Mayuary has Come to an End. Juneary, June Gloom or Hot Summer Nights Up Next?

Three Mile Beach, Santa Cruz

May ended much colder than average, despite the great hot weather that we had for the first few days of the month.  And it was wetter than average.  This same sort of pattern hit the Tahoe region, keeping the snow pack fresh and deep for the past month.  In fact, snow pack depths are still slight greater than 100% of the April 1st average.  This is good news for two sort of outdoor enthusiast.  First, three Tahoe resorts have announced they will offer lift served skiing for the 4th of July weekend.  Sugarbowl will be open for pass holders only, while Alpine and Squaw will both be selling tickets.  Alpine is advertising top to bottom skiing off of Summit Six.  Not too bad of an offering.  Kirkwood will also offer some sort of lift service, but it may require some hiking off of and back to the lift, unless they plan to do some snow management at the base.  The other good news will be a later date (and the latest in over 40 years) of peak water flow for the rivers fed by snow melt.  There will be some serious kayaking and rafting available late through the summer this year.

And we are not out of the holds of winter just yet, even though it is June.  The good news is the fog has seemed to hold off on its usual death grip this time of year, and, in part, we can thank the continuos train of storms that have either hit us or areas just north of here for the past month.  These help clear the air.  The not so good news is this next round should be happening over this coming weekend.  Tomorrow should start off fair, similar to today.  Then it will begin to get cloudier, windier, slightly cooler and wet.  By midnight we should have a steady rain across the bay region, and that will stick with us through at lest late in the day Saturday.  The rain lightens up a bit, and offers a few breaks on Sunday, but it will stick around at least through early Monday.  Clouds break up by Tuesday, and while it will feel warmer due to the sun, it will not really warm up too much for at least a week.  So much for a big change by the 6th.  Still, there may be a few warm days around the 9th.  Models currently show a return to milder air soon after that and through mid month.  It will be an interesting June to say the least.  This weekend's storm should push us way about June's monthly average for precipitation.

Getchel's Cove, Santa Cruz

Cool and wet or not, the surf has been on tap as of late.  And should stick around for at least the next week or so.  The current south ground swell and north wind swell are both dropping in size, but this morning still saw plenty of head high plus waves up and down the coast.  Paired with a few hours of light to no wind, it was semi glassy out there.  More of the same tomorrow, albeit a bit smaller.  The north swell dwindles even more through the weekend, with a slight bump on Sunday.  The ground swell will die out as well, but Saturday morning could still have some decent waves.  Another round of north and south swell show up next Tuesday, keeping things in the fun size through middle of next week.  Get up early to avoid the winds and have more surf options.  Slight chance for off shore conditions on Sunday as this next storm passes out of the region.

It is June, and as I've said before, you should have your tomatoes in the ground by now.  If not, it is still worth it to get some going, as even with a smaller crop, there is nothing quite like a fresh tomato.  Other things you think about getting established well before Independence Day would include cucumbers, summer and winter squash, as well as string and shelling beans.  If you have not ready started things by seed, you may want to consider purchasing seedlings.  You can still start seeds on your own, but it would be a good idea to get things going soon, as the store bought seedlings tend to be from 4 to 8 weeks old.  As for peas, lettuce and other cool season crops, you will ant to avoid planting any of those in full sun.  The peas I started in January in the sunny and hot spot of our garden have produced well and still have plenty of pods fatting up on the vine, but the plant is not loving the bright sun.  Leaves are beginning to dry out, and things are dying back.  A great spot for the winter, but not so much these warmer months.  Find a location that gets a few hours of early morning light and shade during the hottest hours if you plan for a summer crop.  In short, get your gardens in shape now in order to enjoy a great fall harvest.

Another nice day tomorrow before we have a weekend on rain.  It will feel cool, but not as cold as the last storm we had.  Monday should have some lingering clouds.  Mostly sunny through next week, with still no sign of our typical oppressive marine layer.