This is a pretty good example of typical Olympic Coast weather. Lots of clouds blowing in off the Pacific.
It can be disappointing to those looking for a sunny day at the beach. You can get those, of course … but this is more typical. Sun breaks can happen and then leave again. And the result of this weather is the temperate rain forests of the Bogachiel, Hoh, Queets, and Quinault rivers.
There aren’t any gardens here now, but historically this was the site where the local Chinese population had their gardens back in the late 19th century. The clouds are what caught my eye.
I saw these lenticular clouds over Mt Rainier from Olympia. The mountain wasn’t visible, but I was familiar with where it was and knew that these clouds typically form just as a frontal system is coming in … being rainy weather. And the next day it was raining. The lower clouds have a rounded form that is quite interesting in itself. And lenticular clouds are fairly common over Mt Rainier, but usually only a single lens. This was unusual.
Virga is rain that evaporates before hitting the ground. It’s also called ‘dry storm’. This one I saw in Olympia, Washington and was backlit by the sunset.
I like stormy weather (as long as there’s no damage and as long as I’m inside … or at least dry). These two images are of frontal systems coming in and both brought high winds … and both blew over and there wasn’t any damage. And both provided a good photo op.
