Not Too Shabby. A Bit More Gloom and some Heat on the Way.

Climbing roses, climbing through trees in Rancho del Oso.

Today was nice in Santa Cruz.  So was yesterday, if you could wait for the fog to break and stay out of the wind.  One way to do that is to head up the coast and park at the bottom of Big Basin, across Route 1 from Waddell, and go for a hike.  It is about 6 miles from the coast, through Rancho del Oso and up to Berry Creek Falls.  The first five and a half you can do on a bike.  Once into the valley a few hundred yards, the typical northwest winds get blocked and you can feel the heat of the day.  You soon pass a working farm and enter the forest.  And flowers abound.  We have been taking the stroller up, and have yet to get in much further than a few miles.  I imagine the falls are still flowing well, as Waddell Creek has a pretty good flow in it.  It is really a great hike as you rise from sea level up into the redwood forest.  Give it a try.  And the parking is free.

Today's great weather will slowly begin to dim as we enter a cooling trend.  Another system passes to our north and east dragging with it some cold air.  Still, it will not get too cold, but we will be back in the 60s by Friday.  Of course the Central Valley has been hot.  Like 90s hot, and it will stay in the high 70s to 80s there.  But for us it will be some more fog and cooler.  The fog should be not be too bad and more of what we have had this past week.  Santa Cruz has seen the sun across town come out between 8am and 11am pretty much every day.  Areas of the city and Half Moon Bay have not been as lucky.

Old school gardening.  Rancho del Oso.

We do see a shift in the trend starting this Sunday.  Temperatures will rise dramatically from Saturday, perhaps 10F warmer.  In Santa Cruz we are expecting mid to high 70s.  The day will still start off foggy, but the sun should burn things off quick.  Expect even warmer temperatures by the middle of next week and a good chance for a few fog free mornings.  What we are seeing is a push of the low over the Southwest up and over our area.  This will drive a bit of a warm flow from the south, as well as push the marine layer further off the coast.  We may even finally see the wind go slack nearshore, making it feel warmer and allowing the surf crowd to spread up to breaks on the open coast.  A good probability of very nice weather for late June.  We will need to see how this pans out.

Surf begin to fill in today with a decent wind swell from the north and a semi solid ground swell from the south.  Things look fun over the next few days and even into the weekend.  More south, albeit a bit smaller, should arrive early next week.  If we are lucky, those winds will lighten up, the heat will pour in and it will feel like the California we see in Bay Watch.

Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz

As a note, there are quite a few flood watches and warnings up in the Sierra and foothills.  The warmer temperatures from the past few days have significantly increased snow melt and river flows.  Once you get down stream and toward the reservoirs, the flow is very much under control.  It is really in the high country and the smaller tributaries were we are seeing floods.  If you are headed in that direction, you should really check the NOAA site, and have an idea of what you are getting into.  You will especially want to use caution if you are planning to go hiking and camping this weekend. While things should moderate as the daytime highs become milder, you still don't want to get caught up in this stuff.  It is not just the currents but the fact that this water will be just a few degrees above freezing.  Hypothermia is not fun.   Expect flows to increase again next week as the real heat starts to hit us.

More of the same fog wise.  Cooler the next few days.  A rebound Sunday.  Sunny mornings and 80F are possible by next Wednesday.