November and December are the months where we get torrential rains. We call them Pineapple Express. The jet stream drops down and picks up the warm tropical weather from Hawaii and then swings up and crosses over Washington. The result is a warm heavy rain. They usually happen after we have had a little bit of snow at the passes. The freezing level rises dramatically to 8,000 or 10,000 ft and all the late fall snow melts in the mountains.

The result ranges from mild flooding in the Snoqualmie and other foothill valleys to deluges of rain which swells the rivers and tear out trails and mountain roads. The last few years have not been kind to the trails of Western Washington.

A Pineapple Express deluge came through earlier this week. The days were dark, dreary and soaked. Today, the clouds parted and the sun emerged. We drove up to Snoqualmie to check out the falls. We were not disappointed.

The falls have long been a tourist attraction in the area. They are located in eastern King Country about 25 miles east of downtown Seattle a few miles off I-90. The first tourists arrived 1855. In 1899, the switch was thrown on the generators below the falls and electricity started being generated from the falls.

In 1990, the area became the inspiration and setting for the TV series Twin Peaks. Many scenes were filmed in the area around the falls. In 1995, we spent a night in the luxurious Salish Lodge. The rooms are gorgeous as is the setting and restaurant.

The falls swell and become torrents whenever we have heavy rains and especially after a Pineapple express. We drove over to the falls today. The plus side – the falls are very full. The down side, there was a lot of mist from the tremendous amount of water. Expect to get drenched.

Here is a video that we filmed. There are some still photos following the video. If you are in the Seattle area, don’t miss a chance to view the falls.

Top of the Falls

Click through for more pictures:

Walkway at the top of the Falls – drenched in the mist.

Observation Deck – even it gets drenched!

Rainbow in the mist at the top of the falls.

Misty Snoqualmie Falls

Shaking out a wet raincoat.