Macro shot of natural snowflake courtesy of Alexey Kljatov. (Used with permission from photographer and CC 2.0 license.)

By Scott Sistek Published: Dec 3, 2013

There's nothing like a blanket of fresh snow to make for picturesque scenes around the Pacific Northwest, but among the snowmen and sleigh
rides are hidden secrets of the breath-taking beauty of Mother Nature.

But photographer Alexey Kljatov has unlocked some of those secrets, using a unique camera set up to get intricate photos of individual snowflakes, which show off an amazing level of detail that each snowflake carries. They say no two snowflakes are alike, and these photographs show why.

Kljatov lives in Russia -- no stranger to snow in the winter -- and has set up a camera on his balcony to capture each individual snowflake's glory.

more..... http://www.komonews.com/weather/blogs/scott/Photographer-gets-incredible-close-up-shots-of-snowflakes-234273781.html

Lewiston Police caution consumers using debit cards at businesses

By Sophie Miraglio Published: Dec 5, 2013

LEWISTON, ID - URM stores now have increased security measures designed to stop any further cyber attacks. However the Lewiston Police Department said that extra precautions should still be taken regardless.

The cyber attack that plagued URM stores like Rosauers has been blocked from continuing, that's according to URM CEO Ray Sprinkle. Lewiston Police Lieutenant Budd Hurd said while the recent cyber attack that accessed card information was out of our control, there are things we do have control over
full article: http://www.klewtv.com/news/local/Fraud-234620671.html

Cold Facts and Snow in SE Washington

Cliff Mass Weather Blog

We are now experiencing our coldest weather since January, with temperatures falling below zero in "favored" spots of eastern Washington and Oregon. Snow is coming to the Northwest during the next two days, but unfortunately will miss most of Washington.

But first, this morning there was an unusual sight: a line of clouds down the center of Puget Sound (see picture from the UW web cam facing the Olympics). The cause? The cold air!

THE FRUSTRATING THING FOR SNOW LOVERS is that the low is passing too far offshore to bring snow to most of Washington, perhaps light snow on the WA coast and moderate snow over central and southern Oregon as the low swings eastward south of us. If the low was one hundred miles to the east and Seattle would be white. Oregon is nearly COMPLETELY covered with snow, with the exception of Portland and Columbia Gorge. Northern CA gets snow. Just not fair.

COMPLETE ARTICLE: http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2013/12/cold-facts-and-coastaloregon-snow.html