of the view! But not so envious of the weather event that you have to go through to get it! So it can’t count as all the way envious. I suppose next you will report that the Olympics have snow. . . hmph!
Hail fell in Wallingford last night. I just moved from the east coast and not used to T-storms this late in the year.
Thanks, gives me at least an idea. Here it keeps on snowing.
green and grey, a fantastic track by New model Army also!! merry xmas one and all
I saw a waterfall on my way to work. There generally isn’t a waterfall on my way to work. At least this time North Creek didn’t come over for a visit, so that’s a point in favor of the new levees.
I’ll know now I should go have a look at the Sound the next time the Pineapple Express comes through!
Its a miracle!
:-)
Maybe it’s because I’m a fairly recent fan, or maybe I’m just generally clueless…but I thought Ophelia was a Brit posting from somewhere in the UK.
Ah well…Pacific Northwest, UK…they’re both damp. Better coffee in the PNW, though.
Here in Motown Michigan it’s just f@#king cold w/crusty snow on the ground from an early snowstorm; unusual for this early in Dec. No Pinapple Expresses here. We get “Alberta Clippers”. Damn those Canucks.
Hey Dana there’s still time – the silt hasn’t settled yet. The effect is still plainly visible right now, so if you can get to a Sound-view spot today you might still catch it.
bcoppola, not clueless; I link to a lot of UK stuff, so lots of people think I’m there.
I think it’s not only the UK links that might mislead. I can’t think of a single concrete example offhand and am not about to search for any, but have this general impression that Ophelia sometimes sticks in the odd Britishism just for (slightly comic) effect’s sake. A newcomer could simply be misled into taking one at face value.
That’s true, I do. Not that I can think of any examples either, but I know I do. I read a lot of UK stuff, listen to the Beeb, talk to UK people, write for UK media…it just all seeps into the vocabulary and style. My style is a mashup.
Only two colours? So the gnostics were right with their bipartite deity. Oh dear. Someone’ll have to break the news to poor Francis Collins.