Environmental Events in Seattle

May 15, 2004 6:50 PM

I've been reading a little about the cicada thing going on and I was feeling a little left out, since they're not gonna really visit us in Seattle too much. It seems like the cicadas and the El Ninos and the tornados and floods never focus on us. Thankful as I am, does anyone know of any environmental event that I can look forward to here (you know, besides that 10.5 earthquake that's been plotting to knock over the Space Needle).
posted by Slimemonster to Science & Nature (18 answers total)

You could always move to Tacoma and wait for the mountain to blow.
posted by mrbula at 7:06 PM on May 15, 2004

Or, better yet, move to Orting. Make sure you buy property in a valley.
posted by mrbula at 7:11 PM on May 15, 2004

I thought that volcano of yours was cause enough for concern. And the earthquakes. And the endless damp.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:18 PM on May 15, 2004

Actually, this year it's the lack of endless damp that's cause for concern. We're at risk for forest fires because of the dry spring.
posted by kindall at 8:56 PM on May 15, 2004

Also, the neverending damp (except when it ends, in which case it's the fires). And the black mold.

You know about the volcano, right? And the earthquakes?

The occasional snowstorm shuts us right down, as does the sunny friday afternoon.

I tell you, it's hell on earth.
posted by mwhybark at 10:16 PM on May 15, 2004

Oh, I left out global-warming induced glacial retreat. And tornadoes, which appear to be potentially associated with the biannual windstorms.
posted by mwhybark at 10:18 PM on May 15, 2004

Also: once a decade, we experience swarms of venture-funded speculators.
posted by mwhybark at 10:19 PM on May 15, 2004

Response by poster: we get tornadoes? Where?
posted by Slimemonster at 11:02 PM on May 15, 2004

There's also landslides, don't forget those. After the mountains burn due to the lack of damp, there will be landslides once the damp comes back.

There are also Tsunamis, you just need to move to the outer coast for those. You could get a job in Forks, kick back and wait.

And never fear, the asteroid could strike *anywhere*.
posted by Salmonberry at 11:09 PM on May 15, 2004

Slimemonster, were you here for the Thanksgiving Day storm (umm...92? or 93?) that caused the old Mercer Island Floating Bridge to crumble and not float no more?

Basically, it's windstorms and rain, the occasional minor earthquake, and a snowstorm every three to four years. Be happy!
posted by vito90 at 8:37 AM on May 16, 2004

And then there's the possible shutdown/slowdown of ocean circulation.

But the impact of that on your region would be very hard to predict. Who knows - it might improve your local weather.
posted by troutfishing at 10:07 AM on May 16, 2004

we get tornadoes? Where?

In that big storm we had a few weeks ago that knocked down all the trees, there was a funnel spotted in the general area. Forget exactly where, however.
posted by kindall at 11:22 AM on May 16, 2004

Um, y'all are boned if Rainer blows.

Let's not forget the hordes of ramping A&R men who swarmed through Seattle in 1991, leaving nothing in their wake. 90s Nostalgia is coming soon! They'll be back!
posted by keswick at 11:43 AM on May 16, 2004

Don't forget Twin Peaks, too! Lots of weird shit happening out that way! And isn't there a nuclear waste site that had some problems a couple years ago?
posted by five fresh fish at 11:45 AM on May 16, 2004

Salmonberry:

They have jobs in Forks?

Let's not neglect bigfoot and UFOs, while we're at it.

fff: The nuke place you're referring to is the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, on the 'dry side,' to the east of the mountains, so it sorta doesn't count (they are a different culture group over there, we don't speak the same language). But, thankfully, the radiation/groundwater plumes are headed for the Columbia, which would then move the waste right thru downtown Portland.

It's hell, hell I say. Stay in California, you'll be much safer and better-educated.
posted by mwhybark at 1:42 PM on May 16, 2004

Bigfoot? Oh, you mean This Guy. Yes, yes, run into him in the woods and you're in big trouble. Though I guess that's not really a natural disaster.

But it's something bad.

Along bug lines, we may not get cicadas, but go camping up in the mountains and see how you feel about horseflies. It'll make you glad we don't get those in the trillions. Oh! West Nile. Mosquitos. There you go. We're all dead, DEAD!
posted by Salmonberry at 6:34 PM on May 16, 2004

Avian flu will be passing through soon, too. And SARS could always raise its ugly head.
posted by five fresh fish at 6:57 PM on May 16, 2004

More than the fair share of serial killers too : )
posted by Feisty at 9:29 PM on May 17, 2004