Quick moving compact storms.

That is pretty much what we have on tap for the coming week.  As of now it looks like the core of these things are going to miss us here on the coast.  That is not to say we won't see some of the effects, but we will not be dealing with quick the same thing as Sunday night and Monday morning.  The sun started to break out a few times yesterday, but it seemed as if the clouds and rain had the upper hand.  Our late day stroll started out quite nice with the combination of upper level winds, awesome clouds and just enough light slipping through to make it all go off.  Just before dark, the sky turned grey all over and a light drizzle started in the evening.  But all of that is now in the past.

Fishing boats were out on the bay before the ocean turned all mad and grey.

Today starts off decent, with thin clouds.  Those should stick around through the morning.  Cross your fingers, and we may see those burn off and get some sun in here through the afternoon.  And it is cool out there.  Topping out in the high 50s.  A bit warmer than the past few days.  We have a slight chance of showers tonight.  The good news is that those should all be well to our east by morning, leaving us with a partly cloudy sky.  The bad news is we should see some gusty winds Wednesday in the 15 knot range.  Still, could be worse.  Thursday again looks like the day of the week with sun and low 60s.  Friday sees just a few more clouds and a touch cooler in front of the next series of systems.  The storms for the weekend also look like they will be mostly missing us.  This is a bit early to really discuss in detail, but as of now Saturday looks the driest, with some light precipitation for Sunday and Monday.

So, Wednesday storm pretty much misses us.  It is coming down pretty much straight from the north.  This thing is pretty darn compact, and a jog of 50-100 miles in its path can make the difference between "some clouds" and "moderate rain".  The Sierra looks like it will be in the bulls eye.  Expect another round of snow for the mountains starting late Tuesday night and lasting through Wednesday morning.  Accumulations will not be quite what we had with this past system (5-8" at the lake, 10-18" at the crest), but there will be a period of heavy snow for a few hours.  Look for another few inches at lake level and perhaps 6" up at the crest.  Another refresh that is setting things up nicely for the holiday weekend and ski week.  We may even get another good system Saturday night into Monday morning.  More on that later.

Did I mention it is blossom season here in Santa Cruz?  It is totally going off right now.

For now, in Santa Cruz, the next two days look touchy.  Expect some clouds, some sun, and slight chances of shower burst.  Best chances for rain are from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning. Thursday looks fine.  Friday almost as good.  Cooler with increasing chances of light rain through the weekend.