After an early shot of winter weather pushed through late Sunday night, the cold air left behind will gradually warm up. Another low pressure center is trying to move through the Pacific Northwest, but unlike the last one, this one is showing signs of splitting, and it unlikely to produce more than a couple of isolated showers into early Tuesday morning. Temperatures will still be on the cool side of average Tuesday (in the mid to lower 60s in the valleys) and will stay there through Wednesday, but a ridge of high pressure will begin to build back later in the week, and we should be in the mid to upper 70s by the weekend.

After writing about mineral buildup in swamp coolers, it elicited some tips from other “swampers” out there. (Disclaimer: I can’t attest to personally to either method.)

Nina says to put a bar of Ivory Soap in the float tank to prevent the “stalagmites” from forming. She swears it works.

Ashton Hawkins went a little further. He ran his water through a granulated carbon filter, and he said he claims a huge increase in efficiency, with a lot less alkali buildup. Either might be worth trying.