Weak sunshine bathes the beach, nicely highlighting the frozen sea spray on the rocks. White crested waves march by in ragged rows. A bald eagle fights to fly north into the wind, stalling out against the gale until it finally side slips and heads for land. Gulls over the water zip by backward, flapping as hard as they can to go forward. The trees in the windbreak thrash and wave.
Tonight the winds will rise to 55 knots 63+mph) then to 60 knots (69 mph) where the forecast says they’ll stay until it drops on Monday. It’s going to be a cold weekend. Best to stay inside . . . .
The high temperatures, around 0°, predicted for Haines probably won’t reach us here in “the banana belt.” Without the direct influence of the Chilkat Valley, which funnels arctic air down from the Yukon, we stay a little bit warmer. We may not drop below 10°, but then again, maybe we will. It’s certainly cold enough that the crank radio in the outhouse is threatening to give up the ghost, making a visit out there seem even colder.
We’re all still battling flu symptoms. That, and the estimated wind chill of -15° or lower we’d face crossing the bay will keep us from hiking out to get Aly to her Museum work today. Luckily, there are no other errands in town that must be run today. We can wait till Monday, I think.
We’d be snowed in, except there’s no snow! The ground is bare and frozen solid in most places. More and more, I think we’re likely to have a fairly bug- and vole-free summer coming up, since there’s no insulating snow layer to help the little creatures stay warm and hidden from predators.
I can’t recall the last time the marine forecast was so bleak. Often, they back off the predicted winds as the appointed day approaches, but the current call for high winds 3 days in a row makes it seem likely we’ll hit those speeds on at least one of the days.