Category: Weather Conditions

Rain, glorious rain! Real rain!

7:00 am- i woke up at 4:00 am to see that I had received only .04″ of rain. Nothing to get excited about. Went back to sleep around 5:00, and still nothing significant. At 6:30, a decent hour, I woke to see it was “raining cats and dogs” per my gauge, and noted I had received .55″! Now THAT is something to get excited about, but it gets even better. Now, a 1/2 hour later, my gauge reads .75! When I read Pam Cromie’s FB post about hoping for 2″, I thought, yeah, right. Now, I think it is possible. enjoy, enjoy! I am going to build a fire, as it is a tad chilly.

Rain tomorrow, Saturday

 From the NWS FB page yesterday. Can you believe how excited we get over 1/10th of an inch? I could actually have between 1/4and 1/2 inches. That is something to get excited about. 

Grass Fire Shuts down 101 near Salinas Airport & early am fire at PB Lodge

4:00 pm – Two vegetation fires in Salinas have shut down Highway 101 at Airport Boulevard due to heavy smoke across the freeway. The fire was reported at 3:10 p.m. on the roadside of southbound Highway 101, but by 3:28 p.m. a second fire started near the northbound lanes just south of the Salinas Municipal Airport.

The Lodge at Pebble Beach Experienced a fire this am just after 4:00 am. I have a photo of that fire which I will continue to try to upload.

  

  

Fire near King City shuts down NB lanes of 101

4:54 PM 6 [25] 8-S1 SHUT DOWN NB TRAFF UNTIL FIRE GETS IT OUT
4:47 PM 5 [20] 40 JNO WILDHORSE , SMOKE 1125 BOTH LNS
4:46 PM 4 [19] B8-040 SMOKE 1125 NB LNS, 40B ENTERING FRM FIRST ST
4:43 PM 3 [12] RP HERM / JNO 1ST / SMOKE /831-241-3570 [Shared]
4:41 PM 2 [4] [Appended, 16:42:53] [1] VEG FIRE 
4:40 PM 1 [1] 3 SML BRUSH FIRES ON THE RS

More April Showers?

and every little bit welcomed!

From my SLO forecaster: “A stronger area of low pressure is then expected to move  into the Central Coast on Wednesday into next Thursday for   unsettled weather with rain. This morning’s model runs are advertising between a quarter and three quarters of an inch   of rain on Wednesday into Thursday.”

Vegetation Fire – Fully Contained

3:30 – Fully Contained at 1.5 acres. The fire was across the street from Del Monte Shopping Center. 5 engines and 1 helicopter worked the fire.

2:00 pm – Cal Fire is on the scene of a vegetation fire in the Del Monte Forest area. That area has many buildings nearby, so they will be working to knock this one down quickly. Still early in the season, too. I have no further details at this time.

Fire Season and Burn Permits – Cal Fire Announcements

CAL FIRE has suspended all open and permit required burning in the State Responsibility Areas of San Benito and Monterey Counties, effective Tuesday April 14, 2015.  
With a fourth year of drought and continuous record breaking temperatures this winter, our wildland fire season situation on the Central Coast has unprecedented conditions. 

Due to  the current weather conditions and the suspension issued by Cal Fire all burning permits issued by Mid-Coast Fire Brigade are hereby suspended effective immediately.

In a press release issued to the media yesterday Cal Fire would like to remind homeowners that they are required to maintain 100 feet of defensible space around all structures on their property.  Failure to comply with these requirements may result in a fine.  In a joint message from the Fire Chiefs – “Our men and women are prepared for fire season.  We now need the residents who live in our wildland areas and visitors to make sure they are.”


EXCERPTS FOR OUR AREA FROM PREDECTIVE FIRE SERVICES

Fuel Conditions and Fire Season Timing

In northern California, fuels have modified a bit from recent shower activity in some areas, but heavier dead fuels remain near record dry levels, more typical of mid-June than late March. Snowpack is the lowest it has ever been at this time of year, less than ten percent of normal across the higher terrain. A robust grass crop in the valleys and foothills west of the Sierra Crest has greened up early in most areas. Green up of brush up to 5000 feet has begun which is about six to eight weeks ahead of schedule. For the southern half of California, annual grasses below 3,000 feet have already cured along the south facing slopes south of Point Conception. Elsewhere around the Area, grasses should be fully cured within the next two to three weeks. Energy Release Component values are well above normal in most areas. Live fuel moisture values have recently peaked, and are now starting to descend. Portions of California will likely see increased activity earlier than usual thanks to the dryness from the long term drought. Fire activity across the lower elevations of northern and southern California is expected to increase in the coming weeks, especially during periods of warm, dry, and windy weather.


Weather and Climate Outlooks

For May through July, above normal temperatures are expected to continue for Alaska and across the West.

Past Weather and Drought

Temperatures were much above normal for much of the West and extreme to exceptional drought remained over California.

Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook
April
– Above normal wildland fire potential will develop across portions of Southern California.

June through July
 – Above normal wildland fire potential will expand to across the West Coast, part of the northern Rockies and Great Basin, and continue for most of Hawaii.

Northern California and Hawaii: Normal significant wildland fire potential is expected for April in Northern California and Hawaii. By early May plentiful grass in the lower elevations surrounding the Sacramento Valley should cure rapidly which should produce above normal significant wildland fire potential in these areas. Above normal potential will expand in June and July to include most areas, with the exception of far northeastern California where significant wildland fire potential will remain normal due to a lower-than-normal grass crop. Above normal significant wildland fire potential is expected for most of Hawaii from May through July. Only 20 to 50 percent of normal precipitation has been received over the Area during the previous three months. April should continue to be warmer- and drier-than-normal with any precipitation being more showery in nature. In between weather systems many days could record temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above normal. For Hawaii: Recent wet weather should minimize significant wildland fire potential in the short term for April but as a weak El Niño scenario unfolds, drought conditions could rapidly intensify. As a result, above normal significant wildland fire potential is expected across most areas from May through July.