Brisk is the Word.

Today turned out to be not all that bad.  I mean, it is not like you were staring out the window thinking to yourself "why do I need to be inside today?"  Nor was it horrible to be on the other side of the pane if you did not mind you some wind.  And by "some", I mean copious amounts of stormy gusts.  It was breezy out there today.  Alas, it was not wet, and that is what made today not that bad.  It was a good day to run errands downtown, and it would have been even been pretty nice for a walk along West Cliff.

It was cooler, and it will continue to get colder.  The rain is just to our north, and is moving south.  We should see it soon.  A strong cold front is moving through tonight and into the early morning hours on Wednesday.  Ahead of this front, the winds will continue to increase out of the southwest with gust up to 40mph in the hills.  Rain should be heavy for a while and possibly during the morning commute.  Things should begin to subside in the early evening tomorrow, but the turbulent weather will continue.

In the mountains, strong winds over 120 mph will cross the crest.  Snow will fall in excess of 3" per hour.  It will be a treacherous day for travel tomorrow above 4500 feet.  It will be purely insane above 7000 feet.  The crest may see five feet of snow, and the lake over two, by the time this portion of the storm dwindles over night Wednesday.  It will continue to snow into Thursday, but with much lighter showery weather.  And the wind will abate significantly.  Tahoe is going to be under a new white blanket.  Thursday will have nearly every powder nut in the state converging on the Sierra.  Be careful out there.  It will be deep and blower.  Bring your snorkel.

Thursday is looking to be showery down here as well. If you are lucky with your timing,  may even be able to sneak in a quick outdoor activity.  This mornings guidance brings the Friday storm closer to the coast.  It still looks to bring a bulls eye in the L.A. region, but a lot of moisture will drag onshore up here.  Another good inch of rain is possible in the Bay Area, and a foot of fresh for Tahoe.  This is the system that may open up the Diablo snowfields for a few days.  Expect rain to return for Friday and Saturday.  Although, the storm will not be quite the wind maker this current on is.

Clearing for the rest of the Holiday weekend, with more storms to come around Tuesday.  The high pressure shifts a bit east next week, causing the storms to have less over water trajectory.  In short, lighter rain and less wind.  The first week of March is starting to look like the current week, with multiple storms, multiple inches of rain and multiple feet of snow.

Light is fading.  Check your shed door.  Is it closed?  Pulled that towel in off the line?  Put away the lawn chair that will blow away tonight?  Get ready to cozy down and settle in for a few days.  This will be a good week for braised meats and root vegetables.