UPDATE – Neighbor from Alm’s Ridge reported back at 1 am, that it took 4 hours to cut their way through from Ponderosa Campground to Alm’s Ridge (coming the back way up Nasty-Fergusson) due to downed trees. See comment section for reports from Clear Ridge.
From the coast going up, Nasty Fergy is blocked by many fallen trees, per a trustworthy neighbor. I will attempt to call the county and PV Station in the morning. For now, you can’t get there from here, or where ever.
… thru Thursday! Gusts of up to 70 mph on the ridges (that’s me!) Sounds like a gentle breeze to me. Winds of 145 mph broke my neighbor’s wind gauge once. I remember them, too, as I couldn’t stay upright without holding on to the railing, and even then, it was touch-and-go. All my patio furniture blew down the hill.
Watch for downed trees and power lines, everyone. I am hoping Plaskett stays clear!
I dont know what happened to the original post, my neurotic dog sat in the iPhone while I was trying to edit this post. Major. Big thunder! Lightning, hail. Serious stuff up here! Driving the dogs crazy, who are in turn driving me nuts! 1.1 as of this morning, but several cloud bursts since. Big Sur Valley had 1.25 overnight.
This is what NOAA has to say: ” LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CURRENTLY DEVELOPING IN THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL PUSH TOWARDS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA … BRINGING THIS LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THIS SPELLS A CHANCE OF RAIN BEGINNING IN THE NORTH BAY LATE AFTERNOON. AS THE LOW CONTINUES TO MOVE SOUTH RAIN WILL PUSH TOWARDS MONTEREY. COOL AIR ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL DRIVE SNOW LEVELS DOWN TO AROUND 3500 TO 4000 FEET. THIS WILL RESULT IN SOME SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND WOULDN`T BE SURPRISED IF MT HAMILTON RECEIVES A DUSTING OF SNOW SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING.”
Woohoo! I could have snow this weekend! I shot some photos of Pitkins and Rain Rocks on Wednesday evening, that I will try to post this afternoon. One is particularly nice. (teaser)
I’m really not, but it appears that way in cyberspace. There are two things which may prevent me from blogging (as I have been writing most days for 50 years now) it is not because I have nothing to say, I AM a lawyer, after all but internet squirliness, and work sometimes take over my life. The last few days have seen much of both. Since the weather is great, fire season is over, and all’s right in paradise, I didn’t think you would mind … and if you do? Well, it is the way it is, and there is not much we can do about it. I know y’all understand, and that life happens.
First, so none of you panic, I have had no reports of any problems on Highway One, thus the “dirt” in my title. A couple of yahoos showed up at my place a bit ago, on foot. They had gotten themselves stuck in a “ditch” in the middle of the road. I sent an email to Sherry Tune about this. I have been literally begging the USFS to grade this road for YEARS! Last time it was graded was the Plaskett II fire of 2000. These yahoos are really lucky that Rock Knocker just happened to stop by my place today, or they would be outta luck. My neighbor’s car is in the shop, and Rock Knocker is giving him a ride on Monday to go pick it up, and I won’t go out when conditions on Plaskett are this bad, so I would have lent them my phone to call 805-927-HELP, Cambria AAA, who is the only one who will come up here, and it is damn expensive!
On to rain totals, my gauge read .9 this morning, which is all that I recorded for yesterday’s downpour. I have doubts about the accuracy of that reading, however. Debbie, in Big Sur Valley, reports just under 1.5 inches for that neck of our neighborhood.
Warmer, drier weather supposedly on the way for this next week.
Late this afternoon, my neighbor and I got to view what probably few people see. Souh of Plaskett, winds were blowing to the north. One could see it on the ocean. North of Plaskett, the winds were blowing to the south, with a maelstrom on the ocean where they met. I can only guess that it was two fronts meeting. What a strange phenomena! Neither my neighbor or I had ever seen anything like it!
Okay, so NOAA is confused about what is going to happen with the weather. This is what they had to say as of this afternoon
MODELS ARE STILL HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE SPEED OF THE UPPER LOW AND ASSOCIATED FRONT…AND HOW IT WILL AFFECT THE DISTRICT. THE ECMWF AND THE GEM ARE MORE BULLISH WITH THE SPEED AND THE AMOUNT OF RAIN FOR THE DISTRICT…BRINGING RAIN INTO THE DISTRICT TONIGHT AND MOVING THE UPPER LOW CLOSER TO THE COAST. THE GFS/NAM/WRF ON THE OTHER HAND KEEP THE LOW FURTHER OFF THE COAST AND BASICALLY KEEP THE HEAVIEST RAIN OFFSHORE…AS WELL AS HOLDING OFF TIL FRIDAY BEFORE RAIN AFFECTS THE DISTRICT. THESE MODELS ALSO KEEP A MORE SE COMPONENT TO THE LOW LEVEL WINDS…WHICH IS DOWNSLOPE FOR MONTEREY AND SALINAS…AND IS NOT A FAVORED OROGRAPHIC SOLUTION. ALL THE MODELS HAVE THE HEAVIEST RAIN IN THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE DISTRICT.
BTW, as of 4 pm – there is nothing on the NEXRAD radar!
Here it comes:
At almost 9 am – it is 40 degrees. Mother Nature looks as if she is not willing to wait until late tonight or early tomorrow morning to wait to rain down on us, but then, I worked until late last night, and didn’t see the weather report. So, this morning I go to the NOAA forcast discussion.
“LIGHT RAIN SHOULD BEGIN IN THE NORTH BAY COUNTIES BY MID AFTERNOON. THE MODELS AGREE QUITE WELL ON THE BOTH THE TIMING AND PROJECTED RAINFALL AMOUNTS WITH THIS SYSTEM. RAIN IS FORECAST TO SPREAD SOUTH THROUGH MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. THIS SYSTEM SHOULD HAVE MORE MOISTURE TO WORK WITH THAN THE ONE THAT MOVED THROUGH ON THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. THE NAM…GFS…AND ECMWF ALL FORECAST RAIN AMOUNTS MOSTLY IN THE TENTH TO A HALF INCH RANGE FROM LATE TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY. WOULDN`T BE SURPRISED TO SEE AMOUNTS OF GREATER THAN A HALF INCH IN SOME OF THE WETTER LOCATIONS GIVEN THAT AMSU PRECIPITABLE WATER DATA CURRENTLY SHOWS A NARROW PLUME OF NEARLY ONE INCH PWS FLOWING ALONG 40N AND INTO THE APPROACHING SYSTEM. THE COLD FRONTAL RAIN BAND WILL BE THROUGH MOST OF THE AREA BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL THEN OCCUR IN THE COLD AND UNSTABLE POST-FRONTAL AIRMASS LATE TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION TONIGHT.”
Okay, I’ve a full day of work ahead, a pot of 15 bean soup already set to simmering all day, and the rain coming so need to make sure all prior preparations are still in effect. That’s my Saturday. Hope yours is great, wherever you are.
Oh, what a racket I woke to! I have a metal roof, so the sound of rain, if gentle is refreshing. If pounding – it is amplified! This morning, I was awakened from a sound sleep. Shortly after, hail – significant hail – join the din assaulting my ears. Then thunder and lightning join in. By 5 am, all is quiet. Little did I know (or frankly care, at 5 am!) that the quiet was attributable to snow. In November! I woke to a nice blanket. Closer inspection revealed it to be a combination of snow and hail. At almost 11 am, it is only 42 degrees. Nothing a pair of silk long johns, long socks and a sweater won’t handle. I received .75 inches, for a total of 6.65 for the season. Big Sur Station and the Grange both report .50 for the storm.
Snow on Cone Peak, of course, but I can’t get a shot of it, due to the clouds, so this one taken about 10:30 am out my back door.
It is not the best shot, and I really should have gotten out of my warm, down-comforted bed at the crack of dawn for a good shot – but what can I say? I can be lazy that way. 😉
