Going through a year of seasons
By BILL DUNCAN
The View From Here
Sixty years ago, I was a Marine awaiting discharge at a Naval base in Key West, Florida when I witnessed a weather phenomenon that I never thought I would experience again in my lifetime. Among the duties of the Marines at Key West was to stand gate watch at the several Navy stations in Key West, including Boca Chica Naval Air Station straddling the highway that is the southern terminus of U.S. Route l.
In 1948, I was the sentry on watch at the main gate to the Boca Chica Naval Air Station, one of two sentry posts directly across from each other and separated by U.S. Route 1. It was there that I witness what I expected never to see again in my lifetime — a rain squall that divided the highway with the airfield side being pounded by rain and the sentry on watch there dressed in rain slicker while I stood across the highway sweltering in starched khakis.
Florida is noted for its strange weather patterns and I later read that sun spots had caused that weird event. Sun spots have been declared and debated by climatologists since the 19th century as causing strange weather patterns in the world.
The debate of sun spots is yet to be settled. What ever the cause is, I never believed I would see another weather phenomenon like that Florida rainstorm, but I was wrong. Saturday, on April 19, some 60 years later, I left Roseburg, Ore. in sunshine to drive north 68 miles on Interstate 5 to attend a family birthday celebration in Eugene, Ore. Admittedly, the weather was iffy, but it was still clear and 45 degrees.
By the time I reached Sutherlin, 11 miles north of Roseburg, I was suddenly in the midst of a hail storm. By the time I had cleared the slight rise on Interstate 5 just before the off ramp to Oakland, Ore. the hail storm had become an ice storm so severe I almost turned around to go back to sunny Roseburg. As suddenly as the hail and ice storm had appeared, I drove into a sunny section before reaching Rice Valley. The sun was out and bright enough to make me put on dark glasses against the glare.
That was short lived. Before I reached Curtain, I was in a downpour again all the way to Cottage Grove. There things turned iffy again with intermitting rain, hail and a mix of snow showers.
But few miles down the road at Creswell, the sun was out and steam was coming off the asphalt. It was clear for a short while and then I drove back into rain, hail and snow showers all the way to Eugene.
Inside the city limits of Eugene, it cleared up and the sun was a welcom sight, but not for long. A hail storm came and pounded the roof of the car until I arrived at my destination. I awoke Sunday morning, the day of the birthday celebration, to find the ground covered with snow.
I went through several seasons and temperature variations of as much as 15 degrees in one day, and that erased from my memory that odd day in Key West, Fla. when it rained down the middle of a major highway. I am still amazed at what I witnessed on my short weekend trip to Eugene, so much so that I wrote Al Gore and asked him to explain one more time his inconvenient truth about Global Warming, but my letter was returned "undeliverable" because of climate change causing rain, sleet and snow to prevent the postman’s rounds to reach Gore.
I checked on the weather on April 19, 2008 in Key West, Fla. It was sunny at 79 degrees and muggy. Oh, yes, I remember muggy in Key West. I think I prefer rain, hail and snow in Oregon if you don’t mind. even though I may have to wait until after Mother’s Day to plant my tomatoes.
(Bill Duncan can be reached by writing to P.O. Box 812, Roseburg, OR 97470)