1/31 Daffodils, weekend weather, snowpack, BC LNG, L41, ghost nets

Rijnveld daffodil

Early spring’s sprung on English Bay with 30,000 blooming daffodils
At English Bay, more than 30,000 daffodils are trumpeting the arrival of spring. They’ve started blooming bright yellow on two south-facing hillsides. One is close to the Inukshuk and the other, farther east near Sunset Beach. The star-shaped flowers are known as Rijnveld Early Sensation. They’re called trumpet daffodils because of their big, six-sided, star-shaped petals and dramatic funnel cup. Howard Normann, director of parks at the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, loves them. “These ones are just so special because they’re out in January. I love them,” he said. Kevin Griffin reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Intense rain expected for Lower Mainland, much of Vancouver Island
A number of weather warnings are in effect across the B.C. South Coast, with heavy downpours in the forecast from the western coast of Vancouver Island through the eastern Fraser Valley. Up to 120 millimetres of rain are expected for much of the Island and the Valley, as well as Metro Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast. Howe Sound could see up to 130 millimetres before the weather system moves away on Saturday, according to Environment Canada.(CBC) Seattle broke a rain record this month, and we’re in for a blustery, wintry weekend Get ready for another little taste of winter this weekend, as winds whip through with gusts of up 60 miles per hour in some areas, temperatures tumble into the 30s and two rainy systems pass through the Puget Sound region.Christine Clarridge reports. (Seattle Times)

Olympic snowpack above normal at end of January
Heavy precipitation in January has bolstered a once-diminutive Olympic Mountain snowpack. Snowpack was 120 percent of normal in the Olympics as of Thursday, up from 48 percent on New Year’s Day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Rob Ollikainen reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Coastal GasLink opponents build new camp near pipeline route
Supporters of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs blocking a pipeline route near Houston, B.C., have built a third camp on disputed land covered by a court order. The camp's location — about 500 metres before an RCMP checkpoint — means visitors, including activists, can enter the area without being questioned or turned away by police. It's the third such site built by a group of people who call themselves "land defenders." All three camps were set up by the Gidimt'en clan. There are also several other camps around the contested land that have been set up by different clans. Betsy Trumpener reports. (CBC)

“He had a good life” – the story of a magnificent orca
Ken Balcomb, Founder and Senior Scientist, Center for Whale Research, writes: “My first acquaintance with the Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW) we designated L41 was in 1977, the year after we began the annual Orca Survey of this population that continues to this day. His mother was L11, who was one of nine females to produce new babies that year following the cessation of captures in 1976. We watched the energetic young male baby as he grew up, and we had great hopes that he and his companions would fill in the youthful cohorts of the population that had been decimated by captures between the mid-1960s and mid-1970s...." (SeattlePI)

Helicopter Fishing For Ghost Nets In Hawaii
Nonprofits have banded together to explore a new way of removing abandoned fishing gear before it damages reefs or ensnares whales, dolphins, seals and turtles. Nathan Eagle reports. (Honolulu Civil Beat)


Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  241 AM PST Fri Jan 31 2020   
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM PST THIS MORNING THROUGH  SATURDAY MORNIN    TODAY  SE wind 15 to 25 kt becoming S 25 to 35 kt in the  afternoon. Combined seas 11 to 13 ft with a dominant period of  13 seconds. Rain. 
TONIGHT  SW wind 30 to 40 kt. Combined seas 15 to 18 ft with a  dominant period of 12 seconds. Rain. 
SAT  W wind 25 to 35 kt easing to 20 to 30 kt in the afternoon.  Combined seas 15 to 16 ft with a dominant period of 13 seconds.  Rain in the morning then a chance of rain in the afternoon. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 25 to 35 kt becoming SW 15 to 25 kt after  midnight. Combined seas 13 to 16 ft with a dominant period of  13 seconds. 
SUN  SW wind 15 to 25 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind  waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 11 ft at 12 seconds.




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