Wednesday night, 12th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 92nd Street.

The ponds on the east side of Maple Leaf Reservoir Park this morning. Wind shakes the camera.

Update 6 p.m. Power out in several nearby communities - including Richmond Beach, Shoreline. All remaining ferry sailings canceled tonight. Sustained winds to 50 mph now expected Thursday.

It’s wet outside, and windy.

It’s supposed to get wetter today, and a LOT windier Thursday.

(We’ve closed the deck umbrella, which we really should have taken down while it was dry. Might move the outside chairs inside, too.)

Here’s the rundown:

* It’s ridiculously warm. Cliff Mass this morning posted:

At 10 AM, Seattle-Tacoma Airport reported 65F, the WARMEST TEMPERATURE EVER OBSERVED AT SEA-TAC FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER. I repeat this is the warmest temperature every reported for any day in December in the entire climatological record. Amazing.

(It got 1 degree warmer after that,)

* It’s going to remain wet. The forecast this afternoon is for perhaps a quarter-inch of rain, followed by more Thursday. That’s on top of .84 inches on Tuesday here at Maple Leaf Life South, and another two-thirds of an inch overnight into this morning.

* The big news is the wind. Our news partner The Seattle Times is reporting there have already been tens of thousands of people without power as early winds up to 71 mph hit the Washington coast.

* Thursday morning’s storm - the third to hit here this week - could bring wind guests of 40 mph or even 55-65 mph depending on forecast, to the central Puget Sound (i.e., us).

Mass, the University of Washington professor, thinks Ground Zero will be the Oregon coast, with hurricane-force wind gusts.

The National Weather Service, Seattle, has issued both wind and rain bulletins.

CURRENT TIMING SUGGESTS HIGH WINDS ARE POSSIBLE DURING THE THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING COMMUTE.

A 15-year-old suspect in multiple car thefts was arrested Sunday at the Northgate Mall food court.

Seattle Police explain that gang unit detectives working a robbery prevention detail at the mall spotted the teen “who tried to make a break for it but did not evade apprehension a second time.”

The first time was Friday morning, when Bothell police arrested nine suspects attempting to steal multiple vehicles from a car lot. The Bothell/Kenmore reporter has the story here.

Two teens got away that morning. One is still at large.

Police say the teens are also suspects in car dealership robberies in Lake City and Edmonds.

There’s a police press release titled “From the food court to juvenile court” here.

Our news partner The Seattle Times has a short story here.

Stealing or prowling cars is the most common crime reported in Seattle, and more juveniles are arrested at Northgate than any other place in the city.

Late afternoon at Maple Leaf Reservoir Park. Enjoy now.

“And the coming heavy rains” is in the title of Cliff Mass’ blog post today.

This is going to be a very wet week for the Northwest and northern California, with a deep trough over the eastern Pacific that will bring very moist, warm air and the jet stream right into us.

From the National Weather Service:

THE OLYMPICS AND NORTH CASCADES ARE STILL SEEING THE HIGHEST BULLSEYES WITH 48-HOUR PRECIP TOTALS ENDING WED AFTERNOON AT 10-15 AND 5-8 INCHES RESPECTIVELY.

The forecast here is for varying amounts of rain for the next, um, seven days.

From University of Washington professor Mass: “Rake your leaves today, clear your gutters, and make sure the street drains are open!”

‘Tis the season of holiday package delivery, and one reader emails this evening:

Just wanted to alert folks that there’s at least one woman trolling the neighborhood to steal packages left on porches.

Thankfully we have a neighbor who thought things seemed weird and approached her. She told our neighbor that she was just there to pick up her friend Jess’s package for her (my name is not Jess) at which point our neighbor said that was fine, but that she had her license plate number just in case.

Needless to say the would-be thief decided to leave our stuff alone. Just wanted others in the area to beware since I’m sure the number of things getting delivered this time of year is higher. We live on 11th Avenue Northeast between Lake City Way and Northeast 78th Street.

There’s also an email making the local rounds about a black pickup truck involved in package theft:

This vehicle has been spotted in various surrounding neighborhoods (at least Maple Leaf to Sunset Hill) - with a male/female team - one of whom has been seen removing packages from porches and putting them in the pickup bed and then they drive off. There is one instance on video, though not enough clarity for an ID.

Please… if you observe this vehicle in our neighborhood, be watchful and prepared to call 9 1 1 We - need to have this vehicle caught with stolen packages and people in it. The more times it’s spotted and called in, the better the chances we as a community will put a stop to this team.

Dec. 6: Danny Westneat has a new column on the statistics.

Update: The police statistics are here. (Opens in Adobe Reader.)

Update: The Stranger has a discussion of parts of this - “Someday You Might Not Have To Wait Forever To Report Your Stolen iPhone - But No One Knows When That Day Will Come.”

—————————————-

Can auto thieves really be 34 percent off their game over the last month?

That’s what Seattle Police statistics show, our news partner The Seattle Times reports.

Auto theft dropped 34 percent in November compared to October, from 576 cases to 382, according to the department. Thefts of auto accessories and auto parts, along with car prowls, decreased by 25 percent in November compared to October, from 1,250 offenses to 936.

In the previous month car thefts actually increased by a comparable amount, compared to 2013, police said earlier.

There were 525 reported auto thefts in Seattle during the month of October and a total of 4715 through the end of October. That’s a 38 percent increase from last year during the same time period.

One difference is that since some embarrassing news coverage, police say they have focused on such crimes during new meetings on using statistics and reports to identify crime hot spots.

They’ve also started a program to track stolen devices.

So did this make a difference in November’s statistics? Commenters on the Times story note: November was cold.

The map above shows stolen or prowled cars here since Nov. 15th. The website to report an abandoned, and possibly stolen, car is here. (Although refusing to load in IE.)

Also, the man accused of the 2012 drive-by shooting of Yancy Noll at 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 75th Street is testifying today. The Times is following the story here.

The defense is using the “road rage” argument.

During a cold snap (21 degrees this morning in Maple Leaf) this bird is sometimes seen here instead of in the hills.

“A few birds reliably move into residential areas during the winter months” or after a snowstorm, Birds of Seattle and Puget Sound says about the Red-breasted Sapsucker.

This bird is on a Deodar Cedar at Maple Leaf Life South.

“With its scarlet hood, the Red-breasted Sapsucker is the most brightly colored of the North American sapsuckers,” the book, by Chris C. Fisher, states.

“The Red-breasted Sapsucker is one of the easiest woodpeckers to identify by sound. It often meows like a cat, and its territorial drumming sound like random Morse code.”

In Birds of Washington, author Stan Tekiela notes it is “most common in higher elevations, it is rare in residential areas or city parks.”

Snowing steadily at 6 a.m.

Sun’s out at 8 a.m.

Total at the Maple Leaf Life South official Snow Measuring Car: 1.50 inches.

Though it doesn’t seem that much.

As to Friday’s rain: 1.25 inches.

And it did seem every bit that much.

As to the forecast: Cold clear skies.

“SYNOPSIS…THE CONVERGENCE ZONE THAT BROUGHT SHOW SHOWERS TO SEATTLE HAS MOVED SOUTH AND EAST AND BEGUN TO DISSIPATE.

“WEAK HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT AND LOW LEVEL OFFSHORE FLOW WILL KEEP COOL AND DRY CONDITIONS OVER THE REGION SUNDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.

“A SYSTEM MOVING INTO OREGON WEDNESDAY WILL BRING A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.”

4:35 p.m.

2:50 p.m.:

2:47 p.m. Weather service issues Winter Weather Advisory from 9 p.m. to 11 a.m.

ACCUMULATIONS…1 TO 3 INCHES. MAIN IMPACT…ROADS WILL BECOME SLIPPERY

2:15 p.m. Maple Leaf outside temperature was 53 degrees at 7:30 a.m. Now 37 degrees.

2 p.m. Twitter reports mix of snow and rain in Shoreline.

1:45 p.m. National Weather Service in Seattle notes: “We have heard reports of snow mixed in with the rain in parts of King and Snohomish counties. This is due to the moderate rain bringing some snow down to the surface. However, no accumulation is expected.”

Then, this:

Two things:

Not trash nor recycling not even yard waste will be picked up Thanksgiving Day. Put it out Friday instead.

Snow.

Here’s the National Weather Service forecast for Maple Leaf:

Friday Night. Rain before 4 a.m., then rain, possibly mixed with snow showers. Low around 34. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Saturday. Snow showers likely, mainly before 10 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 34. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

In an email this week to supporters, Blue Saucer owner Billie Bryan said:

“I just wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to list the Blue Saucer for sale on the Real Estate market, as of last weekend, and I’m excited about it!”

We have flyers in the shop for potential buyers, and look forward to the possibilities of finding a great new Owner. It’s time for me to move on to do other things – I have so many side projects and other interests these days that it’s hard to stay focused on the daily biz of running the coffee shop, so rather than let it slide, I’ll let it go!

Since it’s only just been listed, I’m imagining it will or could be a few months before we see any action, so meanwhile it’s business as usual – we’re still offering the same great variety of pastries and sandwiches (with a few new things thrown in there!) and we’re still using the awesome Seven Roasters for our delicious coffee.

The listing is here.

The Saucer will be open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving, according to its Facebook page.

Who decorated it?

Update Nov. 24:

Josh emails overnight:

I am wondering if you could post to the maple leaf blog. At 2p.m. today, 11/22, my black 12 lbs dog, wearing a purple fleece, ran off, he is very timid. He was lost from Northeast 96th Street and 12th Avenue Northeast. .

He looks like a miniature lab.

See attached photo.

His name is Ari.

Maureen emails:

“Could you please post that we have a lost chicken? It’s a Rhode Island Red hen-reddish brown. Lost 11/21/14 near Northeast 97th Street and Fifth Avenue Northeast.

“We have a 6-ft high fence so it’s possible she was taken by a raptor but we are hoping for the best. Thanks for posting.”

The chicken’s name is Poppy.

The trial of a man accused of a 2012 drive-by shooting at 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 75th Street has begun.

Police and prosecutors initially referred to the killing of Yancy Noll as a road rage event. But a new theory that accused shooter Thomasdinh “Dinh” Bowman may have wanted to be a hit man was introduced by prosecutors, according to our news partner The Seattle Times.

Senior Deputy Prosecutors Kristin Richardson and Adrienne McCoy also said in their trial brief, filed earlier this month, that Bowman fantasized about being an assassin and stored hundreds of books, articles, manuals and videos on his computer “dealing with how to be an assassin, how to commit murder, ‘snuff’ films, autopsies, methods of committing crimes, marksmanship, gunsmithing, forensic investigation, homicide investigation, and interrogation.

The Times post is here. KIRO is tweeting here.

The defense attorney is John Henry Browne.

Seattle Times artist Gabriel Campanario drew Reckless Video this month.

Sadly, there are no comments on the post by Campanario, the “Seattle Sketcher.”

Go make some!

(Mike Kelley’s in there, too.)