Gearing up for a doozy of a storm this afternoon. If we get the rain we are expecting we will have had over 300mm this month, setting a new record. January has had 29 rainy days this month and if you add the last two weeks of December, you get, well, a pretty serious northeastern Pacific winter.

Not since 1982, the worst El Nino year on record, have we had such wetness.

So this afternoon, the gale warnings are up for Howe Sound and we are expecting 30 or so mm of rain with southeasterly winds gusting to 70 kmh. Right now, the Channel in front of us is spackled with wind and the big Douglas-firs are waving in the breeze. There will be a lot of branches on the ground tonight though.