Day One, Mile Zero

Today the trip begins. Here is what the weather man had to say as of yesterday (Friday) evening:

With all the warnings and advisories issued today, I think we forgot one: The "Kitchen Sink" Advisory.

I think we've pretty much hit everything today: Rain, wind, mountain snow, lowland snow, and even a few thunderstorms off the coast.

The storm will continue to be a factor through the daylight hours, with a secondary wave of winds possible later in the evening.

The National Weather Service has extended the Wind Advisory for Seattle/Puget Sound and Southwestern Washington area until 9 p.m. , and the High Wind Warning has been extended until 9 p.m. for Northern Interior, and until 6 p.m. in Hood Canal Area and 7 p.m. along the coast. We still have potential gusts to 60 mph possible through these time frames.

So far, gusts have been generally 45-55 mph but there have been a few in the 60 mph range, with Kirkland and Bangor reporting 62 mph and Bellingham hitting 61. Out on some poor lighthouses off the coast, it was really nuts: Tattoosh Island hit 86 mph while Destruction Island hit 78 mph and Cape Disappointment hit 74 mph. See full list of peak gusts here.

As of 3:30 p.m., the storm was lollygagging its way into south/central Vancouver Island. The storm's slower pace is what caused the delay for a few hours and thus the need to extend the advisories. The wind will continue to gust in this general 35-45 mph range in the city with a rogue higher gust near the water and then taper off after sunset

This morning we hoped to awake to calmer winds but it is still blowing, not as bad as yesterday but enough to mean we will probably average 50 mph or so for a good part of day one. At least we will be on our way. Expect to leave around 9:00 am.