Okay, not so silent or steep, but it did come in the wee hours of the night and it was a decent amount. Of rain, that is. Over an inch fell in locations on the West Side, mainly from 11PM until 4AM. Across the country, we saw from three fourths to slightly over one inch or rain last night. That came in a bit stronger than anticipated. The models kept fluctuation though, so again, not surprised. That system is now onshore to our south, bringing pretty solid rain to the I5 corridor south of Tracy, down to Santa Barbara, mostly on a N-S axis. But good news is we got a little more rain into the month of January, bringing us well into the above average range. Yipee. The water years is looking good.
We have a short reprieve today. Sort of. Clouds are still out there as I type. We could even, theoretically, see a brief shower this morning. By noon, clouds are parting, and we might even shift into a predominantly sunny sky by afternoon. Winds are light right now, still a little southerly on the outer buoys. That swings back to an offshore breeze in the morning, slowly clocking around to the SW by sunset, and building in strength tonight. The next system will be pushing toward us for Friday and this one looks to be moving a bit slower, and packing a bigger punch.
The latest GFS guidance still suggest it will take some time for the rain to hit us tomorrow. The Euro is a bit quicker with the onset of precipitation. I'm leaning toward rain moving in after 4PM on Friday, with the potential for some showers prior to then. Wind will be strong for the south on Friday, building through the day. Gusty at times, potentially hitting 40 mph Friday night. Once rain moves in, it will be heavy. Maybe two inches by mid day Saturday. The heart of the storm is east of us by Saturday evening, but light rain could persist through Tuesday. We are looking at up to three inches through the period, but I am thinking we will land right around two and a quarter inches total by Tuesday night. This storm bring some cold air, and we might be lucky enough to see some snow caped peaks to our south when things clear out middle of next week.
Snow will fall in the Sierra. If you are headed up this weekend, plan for some snowy roads and potentially closed passes. Plan to pack water, food, blankets, emergency supplies and tire chains (even if you have an AWD, you need to carry chains). Snow will begin falling Friday night, but only expect a few inches for Saturday morning. The storm arrives in the Sierra on Saturday and rages. A foot an a half at the higher resorts by Sunday, with the storm still kicking into Monday night. We could see three feet on the higher peaks by the time it is done late Tuesday. Cold air settles in behind it. Highs in the 30s Saturday drop to the 20s Sunday and even colder for Monday. It will be winter.
Last day for clean surf is today. We are looking at potentially more storms going into the new month, so while we will have some fair days, it will take a while for the sea to settle. So go out and get on that fun moderate swell in the water right now. I was lucky enough to be out last night around sunset at a ledge near town. The sky was going off. An alien space ship was nearby, glowing through the clouds. We thought we heard thunder, but I am now sure it was some sort of sub woofer drive these aliens use to power their craft. What an experience. And the waves we super fun.
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