Cold Rain and Pounding Surf.

Hey folks, just as a friendly reminder, Ma Nature has sent us a nice dose of winter.  Tuesday morning woke to cold air and a grey sky as the light pitter patter tapped on the roof.  Just up the road a bit, snow was falling with freezing levels down below 3000 feet.  This is going to be one cold storm.  Nothing record breaking, but after the mid 70s of last Friday, it feels positively Arctic.  And with good reason.  It is.  With the high pressure sitting out in the Pacific, storms are heading north as they cross the dateline and then plummeting south along the other side of the bubble, right into the California coast.  And it is not just us who are going to feel the chill.  SoCal is going to get cold, and those folks just are used to anything but Baywatch weather.

Looking across the valley from the Pogonip.  While this is from December, clouds rolled in yesterday.

Anyway, after today there will be some moderation.  But before we move into that, just a mention for the long period swell hitting our coast today.  There will be some large surf out there.  Not much for riding as the local winds will be creating a nice Victory at Sea effect.  But if you enjoy a big splash, it could be worth a viewing.  Just don't turn your back on that ocean and stick to high ground.  With all the mess of storm in the water, it will be harder to see the big swells coming, and you could get taken by surprise.  A 20 second swell packs a lot of energy.

If you are thinking about the fresh snow, it is going to take a bit of time to get it in shape.  Right now we have a few inches on top of firm crust.  By later today we could be looking at a foot of fresh.  So, things could be decent by Wednesday, and with more small storms on the way, the weekend looks promising.  As for our weather, we should enjoy a break tomorrow, and maybe just a bit of sun.  Continued cold.  We still have light, short, weak storms crossing us on Thursday, Friday and into the weekend.  Expect showery weather.  And watch for ice on the local mountain roads.  Each of these systems pack some cold air, so it will be chilly for a bit.