I will be adding and updating this post throughout the day as I track the weather and gather my notes from the car below in two separate sections.
8 pm – nothing here but severe cold. If you go to the Chew’s Ridge weather station, at 5K ft. you will see that it is 25 degrees right now!! Brrr. bundle up, everyone! The weather station at Highland Peak (Big Creek), at 1900 ft., I believe, is showing 34 degrees and Nepenthe is recording 44 degrees.
4 pm – No snow or precipitation here, but I have a complete calm, falling temperatures, and increasing clouds with the approaching darkness. Here’s part of the latest forecast discussion. Scroll down for the earlier discussion from this morning. (I admit I had to look graupel up. From wikpedia: Graupel (also called snow pellets) refers to precipitation that forms when supercooled droplets of water condense on a snowflake, forming a 2–5 mm ball of rime; the snowflake acts as a nucleus of condensation in this process. Graupel does not include other frozen precipitation such as snow, hail, ice pellets or diamond dust. See what an educational site this is? LOL
DISCUSSION...AS OF 3:00 PM PST SATURDAY...SHOWERS EMBEDDED IN THE COLD AIR CUMULUS FILLING IN FROM THE NORTHWEST CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION. DAYTIME HEATING HAS INCREASED ACTIVITY OF THESE CELLS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF HOURS. ONE SPOTTERS REPORTED GRAUPEL IN CORTE MADERA ASSOCIATED WITH A ISOLATED CELL THAT MOVED ACROSS THE EASTERN PORTION OF MARIN COUNTY. A SHORT TIME LATER LIGHT SNOW WAS REPORTED OVER MOUNT HAMILTON. SINCE THEN A FEW CALLS HAVE COME IN WITH SNOW SHOWERS ABOVE 3000 FEET. SHOWERS ARE FORECAST TO CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT WITH POSSIBLE SNOW SHOWERS OVER HIGHER TERRAIN AS THE TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO DROP.
BSMAAC Notes:
Yesterday’s meeting was interesting because much of the discussed information came up during the “non-agenda” portion of the meeting. For example, the new Monterey County Building Code Enforcement Ordinance will be coming up for a vote either Tuesday or next month. I have gone through a draft of that ordinance, and it has some serious legal flaws, which I have pointed out to a few parties to the drafting process. Second, Sam Farr is pushing for the “mapping” of all properties on the coast from just south of the Carmel Highlands to the SLO/MoCo line. The purpose of this is for firefighting protection. I expressed concern over proposed “mapping” and the code enforcement ramifications, although Kathleen Lee assured me that that was not the intent of the mapping. Intent or not, it could be an unintended consequence. I suggested “use immunity” but I’m relatively certain no one understood my point.
There will be some reports on Cal-Trans projects that I will post to that page as an update, particularly those that affect the South Coast.
WEATHER:
I have added a new link in the 2008-2008 Weather Conditions websites. Nepenthe now has an automated weather station installed as of yesterday. With the one at Chew’s Ridge and at Big Creek, both also linked to the right, we have most of the coast covered, now.
NOAA is predicting 50% rain possibilities for today and tomorrow, and rain likely for Monday and Tuesday. I will post when rains and/or snows start up here. Here is part of this morning’s forecast from 9:53 AM:
MODELS FORECAST COLD AND SHOWERY WEATHER TO CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK AS A BROAD TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE PARKS ITSELF OVER THE WESTERN U.S. MODELS SHOW A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST CUTTING OFF AND DROPPING SOUTH INTO OUR AREA. THIS SYSTEM WILL SWEEP THROUGH THE AREA BRINGING INCREASED PRECIPITATION AND LOWERING SNOW LEVELS TO AROUND 1500 FT. QPF WILL BE AROUND A HALF OF INCH OR LESS WITH THE HILLS BEING THE RECIPIENT OF THOSE HIGHER ACCUMULATION DUE TO OROGRAPHICS. THE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE AS THE LOW SLIDES SOUTH AND THEN ALMOST DIRECTLY OVER THE CENTRAL COAST. TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO DROP DRAMATICALLY AS THICKNESS VALUES DROP TO 522 DAM AND 850 MB TEMPS NEAR -6 DEGREES C. SNOW LEVELS WILL LOWER ACCORDINGLY TO AROUND 1500-2000 FT. LOWER SNOW LEVEL ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS THE COLD POOL MOVES INTO OUR AREA. RAIN AND SNOW CHANCES BEGIN TO DIMINISH ON WEDNESDAY AS THE LOW MOVES FARTHER SOUTH. ANOTHER SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE REGION ON THURSDAY PICKING UP WHERE THE OTHER ONE LEFT OFF AND MAINTAINING SHOWERY AND COLD WEATHER THROUGH THE END OF NEXT WEEK. ALTHOUGH MODELS SOLUTIONS DIFFER IN THE EXTENDED THEY MAINTAIN A WET FORECAST THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD.