I received 1.5” but here are the 24 hour totals as of 8 am, and it is still raining.

Things that gave me joy this week

Now that the Christmas evening storm has passed, dropping .47” at Chalk Peak, I look ahead to tomorrow’s storm. This is what NOAA has to say:

Our focus is now concentrated on the upcoming Sunday-Monday cutoff low and its potential impacts, especially to the Santa Cruz Mountains and along the Big Sur coastline/Santa Lucia Range. GFS and ECMWF runs have been consistent that this system will arrive Sunday afternoon/evening and the center of the low will track directly over our area. That means the southern part of the low will track into the terrain of Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

Keeping in mind that air rotates counter-clockwise around a low, that means a lot of moist air will be pushed right up those mountains (orographic effect) squeezing out a lot of rain from the clouds. Our entire CWA has a good chance of seeing rain Sunday evening through Monday afternoon moving west to east, but our main concern is where those orographic effects could enhance the rain totals...especially since the Dolan and CZU Lightning Complex burn areas are right along the coastal terrain. That`s where rain rates could be highest and most impactful. Latest WPC guidance has kept the forecast rain totals fairly similar with around a 1-1.5" possible in the Santa Cruz/Monterey coastal terrain, but
there could be locally higher numbers up to 2 inches with
orographic enhancement. Elsewhere, rain totals will range around 0.25" up to an inch. Could also see some gusty conditions over the coastal waters and across higher terrain. Bottom line, stay weather alert Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon, especially if you`re in the areas of concern mentioned above.

The longest night and shortest day of the year…and I reflect on what this year has brought into my life, and despite the obstacles we have all faced, I feel blessed. It has been challenging, at times, but not as difficult as other times in my life. I have friends and family that are close and far, but all dear and they help to carry the weight of these challenges with me. I am powered by the sun…my being…my household…my sleeping and waking patterns. Tomorrow the light is reborn. I celebrate this Yule time with you. Whatever one’s religion, we can all agree that the lengthening of the days that begins tomorrow is reason to celebrate. I wish for us all lengthening days and stability in our world. Blessed be.

Please, no lighted candles in the trees nor burning beseeching fires all night long, this year. It has been a way too long fire season.

Below, I repost one of my Winter Solstice posts from 2009:

“The Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26′. Though the Winter Solstice lasts an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used like Midwinter to refer to the day on which it occurs. For most people in the high latitudes this is commonly known as the shortest day and the sun’s daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest.” (Wikipedia)

There are as many different types of celebrations of this astrological event as there are cultures and religions, past and present. It is the “official” day of winter, here in the northern hemisphere, and it is when the days begin to lengthen again.

For me, rooted in a northern clime, the significance is both the beginning of winter, and the lengthening of the days. I am a person of the sun, who rises with it, and slows my rhythms when its time with me is also slowed. Long before we had a name to go along with these most natural of nature’s patterns (seasonal affective disorder), our bodies simply increased the secretion of melatonin in the body, causing longer sleep. Now, we know that special lights, plants, and negative ions can diminish the effect of the lesser sunlight.

It is a seasonal lull that many of nature’s plants and animals observe. It is a time for us to be focused inward rather than outward. Rather than fight the natural patterns, I choose to follow them, and become quiet, solitary, and introspective. Tomorrow, that time lessens, and my outward focus will begin its return, just as the sun increases its time in our northern skies.

Things that brought me joy this week

MoCo is serious about this current SIP order. Every single vehicle parked on the side of highway 1 from Ragged Point to Big Creek at least, was slapped with a red tag warning Friday. You can bet they are keeping track of the license numbers. Mostly, if not all, locals. I guess Jade hunting is out…

There has been law enforcement up Plaskett and Willow, too, stopping people to prove they live here.

Los Padres Forest Supervisor’s Office

relocates from Goleta to Solvang

SOLVANG, Calif.— Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) officials announced that they’ve recently completed moving the Supervisor’s Office from its longtime location in Goleta to a new leased facility at 1980 Old Mission Drive in Solvang at the corner of Alamo Pintado Road and California Highway 246. 

LPNF officials have been studying potential sites for a new Supervisor’s Office for more than 10 years. A decision was made in 2015 to narrow the focus to the Buellton-Santa Ynez corridor, and in 2016 the General Services Administration (GSA) advertised for interested lessors. The new location was selected in 2017 and construction on the existing building was completed this fall.

The telephone numbers for Supervisor’s Office employees have been transferred to the Solvang office and will remain the same.

Due to Covid-19, LPNF offices have been closed since March when employees began working remotely to provide virtual services to the public. The Supervisor’s Office will remain closed until it is safe to reopen the building to employees and the public.

As a reminder, developed campgrounds are closed under a Regional Order until January 6, 2021, to align with the State Stay-at-Home order which prohibits overnight camping. LPNF day use areas, along with OHV and hiking trails, remain open to the public. Visitors are encouraged to be familiar with and follow CDC guidance when using public lands. (Note: all three ridge roads on the South Coast are also closed and there is currently a USFS LEO patrolling.)

For additional information, please visit the Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/lpnf/home.