Cold April Snow and Warm April Sun.

Round Top looking full of snow as the storm approaches.

This morning continues with the chilly air.  Crisp is the word that comes to mind.  But the sun has come out in force across the region, easing some of the cold.  Temperatures remain cool over the next few days, with a slow warming trend later in the work week.  The Sierra received about a foot and a half of new snow over the past few days.  And it was cold snow resulting in a deep layer of blower on top of the old spring crust.  Not the bottomless treats we had all throughout March, but a nice slice of winter nonetheless.

This weekend should be a decent time for skiing, as cold air and partly cloudy skies keep the snow in good shape for today.  Sticking to northly and sun sheltered aspects will be the best call, as when the sun does break out, it will heat the snow quickly.  And then the powder with turn to spring snow.  Sunday should see milder temperatures and some warming into the 40s.  This could be a great time to do some touring and get the last of the powder stashes.  This could possibly be the final snow storm of the year.  Or not.

Plenty of water (and cows) in the foot hill basins.

Down here on the coast, things warm up very slowly this week.  A system is going to brush by to our north later on Sunday and into Monday.  We will miss the moisture with this storm, but will get a slight bit of cooling, keeping our daytime highs in the low 60s.  We will also see the return of some cloud cover, but doubt we will lose the sun completely.  Things start to warm up after Tuesday, with mid 60s to low 70s by Friday and the weekend.  Sunny weather is expected.

And this is a significant change in the forecast from just a few days ago.  Blame it on spring models being inaccurate.  Our weather starting the end of next week will be completely dependent upon where the Pacific high ridges in.  If it sets up around the date line, we will see sun, and some amped up warming.  Move it a bit to the east, and we will see the beginning of a week of rain.  While I like the idea of more water in a record year, the idea of sun and 70F plus weather is pretty enticing.  We will keep an eye on the high pressure and keep you updated.  For now, expect a heating trend and a solid push into spring.

Grape vines budding.  It must be spring.

We did not see a hard freeze along the coast the last few nights.  But it was chilly.  At the summit of 17, the air was recorded at 38F yesterday morning at 4AM.  Cold, but not freezing.  Inland things were a bit different.  In Jackson, (elevation 1240 feet) a few inches of snow covered the ground and grape vines at 6AM.  It was a cold night again last night in the Motherlode, with freezing temperatures reaching into some of the low lying valleys.  As has been noted, long range models can be worthless this time of year, but things are looking up for our gardens.  After the next few days, we might be moving into a warming trend.  Night time lows should begin lifting up to the high 40s and low 50s by later in the month.  If you have not already started on your summer gardens, now is the time to get the soil ready, figure out your plans, and get plants in the ground.

So, we are still in transition.  Cool and crisp, but the rain (and snow) may be past us.  The Monday storm clearly looks to miss us, bringing just a touch of cold and clouds.  The second half of the week look to be nice and warm, with storms going way north.  Good times.