Wind and the Kingdom

I got to wondering last week what all the wind was about, and what it was named. We had sustained wind in the 20-25 mph range with gusts up past 50 mph. You could tell it was just sucking the moisture right out of the evergreen tree's and bushes which had been growing lush and comfortably and looking forward to an early spring. But this wind was a cold, dry, high speed sustained wind coming straight east out of Columbia River gorge - originating I think in Eastern Washington. We have this wind most often in the summer time coming from the inland but it's a hot, dry, high, sustained wind and it usually hits in August when the rest of our weather is hot enough. I think it is what is responsible for boosting our temperatures during August into the high 90's during those years when it gets that hot. What was it's name?

The Chinook Indian Tribe, one of the tribes mentioned in the Lewis and Clark diaries, lives here on the Washington coast and is trying to get recognized in the other Washington as a distinct and long uninterrupted Indian tribe. And having heard of a wind called the "Chinook Wind" I was wondering if this was it.
A short google away told me it was not. In the Pacific Northwest here and particularly on the coast we periodically get a big wet, warm, tropical-ish, fragrant wind arising from and coming in the winter from the south-west direction that the news casters and thus all the rest of us now a days call a "Pineapple Express". It's just like a hose of bath water - not really unwelcome because it does relieve the tedium of cold days and it smells so much like spring. This is or was properly called a "Chinook Wind".

Further reading identified the wind we are now having as coming from the easterly direction of the inland plains to be a "squamish" or if you're in Alaska a "williwaw" wind. So mystery solved and I now know what to call these winds. They are both big winds with big impacts on our coastal climate. All good to know.

Just got in my 1/2 inch 6X6 and 8X8 slotted fiber boards for the encaustic tiles I'm going to try painting in wax so I can place some artwork in the local shops at realistic prices. Oil painting is coming along well and just started another sunset picture in browns and carmels - here's a picture.

There is something about the atmospherics in the winter here especially right before it gets real cold that brings out these fantastic sunsets - you just have to paint them.

We've been watching "Kingdom" on Netflix....it's a 3 season British television series of 18 shows starring Stephen Fry and Herminone Norris and Celia Imrie - a good show.