A Meteor and The Mountain....

The clear skies are giving us some great views....

First, my good night cam picked up a nice meteor this morning.  Last night was prime for the Leonid meteor shower, although this fireball is probably random.  The Leonids are typically smaller.  Click on the image for a better view.

Edit: I just consulted with Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society.  He is certain that this is a Taurid fireball.  The Taurid meteor shower is active right now too.

Now that the sun is up, Mt. Baker is out in all her glory....

A Windy November....

Anybody else notice how windy this November has been here. I just went back and looked at the number of days we have had wind gusts 40 mph and above. So far this year in 14 days we have had 4.... For numbers geeks that is 29% of the days so far.... Here is a summary from my system going back to 2006... 2014 was windy, but we are still on track to beat that number this year...

Strong Winds and California Smoke

The winds REALLY picked up this morning.  As I type we are having consistent gusts over 40 mph.  Highest so far is 43.  At the same time, our air quality is deteriorating.  This strong southerly flow is actually carrying smoke from California into Oregon and Washington.  Right now the air quality in the Cascade foothills is "Unhealthy For Sensitive Groups".  What a paradox....  Last summer we wanted the wind to get rid of the smoke and now the wind is bringing the smoke to us.  This really speaks to how bad it is in California.  Thoughts and prayers to them....

 

A Brief Northern Lights Display....

Last night the clouds parted for a brief moment to reveal the Northern Lights on the horizon....  Click on the image for better viewing.....

Stars Coming Out At Moon Rise and an Atmospheric River Coming Our Way.....

Last night, just as the moon rose, the clouds parted to reveal the stars....  It made for a beautiful sky...

It is interesting to watch in time lapse....

And then for the bad news from that fun squasher Cliff Mass....  It looks like we have a major atmospheric river coming this weekend.  Yuck....

Here is the link to Cliff's blog:

A Strong Atmospheric River Should Hit the Northwest Next Weekend

Fog Isn't Always Ugly....

Whenever we are socked in with fog, I watch it as closely as I can when I am home and have access to my drone.  Above the fog photography at the right time can be beautiful....  It is illegal to fly a drone in the fog, so timing is everything.  It has to be clear overhead and foggy around us.  I got lucky this afternoon and put the drone up the minute it cleared overhead....  This fog was beautiful as it cleared over Hood Canal....

Here is a video of the fog as it was clearing.

A Pink Sky Sunrise....

Another incredible sunrise this morning.  The whole sky was pink.....

Here is a spin showing Admiralty Inlet, Hood Canal, Mt. Baker and Puget Sound...