For a Moment it Felt Like a Real Summer.

Summertime on Main Beach, Santa Cruz.

On Tuesday, the family and I headed out from the house for a walk along West Cliff and toward the Wharf for TGI Tuesdays at Olitas (a taco and a 'rita or beer for $6!).  There was a light breeze along the water, but once we got past the lighthouse, it was blocked by the point.  It went from warm to hot, and the beaches were packed with, well beach goers.  It was a blazing hot summer day on the first day of summer.  We ate our tacos and stepped back outside to be greeted by a chilly wind.  As we gazed north and west, a thick heavy fog was rolling in.  Quickly.  By the time we made it home, we were reminded of what summer really means in these parts.

And that fog is here to stay.  Wednesday morning cleared pretty quickly.  And it was actually warm under the fog from the heat left over from Tuesday.  Today, it cleared a bit later.  And it was a bit colder.  For the next few days it is going to be slow to clear, and many locations will see mostly cloudy skies all day.  Saturday looks like a dark day indeed for beach activities.  If you must see the sun, stay inland or high up.  It will be nice in the Sierra, were it will be almost as warm at 8000 feet as it is on the coast.  And it will actually feel warmer, because the sun will shine.  Around Sunday, it will be slightly less grim of a forecast, but don't expect much in early morning sunshine.  Or too much warmth.  It will struggle to get to 70F in Santa Cruz.  But that is toasty compared to the Sunset, where it may peak in the high 50s by Monday.  The usual warm spots around the bay will actually be pretty nice with high 70s to low 80s. Not too hot, but not too cold either.  But unless you are well east of the bay, and beyound the first set of hills. do not expect to escape the fog.  This is the gloom doom.  Cloudy mornings are in store for all around the bay.

Ice plant and wind waves.

It may even rain a touch.  Perhaps I should call it a deep fog drizzle.  For at least the next few mornings that could be the case.  Not really enough to wet the ground, but you may need to run your wipers.  By the middle of next week, we could see actual rain moving into the northern portion of the state and reaching down into Sonoma County.  This will again allow for some heavier fog to push across our area.  There is a slight chance that the system that pushes down the coast will help sweep out the fog, but not very likely.  It looks like we may see this weather continue through the end of the month.

The surf is still looking decent considering it is summer time.  Small inconsistent south swells continue to fill into the Santa Cruz points.  Nothing too exciting, but the next few days look like they could be fun.  The waves started off about knee high on Monday and have been building all week.  Today saw some chest high sets and it might build even more late tomorrow.  Saturday looks like it will be the peak of the south swell, with head high surf at the best spots.  Sunday looks fun as well.  Things begin fade after that and it does not look like much is on the horizon beyond. So get it while it is here.  The local wind swell should range from knee to head high, but it is mostly very short period and not offering much in the way of surf.  Mostly it is just chop to toss around your boat.  Unfortunately, the foggy mornings are not doing to much in the way of mellowing out the winds, so for the most part the action is at protected breaks in town.  There is a chance for the winds to let up a bit next week as that storm moves by to our north.  But by then there will not be much left of the ground swell.

Volunteer pumpkin.

This is a great weekend to start some seedlings, especially in those warmer zones.  The morning fog will keep your beds from getting to hot and drying out.  This will allow those young root systems to keep moist, and prohibit the sun from baking the leaves.  As long as we get enough sun to heat the soil and help those plants grow.  In our backyard, our tomato plants now range from a few feet to over four feet in height.  Things are looking good so far, as long as we can avoid the molds that sometimes come with the fog.  On the other hand, our broccoli and Brussels sprouts love this kind of weather.  So we split the difference.  At the local markets, we are starting to see the very first of dry farmed cherry tomatoes.  They don't have a whole lot of bang yet, but they will be going off soon.  Hot house heirlooms have shown up as well.  Another new comer is green peppers.  But the reds and yellows are still a month or more off.  Basil has come in, so it is time to start thinking about all the great things you can do with that herb.  And the real excitement for me is that corn should be here by next week.  This is a killer time of year to make a salad, with just about everything you could desire being grown right here in California.

So in short: fog.  In the mornings pretty much everyone around the bay will have some sort of fog.  Heavy, low and wet along the coast.  Higher and cloud like in more protected areas like Palo Alto.  The most fog prone locations like Half Moon Bay, Monterey and the Sunset may not see the sun until Monday.  The luckier ones will see breaks in the grey cover starting in the late morning.  Mild air temperatures prevail.  Remember how I pointed out how awesome Santa Cruz was in January and how crapy it was in the Central Valley?  Well,   they have sunny clear skies expected for the next week and daytime highs in the upper 80s and low 90s.