Rain falls in the state of California twice in one week!!!!!

Hot off the presses.  Rain is falling north of Redway.  Basically from just north and west of a line from Fort Bragg on the coast and Yreka inland.  And it looks like a good wide band of it is pretty heavy precipitation.  Rain is likely for San Francisco over night, with about a 30% chance still being forecasted for Santa Cruz.  Rain line is now forecasted by GFS to reach down toward Big Sur.  Again.  Damn flip floppers.  Anyway, it feels likely we will see rain over the mountains, especially north of town.  Yup, that means Highway 17 might be wet for the morning commute.  Expect the usual central California, I forgot how to drive in the rain mayhem.  Might want to leave a few minutes early if ya plan to drive the hill.  I still think it will be fairly light, if any, here in town, with clearing late morning to mid day Thursday.  NWS feels otherwise.

Kirkwood Meadows.  Being well south of the fire, Kirkwood has had less smoke than the Truckee area.

This afternoon NOAA if forecasting a second band wrapping in on Friday.  While the GFS and Euro suggest that a second band will move through, they keep the moisture either well north and/or well east of us.  Seems more likely to me.  Still, over all, the state is getting another nice wetting.  By no means does this even make a dent in our states dehydration problem.  But it does quench an immediate thirst, and provides some relief to small northern water sheds, as well as helping out with the King Fire (and others).  While this will only provide a light sprinkle over the west slope north of Route 50 where the King is raging, it will also raise humidity levels and lower temperatures.  On the other hand, the winds are howling up there today, and likely driving the fire and smoke north east.  As of yesterday, the fire was about 35% contained and still growing.  Hopes and prayers go out to the men and women who are fighting this thing.

Anyway, for us things look summer like going into the weekend and next week.  Fog will be thinner, typical of a NW flow.  Overnight lows will dip a bit cooler.  Mid to upper 50s.  Daytime highs will increase a bit.  Mid to upper 70s.  Maybe some zones hitting 80F.  It was 78F at the downtown Farmer's Market today.  Just to give you an idea.  It has been warm, if you are out of the breeze, on the west side the last few days.  Next week, summer and autumn patterns battle it out in an epic story of good versus evil.  If only HBO would make the show, you know you'd watch it.  Any, things are still up in the air for the weather after Sunday, but I'm gonna put my money on more of the same described above in this paragraph, until perhaps around the start of October.  Then I'm expecting that huge blob of high pressure to sit right on top of us and bathe us in its warmth.  Maybe.

Oh, less than a tenth of an inch in town, with maybe a quarter in the local hills.  Much more north of