Braised beef, creamed spinach, roasted parsnip, chicken tortilla soup...

The surfer statue on West Cliff Drive prepares for some rain.

Making a list of menu items in this home for the coming weekend and the start of next week.  We are finally planning on eating some of our cozy up winter classics, 'cause it is going to get wintery out there.  At least by this winter's standards.  We will several days of cooling and even a little bit of wet weather.  But before we need to turn up the heat and wrap ourselves in down, we have one more day to enjoy this superb weather.  It won't be quite as warm today as it has been the last few, but we will still be pushing into the 60s and see plenty of sunshine to close out the work week.

Saturday's storm will bring us much cooler weather.  Daytime highs could drop a few degrees, but with lots of clouds and much breezier conditions, it will feel quite a bit cooler.  Saturday should peak in the high 50s with a mostly cloudy sky, strong northwest winds and a chance of showers.  Compare that to the 75F I saw on Wednesday with calm winds and all sunshine.  And from there, it gets cooler and wetter.  Sure, Sunday morning may see fewer clouds, but that won't last for long.  By evening, the third wave of the system should roll up to the coast and hit us with a little taste of winter.  Moderate and consistent rain fills in overnight and Monday looks like it will be wet.  And cold, with the high having a hard time reaching much above 50F.  Some showery weather could stick around on Tuesday, but high pressure tries to get a foot hold through the second half of the week.  Oh, and this is a chilly wintery high.  Don't expect much above 60F.  And, I should note, there is actually another storm that could come across us on Wednesday, but at this point, it looks like it could be headed south of us.  Sorry SoCal folks.

This is all great news for Tahoe.  Through Tuesday we could see upwards of a foot of snow.  Doubtful we will see much more than a few inches overnight at any point, so no big powder days.  But this will give the mountains an excellent resurfacing just a few days before the holiday weekend.  Tuesday looks like the best day to get in any sort of powder skiing.  As we get a bit closer, I'll have a better idea on snow amounts.  For now, it is just finally looking promising for a wintery turn around.

Kids play with the birds where the lagoon drains into the sea at Natural Bridges State Park.

Long term, the models and other forecasting tools suggest that next weeks fair weather will be short lived.  There is a chance for another storm next weekend.  And as we head into the second half of the month we may finally be moving into a more winter like pattern.  More on that as we get a better picture.  For now, a cool and cloudy weekend.  Breezy and rainy at times.  All is not lost though. Pack a shell and go out for a hike or enjoy the dropping swell.  Sunday night through Tuesday morning looks wet.  Clearing and sun the second half of next week.