I am kind of surprised to be writing about the weather this late in the season, but it has just been crazy. I was up on the Dana Plateau this past week, and it was just crazy how much snow was up there. Even if you are not into ski touring, I would definitely suggest finding your way up there some day - the views are astonding. And if you do ski, the descents are anywhere from really good, to -holy crap I can not believe I am still alive - fun.
For the most part, we are looking at high and dry over the next few weeks. Many are claiming there will be no spring, as we move directly from winter to summer like weather. All in all, we can expect a slight warming trend through this weekend, with high temperatures looking to break into the 80's by Sunday. Continued warm and dry next week.
But there is still some interesting stuff showing up on the models. A lot of precipitation is expecting in northern Humboldt County over the next week. This is still good news for our water issues, and perhaps some fresh snow will fall on Shasta and Lassen for some June powder turns. The proximity of the storms may provide us with some of that odd ball mugginess we have been experiencing lately.
Unless there is some major change, the trend is toward summer. We can look forward to a high pressure on the coast, with a low pressure building in the south west. But we are not clear of winter just yet. With this week's weather to the north, a slight shift in the jet stream could bring us more precipitation and cooler temperatures. But now is the time to start considering how you are going to keep your vegetables (if if you have a lwan, that too) well watered. Mother Nature may be done with her part until the fall harvest.
And if you are going out into the wintry back country, use a little caution this week. The snow pack has not had a chance to go through its normal spring time settling. With continued cold temperatures and fresh snow, there are some huge cornices out there. I stood by one with nearly a 40' drop off on Sunday. As it gets warm and hot this week and next, some of those cornices will start to fall. That is like dropping a locomotive onto a snow slope. Yikes.
