10:30 am – up to an inch, now. How’s it doing where you are?

9:15 am – it is pouring!! I am having a mixture of rain, sleet, and small hail. Big Sur Valley got 3/4 of an inch, also, while Carmel reported in with 1/3rd of an inch.

8:30 am – update – just wind and a bit of drizzle at the moment, but I got 3/4 of an inch overnight. We’ll see what the day brings.

2:00 am – the storm woke me about half an hour ago. It seems it hit early and is dropping more rain than expected, too, based on the sound of it. I will let you know what I am getting up here when it gets light.

Also, I took some photos of Mud Creek yesterday before the rain started. There is a whole bunch of water coming out of the side of that mountain – and this, after a month of dry, warm weather. I will try to post a few of these later today.

But after this storm ends Sunday, at least a week of warmer, dryer weather is expected.

6:30 pm – update – this is what my SLO forecaster has to say about this system: ” The cold front will pass our area between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. with rain. Rain will turn to scattered rain showers along with a chance of thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon through Sunday evening.” Remember, this is for SLO, so the rain should pass through Big Sur several hours earlier, as it is coming down from the north.

3:00 pm – update – drizzle started down here on the South Coast shortly after 2 pm. Not yet a full blown storm, but I was on the coast, checking out Mud Creek, having lunch, and other things, when the drizzle started down there, and it continued all the way up the mountain. Much more consistent with January weather, cold, wet, and windy. This is the January in Big Sur that I have come to know these last 26 years. Sure liked the run of great weather we had though!

Looks like we will get the dust taken care of tonight and tomorrow. From NOAA:
“AN UPPER LOW CENTER CURRENTLY LOCATED DUE WEST OF THE OREGON/CALIFORNIA BORDER IS PROGGED TO MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BY EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. THIS WILL SPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES ACROSS THE DISTRICT BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT IN THE NORTH AND SPREADING ACROSS THE REST OF THE CWA
TOMORROW. RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE NOT FORECAST TO BE TOO HIGH…AND RANGE FROM A HALF TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH ACROSS THE HIGHER HILLS…TO A QUARTER INCH OR LESS ELSEWHERE.”

My mother was born in 1929 – the beginning of the Great Depression. I have the family stories from those times, and the years beyond. The “gist” of those stories is that families and friends pulled together, and pooled resources. Families moved in together. Generations moved in together. Parents, grandparents, children, cousins, aunts and uncles lived in the same house. They all contributed to the stew pot that all would eat from. We entered the same era a while back, but no one is talking about it. It is time to talk about it. It is time to see “family” for the support we can provide one another.

CPOA and PelicanNetwork say that “community” is dying or being squeezed out. Not true, says I. Our community on the South Coast continues. We are a multi-generational community, unlike the North Coast. We have children and grand-children who will take over the stewardship of our land. We may be surrounded by USFS, but most of us will not “sell out.” Our children and grandchildren will continue our traditions. Sometimes, we ARE the children or grandchildren of those who came before.

Primarily, the South Coast, which had traditionally been from Anderson Canyon south, has only asked to be left alone. But, of course, as population explodes, that cannot happen. Now, after 80 years, CPOA has suggested that the “South Coast” is only from Limekiln south. I am a life time member of CPOA, but I am in complete disagreement on this issue, and at this writing, so is everyone on the South Coast, who has been here for 20 years or more. New comers disagree, because they are new comers, and do not understand the history and purpose of who we are.

I urge CPOA, PelicanNetwork, and other organizations to rethink the patriarchial positions they are assuming for the coast, particularly, our neighborhood.

I am relatively certain that I will be completely “blackballed” by certain people and organizations in Big Sur. So be it. I disagree with some people whom I completely respect. But North Coast values are not South Coast Values.

From HOLD: “Yesterday we had our first meeting in the Hames Vaelly with an ACOE colleague and consulting biologist for Central California who is assisting with evaluating what we can, given access restraints. Venoco will be installing a new frackingrig and well on this hill which is right at the intersection of San Marcos Road (G-18), Jolon Road and the Highway 101 intersection where the Hames Valley Watershed meets the Salinas. It appears this will be the “before” image. How this can be consistent with hillside development requirements in the general plan remains a true mystery. Given the location, we expect it to be even more visible than the others.

We will send the after picture once the rig is in place, about a week I think. The once pastoral view corridor of these vast remaindered grazing lands is rapidly changing– not too mention any less visible consequences beneath the surface.

Chevron is collecting water quality samples at their injection site downgradient from this and the other new fracking well. We will try to get some baseline data, pre-fracking, from this source. Chevron is a responsible and decent company and I suspect we will be able to gather the data needed everyone says is required to monitor fracking impacts on watersheds.

In line: one new proposed well on Jolon Road, one just heard by LUAC, 10 new shallow wells in the middle of the San Ardo Field (these are all on file with the County), BLM lease sale for fracking wells (at least 30 lease properties to be developed as fracking wells) and a new plant based on the Chevron Model of injection pulls and spreading into the Salinas River.

We are trying to define with certainty what the Bush-Cheney Energy Act exempted from review for fracking wells though we believe it to be at least the Clean Water Act, DOGGER review under this Act, Clean Air Act, and Safe Water Drinking Act. Will keep you posted on this matter. If this is the case, any new fracking well is unregulated for health and safety unless the County does the job or prohibits this type of well.

Thats the news from the oil front. ~C”

11:30 am – traffic going north is moving now.
Unfortunately, there was a fatal accident this morning at Point Lobos which has closed Highway One temporarily. Avoid traveling this area for a few hours, if you can. If not, expect long delays.

From a reader: “The policeman on duty won’t say anything. And now they have signs and the LED screen up stating that there is an accident and the road is closed. My husband is going to check from the south. I will let you know if I find out anything more.”

Latest info is that the road *might* open around noon. KSBW is reporting that it would open at 10:30 am, but that time has come and past, and it is still closed. Will update as I can.

After the cold, nasty, wet weather of December, January has been unbelievable. For me, it is better than summer, as it is not too hot, and there are no bugs yet. For weeks now, we have had just about the most perfect weather available anywhere in California. Add to that our stunning landscape, and it doesn’t get any better than this.

Here are a couple of Dan Danborn’s photos taken a few days ago:

Thanks, Dan! Those say it all.

10 am – quite overcast, which means not nearly as cold as it has been, lately, thankfully.

SLO forecaster has this to say:

“However, the trailing edge of a weak cold front will pass over San Luis Obispo County late Tuesday from north to south with increasing clouds. Rain showers will develop along the Ragged Point southward towards Cambria.

By the time the front reaches San Luis Obispo, it will only produce a few light rain showers/sprinkles on Tuesday evening and night.

Fair weather returns on Wednesday and should last through next
weekend with pleasant weather and much warmer temperatures along the coast with temperatures in the high 60s to the low 70s.

NOAA has this to say: “A FEW SPRINKLES THIS MORNING WILL GIVE WAY TO LARGER POCKETS OF RAINFALL THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING.”

The most of the rain will be to our north, it would appear, and no hydrological issues expected from this storm. Enjoy. (Maybe enough to wash away the evidence of the hang gliders below!)