Thursday, February 17, 2011

Driving to Big Sur is always a wonderful experience.  As soon as you pass Carmel, the land begins to change.  The first turn with views of the San Lucia rising out of the Pacific is always dramatic.  It never gets old.  It is even better during a break in winter storms, when the sky is a combination of blue, white and grey.  Yesterday had much better weather than anticipated.  It was still stormy and windy with squalls moving through - but it was not the blanket of grey that Tuesday was.  And it had many breaks in the rain. At least in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.  Further north, the rain was fairly continuos.

Point Reyes Station saw over 3 inches of rain on Wednesday.  Marin county in general had more rain than areas south of San Francisco.  Many areas around the bay received between 1/2 and 1 inch of rain.  Perhaps even more impressive is the three to four feet of snow that fell at many resorts in Tahoe.  Kirkwood is reporting a storm total of 52-59".  Wind kept many lifts from turning yesterday, and has done so again today.  So, while the today was sure to have been a great day, tomorrow should be even better.  It will take the resorts some time to ope up all of the terrain.

Today's storm has moved much closer to the coast than previously modeled, and inland enough to affect the Sierra.  While we will not see the 3" an hour type of snow that Tuesday night's system brought, we can expect up to an inch an hour in the higher elevations.  But the catch is this one may bring that kind of snow for 48 hours.  As this storm moves down the coast, in over L.A. and then up through the Nevada desert, it will pivot around Tahoe.  So the snow will first come from the west, then the south and finally the east.  We may see another 4 feet of snow by Saturday morning.

Rain was very heavy this morning in Big Sur.  It did let up for a few hours in the late morning, enough for us to enjoy a short hike.  Showery weather picked up again in the afternoon.  Rain is expected o continue for the central coast through Friday evening, and letting up a bit on Saturday.  Sunday looks like our next chance for a nice sunny day.  More storminess expected to return for President's Day.  The good news for next week is a possibility of a few consecutive days of sun starting Wednesday.  But, as you have seen, these things are hard to say for certain.

So in short, more rain through the end of the week.  Sunday looking like a day to get out and go for a hike.  In fact, it could be a great day for a hike.  If you can't get down to Big Sur, try finding a redwood grove near you.  And one with a waterfall, because the creeks are again flowing.  More rain early next week, but then clear for a few days.

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