Have you voted, yet? So far, 79 people have voted, and it is tied between the rainbow over the bridge, and the mossy creek. I’ll try to get the March wildflower post up by tomorrow evening, so you can see what is in bloom down here on the South Coast! More great weather in store for all of us sun seekers.
Category: 2009-2010 El Niño
March Photo Contest Ends Tomorrow
Tomorrow the photo contest for the new banner for spring will end, so if you haven’t sent in your entry, better get it in today!
Rain seems to be over for a while. Lots of wildflowers out, and the sun is shining, so today would be a good day to go take that spring photo, if you don’t have one from last year!
Click here for details.
Rain total for last night, .75 inches, bringing the season total to 57.75 inches
Storm Watch, 3/12/10
2:45 pm – the rain has begun. According to the last NOAA report I read, the rain could last for the next 18 hours Up to 2 inches in the higher elevations, but that was for the Santa Cruz Mtns. north. The Santa Lucias weren’t mentioned. Reported from SF, the rain is coming down hard there, it is raining in Big Sur Valley. But the good news is that this seems to be the last storm for a week or so, unless Tuesday’s comes further south than expected.
Clouded up considerably over the morning hours, but no rain has arrived, as of 1 pm. Will be keeping an watch on it, though. After this one passes, the weekend warms up considerably, and Sunday may easily brings us temperatures in the 70’s. Looks to be dry after today’s storm for a week or more. !
Updates, March 11, 2010
Here is the weather update from NOAA’s NWS for tomorrow’s storm:
RAIN WILL BE THE MAIN CONCERN WITH THIS SYSTEM PRODUCING 1/4 TO 1 INCH IN THE POPULATED AREAS AND UP TO 2 INCHES OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. THE RAIN WILL FALL MOSTLY WITHIN AN EIGHTEEN HOUR PERIOD BEGINNING EARLY FRIDAY MORNING IN THE NORTH BAY AND MID-MORNING IN THE MONTEREY BAY AREA. THE WIND WILL PICK UP A BIT…BUT REMAIN BELOW 35 MPH.
And here is the road update from Cal-Trans:
The Alder Creek Slide is now fully open. Lucia is one lane with flaggers, until a signal light can be put in. The work near Ragged Point is complete. For the complete report see the Cal-Trans announcement page.
Finally, Fred Garcia, one of 3 candidates for Sheriff (along with the idiot who locked down Big Sur, issued that horrific notice threatening to arrest anyone leaving their property to help their neighbors) wants to meet with Big Sur on Wednesday at 6 pm at the Lodge Conference Center. Garcia has been endorsed by the deputies union. Article in today’s Herald: here
Road Open at Alder Creek Slide
9:30 am – Cal-Trans just issued their official update on the Alder Creek Slide. In part it says:
HIGHWAY 1 SOUTH OF GORDA NOW FULLY OPEN DURING THE DAYTIME HOURS
MONTEREY COUNTY – Hwy. 1 just south of Gorda (Alder Creek Slide) is fully open during the daytime hours from 7 am to 6 pm. The road will close again overnight tonight from 6 pm to 7 am.
As of 7:10 am, per the CHP website, the road is now fully open, with no traffic control and no delays. I have still not received the “official” word from Cal-Trans, but this one looks like a good bet, based on reports I have been hearing the last few days. No significant rain last night to change that. At 9 am, it is 35 degrees outside, and 49 inside. I am working to change that later figure as fast as possible.
The next storm is predicted to arrive Friday, bringing about 3/4 of an inch of rain to the Santa Lucia Mtns. then we are in for about a week of clear weather. Hallelujah! I am turning into a mushroom!
Mud Creek Photos (South Coast, Big Sur)
Yesterday, Rock Knocker climbed Mud Creek (about a mile north of Alder Creek Slide) to make sure it wasn’t backing up. (Yes, he IS retired, and no, he does NOT have to do this, but he is a curious fellow.) Normally, these are not the type of photos I would post, as some people are not interested in this type of thing. But I thought some of you might like to see how slides can happen (it is not backing up, therefore no slide is imminent) and get a different perspective on the hills and rocks that come down ON the road! I’ve even included some photos of the road from a perspective most of us are not likely to ever see. Definitely a unique perspective! RK took 104 photos, I’ve narrowed them down considerably, but I still have quite a few I want to share, so will be adding to this throughout the evening. Thanks so much, Rock Knocker!
That’s Highway One, down below.
WARNING – DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF. Rock Knocker is a professional rock climber, and has been to the Cal-Trans climbing school each year for over 20+ years. In fact, he has been invited back again, even though he is retired.
One can see a sliver of Highway One in the distance on the right.
I am afraid of heights. Even looking at a photo like this makes me queasy. Good thing he doesn’t have video!
I can’t even BEGIN to describe what looking at this one does to my stomach! This is the one time I am “almost” – not quite – glad to Pampas Grass holding the hillside in place!
Amazing to see on this barren slope, a tree tenaciously growing out of rock.
The close-up
If one looks closely, one can see the CT cone, and the sliver of road in front of it.
Right behind where that front ridge and the highway intersect is the Alder Creek Slide. One can also see the recently rebuilt seawall at Shale Point.
There is his truck, parked on the side of the road. And that ends the photo story of the climb up Mud Creek.
It is down to 37.6 degrees at 5:30 pm – and I need to update the weather/road post for today, March 9. 2010.
Tuesday, March 9th Reports
Because I am watching two fronts – weather and road, I have divided this post into 2 sections, one for road updates, and one for weather updates. I will add information to the appropriate section as information comes my way.
WEATHER
9:30 pm – it is 34.9 degrees outside, and still dropping. It is going to hit the upper 20’s tonight — I just KNOW it. Brrr…
7:30 pm – currently down to 36.7 and still dropping.
5:30 pm – currently down to 37.4 degrees, and still dropping. Looks like a freeze tonight. I just hope it doesn’t get down into the 20’s. I have a brand-new, unopened package of silk long-johns I have misplaced. Tonight would be the night for them! (Can you tell I got my temperature gauge set up, again?)
5:00 pm – currently down to 38.0 degrees, and still dropping.
3:00 pm – 40 degrees, currently, and still dropping, after a day of mostly sunny skies. (I mistakenly put 44 degrees earlier.) It feels much colder due to wind chill factor. Windy up here, and white caps visible on the ocean.
9:30 am – NOAA’s NWS is predicting another chance of precipitation tonight, although amounts should be low, and light snow above 3K ft. No accumulation expected. Wednesday and Thursday should be dry, with a stronger system arriving on Friday.
8:00 am – First, everything is frozen up here. Hail and ice cover the deck, so I cannot safely go out on it, quite yet. It was 45 inside, when I woke this morning. However, the sun is shining. I will try to post photos later. Dave Allen reported very large hail at the mouth of the Valley. Here is one:
ROAD
11:00 am – Cal-Trans JUST NOW issued this report:
MONTEREY COUNTY –The closure just south of Gorda (Alder Creek Slide) that reopened yesterday morning continues with one-way traffic control with flaggers from 7 am to 6 pm with up to 1-hour delays. The road will close again overnight tonight from 6 pm to 7 am.
Caltrans will reassess the slide conditions each morning and provide updates accordingly.
9:00 am – This is Dave Allen’s report from his commute this morning: “The road was clean, except for the Lucia slip-out. That is gowing lower fast…the drop was about a foot.Looks like the “sag” rate is about a foot a day…not bad for a slip-out! CALTRANS, though, is there with a foot of fill each day…’sorry, slip-out!’.”
8:00 am -Please see Suzi’s comment from last night under Road Conditions, 3/8, for her first hand report of going through the Alder Creek slide around 5:30 last night. I have yet to receive anything “official” from Cal-Trans, but that normally doesn’t come in until 9 am.
Weather Report, 3/8/10
9:22 pm – it is going off again. This time, I stepped outside, collected the evidence on my black sweater, and it is primarily hail. Good night, all. Will check in in the am!
9:00 pm – Oh, my heavens! Hail, snow, sleet has just begun, and the ground is already covered! (frankly, I am not sure whether it is all or some.) It is coming from the north. I sit right on top, so the north side of my place is completely covered, but the south side has just patches. An interesting phenomena to watch from up here.
Road Update, 3/8/10
8:30 pm – I have heard nothing new regarding the Alder Creek Slide, so one can only assume that the night-time closure is in effect, and that more news will be forthcoming from Cal-Trans in the morning. The current assumption (proceed with caution when one sees that word) is that the road will open again at 7 am, with up to 2 hours delay. This is, of course, subject to the whims and fancy of Mother Nature. And lest you wonder about the 7 am opening, let me share what I have experienced. It is out of the question for Cal-Trans to work these monster slides in the dark. They get up before the crack of dawn, and are out on the road when the dawn first breaks, and they can see the danger. Then, they have to clear up whatever came down overnight to clear one lane for the public by 7 am. That is not an easy task. I know, I have been on “dawn patrol.”
Cal-Trans called this morning to inform me that the slide at Alder Creek will be open, controlled by flagging during daylight hours, and closed this evening. This is the press release from this morning: “The closure just south of Gorda (Alder Creek Slide) reopened this morning with one-way traffic control with flaggers from 7 am to 6 pm with up to 2-hour delays. The road will close again overnight tonight from 6 pm to 7 am.” So, if you are going south, make sure to stop in Gorda, use the facilities, get a cup of coffee, and bring a good book to read!
Rock Knocker is climbing Mud Creek today, so I expect some photos tomorrow. Check back then, but in the mean time, if you haven’t seen all the photos of the various slides, scroll down. There are some good ones!
And for your viewing pleasure, here is a waterfall flowing into the Big Sur River that only flows during very wet winters! Photo by Debbie Reed.
These were taken yesterday.
Road Closures, again?
5:30 am – (if it is dark, isn’t it conceptually the same night?) CHP is no longer reporting a slide at Big Creek, if one existed, but they have sent a unit at 5:01 am down to Alder Creek due to closure, and are reporting that one on their website.
10:00 pm – CHP website reported at 8:30 pm that Big Creek is closed again due to another slide? Yes, Cal-Trans did clear it, and it was open today, but that may have changed, once again. The entry by CHP is rather contradicting, as Stan Russell points out. Mother Nature can be a fickle mistress when stressed. Can’t we all?
One reader reports that at 10:30 this evening, a friend drove from Esalen to Lucia and there *is* NO closure at Big Creek. CHP may be “closing” the road in terms of the sign at Rio Rd., but at least one report is that it is open. BTW, I have received two reports that there are two confusing signs at Rio Rd. re status of road.
Also a report from a reader, “…[S}ome small rocks and gravel were falling on the road this evening just north of Soberanes, actively moving when I came home from my mom’s just now.” (Also reported at 10 pm)
I must admit to a bit of exhaustion tonight from being a one-person newsroom. Thanks for your understanding. Can I go to bed, now?