Great timing!

So, temps in the Puget Sound region have been in the 20s for the entire week, and are predicted to be there for the foreseeable future.  (Highs in the 30s in some places, and may get up to 40 by Sunday.  Predicting snow for the weekend.)

So now we have an air stagnation "thing" going on, so an air quality advisory has been issued for "sensitive groups."

Alas, with record cold in the area, the air stagnation also means burn bans:

Stage 2 burn ban expanded to include King, Kitsap and Pierce counties

Stage 2 burn ban remains in effect for Snohomish County

December 9, 2009 – Due to stable weather conditions and elevated air pollution levels, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is issuing a Stage 2 burn ban for King, Kitsap and Pierce counties, effective at 10:00 a.m. today, December 9, 2009. The Stage 2 burn ban for Snohomish County, which was issued on Tuesday, remains in effect.
Stable weather conditions, combined with heavy use of wood-burning devices in our region, have created pollution levels that are unhealthy for sensitive group populations (the very young, elderly and those individuals with heart and lung ailments). These weather conditions are expected to remain in place for several days, prompting the expansion of this Stage 2 burn ban to quickly reduce wood smoke emissions impacting communities throughout the central Puget Sound region.
We are closely monitoring air quality conditions and forecasted meteorology. Weather conditions allowing the removal of the Stage 2 ban are not expected before Saturday.
During a Stage 2 burn ban:

• No burning is allowed in ANY wood-burning fireplaces, wood stoves or fireplace inserts (certified or uncertified) or pellet stoves, unless this is your only adequate source of heat. Residents should rely instead on their home’s other, cleaner source of heat (such as their furnace or electric baseboard heaters) for a few days until air quality improves, the public health risk diminishes and the ban is cancelled
• Even if your fireplace, pellet stove, or wood stove is your only adequate source of heat, no visible smoke is allowed.
• No outdoor fires are allowed. This includes recreational fires such as bonfires, campfires and the use of fire pits and chimineas.
• Burn ban violations are subject to a $1,000 penalty.

 I bet you thought I was going to snark about the cold weather all over the Northern Hemisphere, especially Northern Europe, and especially especially in "Hopenhagen"--really, they're calling it that, insert retching sounds here--where the elites of the world have burned the equivalent of the carbon output of Malawi for 2006-and don't ask me where I read that, I forgot--to natter about making The Little People stop burning carbon or Gaea will be mad at us.