Winter Storm.. Donner Party.. Frozen .. Pineapple Express... Connect the Dots..

They call it the Pineapple Express for a reason.... it goes all the way to Hawaii

It's creating waves on Lake Tahoe, power is out in many places as trees are down down down..

....and it seems that surf is UP UP UP

What a storm on the West Coast. It looks like a cross between a hurricane and a blizzard... the waves on Lake Tahoe make it look like Lake Michigan.

You can watch some good video online that make this illusion of a Western Hurricane come to life.

http://www.ktvn.com/story/27598201/heavy-snow-7-foot-waves-forecast-at-lake-tahoe

Good sites abound online that show the reality of the weather drama unfolding.

http://tahoetopia.com/webcam/tahoe-donner-xc

You have to picture a storm like this back in the 1800s as pioneers were making their way west trying to reach San Francisco before the height of winter.

Remember this infamous trip west?

http://www.history.com/topics/donner-party

The reason they took the short cut was because speed was of the essence. You didn't want to make that trip across the mountains if winter weather was an issue. You see... it's all about the weather!

Note how in December the weather begins to take a turn for the worse... 

http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/the-donner-party--3

Today's forecast for that area is as follows. Very, wicked, winter weather...

If you watch those videos linked above you will learn that they expect winds up to 120 mph on the ridges of the mountain tops. 

Hurricane force winds.

As I was reminded last summer in Seattle where they have a mountain ridge named "Hurricane Ridge" the word hurricane is a speed of wind...not just a specific storm. 

Hurricane Winds up in the mountain passages from today's West coast winter storm.

Hurricanes everywhere this year but the Caribbean. Go figure ...

In fact today it's in the 60s as I write this in Miami.. 

Besos Bobbi ... stay warm!

Bobbi Storm

Ps...That storm there is moving East towards the rest of the country... look at that Southern Jet pulling that front down into the Gulf of Mexico. A few weeks back it was Buffalo... now it's Alcatraz and the Donner Pass...

Years back it wasn't as easy as it is today. 

Today.. people go out in the snow, take video and make parodies ;)