November in Seattle

These photos were taken in Sodo in November 2014.  Sodo stands for south of downtown & is also spelled SoDo & SODO.  It is the part of the Duwamish Industrial Area south from the Stadium District to Georgetown, between Beacon Hill & the Duwamish River.  It is a place filled with trucks, trains & old warehouses.  There are also stores, restaurants serving lunch to the people who work here & very few residences.

November 2014 in Seattle was slightly warmer & significantly drier than normal.  The mean temperature was 46.  The normal mean temperature is 45.4.  Total precipitation was 4.84 inches.  Normal precipitation is 6.57 inches.  The highest temperature was 62 on 11/6.  The lowest was 23 on 11/30.  There was 1 day with heavy rain, 5 days with rain, 15 days with light rain, 1 day with light snow, 16 days with fog (2 of them with visibility at less than 1/4 mile) 15 cloudy days,  7 partly cloudy days & 8 fair days.  November 2014 had an unusually high number of fair days.  There was a cold spell  of 7 days with lows between 28 & 32 from 11/12 to 11/18.  These days were 6 to 9 degrees below normal for each of those days.  Then 0.8 inches of snow fell on 11/29.

This is the last post on the weather in Seattle.  Future posts on various topics will be scheduled on the 1st Friday of every month.       

November in Seattle

Araucaria araucana (Monkey Puzzle Tree) on Leticia Ridge in November 2013.

Houses built in the 2000s on Leticia Ridge (with Cascadia Ridge beyond) in November 2013. 

House built in the 1920s on Leticia Ridge in November 2013.

Apartments built in the 2000s in Rainier Vista East in November 2013

Houses recently completed in Rainier Vista East in November 2013

November 2013 in Seattle was significantly warmer & much drier than normal.  The mean temperature was 47.9F/8.83C.  The normal mean temperature is 45.4F/7.44C.  Total precipitation was 3.79 inches/96.27mm.  Normal precipitation is 6.57 inches/166.88mm.  The highest temperature was 64F/17.78C on 11/1.  The lowest 31F/-0.56C on 11/21.  There was 1 day with heavy rain, 5 days with rain, 18 days with light rain, 16 days with fog (4 of them with visibility at less than 1/4 mile) 1 day with haze, 19 cloudy days, 7 partly cloudy days & 4 fair days.   It was about as beautiful as November in Seattle can possibly be. 

The photos above were taken within a few blocks of my new home in Rainier Vista, in the Rainier Valley.  I moved into the house on November 2, 2013.  By Thanksgiving Day (11/27) I had made a new garden, mostly of west coast native plants.  I brought plants from the Cascadia Garden, collected more at a private campground in the Cascade Mountains & bought even more from Go Natives! Nursery in Shoreline.  Trees came from NurseryTrees.com in Snohomish.  Below are photos of the new garden.

Ell Alley Garden in November 2013.

November in Seattle 2012

Birch at the Washington Park Arboretum in November 2012

Maple & Coca-Cola in Mt Baker in November 2012

Platanus acerifolia at Seattle Central Community College in November 2012

Scarecrow in Mt Baker in November 2012

Seattle University in November 2012

November 2012 was warmer & wetter than normal.  The mean temperature was 46.9F/8.3C.  The normal mean temperature is 45.4F/7.4C.  The highest temperature was 64F/17.8C, the lowest 31F/-0.6C, a light frost on November 10.  Total precipitation was 8.28 inches.  Normal precipitation is 6.57 inches.  There were 2 days with heavy rain, 9 days with rain, 23 days with light rain, 23 days with fog, 3 days with haze, 21 cloudy days, 8 partly cloudy days & 1 fair day.

Starting with November 2012, I dispensed with pictures from my own garden.  I thought long & hard about how to replace them.  I came up with the idea of urban landscape photos, which could come from any part of Seattle.  I have spent almost my entire life living in large cities, which have also included Los Angeles & San Francisco.  I'm keenly aware that the urban landscape includes streets, sidewalks, vehicles, advertising, graffiti, structures & other manufactured objects, as well as gardens & parks.  Fortunately, the landscape of Seattle includes an enormous number plants & quite a few natural areas.  My pictures now include the entire urban landscape.

November Garden Pictures

Cascadia Garden November 2011

Hakonechloa macra 'Albo Striata' November 2011

Magnolia ashei November 2011

Felis cattus 'Mimi' November 2011

Rosa nutkana November 2011

November 2011 had the most beautiful fall color of any November I can remember.  The month started out mostly dry & windless.  Leaves remained on the trees & shrubs later than normal, developing rich shades of red, yellow & orange.  November 2011 was cooler & drier than normal.  The average monthly maximum temperature was 49.3F/9.6C.   The normal average monthly temperature is 50.9F/10.5C.  The highest temperature was 62F/16.6C, the lowest 27F/-2.7C.  We had 5.16 inches of rain, 1.41 less than normal.  It rained lightly on 18 days, moderately on 8 days & heavily on 3.  There were 15 cloudy days, 14 partly cloudy days & 1 sunny day.

November Garden Pictures & Bloom Times

Enkianthus campanulatus

Hebe salicifolia

Hydrangea paniculata 'Zwijnenburg'

Magnolia ashei

Weigela florida 'Variegata'

Very little began to bloom in my garden in November.  If you have plants that bloom in November in Seattle, please let me know.  November was cold & rainy, as usual.  There was an unusual snow storm at the end of the month, also the 1st frost at 21F/-6C.  It snowed not at all last winter.  It very seldom snows as early as November in Seattle.  Before the frost, Hebe salicifolia was blooming.  This sprawling shrub throws out a smattering of blooms throughout the year, even in cold weather.  It entered its heaviest period of bloom on 6-16-10, when the shrub soon became enveloped with white flowers.  The new foliage of Narcissus bulbocodium, Narcissus jonquilla & Scilla peruviana emerged & grew to half its eventual height.  But November is mainly the month of colorful senescent leaves. 

November Bloom Times

11-04-10  Erica x darleyensis 'Gold Rush'
11-20-10  Arctostaphylos ‘Pacific Mist’  (also 3-29-10)

Wave Hill

 

Wave Hill November 2007

Wave Hill November 2007 Hudson River

Wave Hill November 2007 Trough Gardens

Wave Hill November 2007 Conservatory

 Wave Hill November 2007 Aquatic Garden

Wave Hill November 2007  Perennial Garden

Hudson River from Riverdale Station November 2007

I visited Wave Hill in the Bronx in New York City on November 11, 2007.  From my journal:  On Sunday it was cold & the sun shone brightly.  I spent over an hour at the Harlem Station while changing from the Harlem Line to the Hudson line.  I went a short way up the Hudson River to Riverdale.  The river was beautiful.  In Riverdale I visited Wave Hill.  It was lovely, but modest in scale.  The design was very good.  There were glimpses of the Hudson River between the colorful trees.  According to the New York Times, fall color was peaking, although it was not a particularly colorful fall.  At Wave Hill there was a water garden, a courtyard full of trough gardens, a conservatory & an alpine house, & several terraced gardens on the slope overlooking the river. 

New York Botanical Garden

New York Botanical Garden November 2007

New York Botanical Garden November 2007 Conservatory

New York Botanical Garden November 2007

New York Botanical Garden November 2007 Gift Shop & Cafeteria

New York Botanical Garden November 2007 Restrooms

I visited the New York Botanical Garden on November 8, 2007 with my friend & host.  It was cold & raining lightly.  We got off the Metro-North Harlem local line at Botanical Garden Station & walked a short distance to the Mosholu Gate entrance.  I was very impressed with the structures there. The buildings housing the cafeteria, gift shop & restrooms where beautifully clad in field stone.  It's seldom I take a picture of the restrooms.  The garden here was lovely in fall.  The massive conservatory was nearby.  It was an architectural marvel, but the planting design was poor.  (I'm spoiled by the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle, where the planting design is impeccable.)  Just outside the Haupt Conservatory, there was a sheltered display of kiku, or Japanese Chrysanthemums.  There were also some fantastical woven bamboo art structures.