Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Very strange weather all over California

 I was listening to the weather locally tonight and in regard to San Luis Obispo down to Santa Barbara where I presently am staying, it was saying something like "expect snow levels to drop to 1000 feet over the next few days. Then I brought up a KSBW weather map from a station nearer where I live in the SF BAy area and it basically said that it was snowing from Fresno to Palm Springs which is extremely unusual by the way. However, it's true the desert can get very very cold in the winter, in fact I think the coldest temperature I was aware of where I was was likely in 1971 in Yucca Valley which was 5 degrees with a foot of snow on the ground then. So, Yes. it can snow in the desert around the Joshua Trees.

I mentioned all this to my older daughter whose response was: "What are we doing going into another Ice Age?" and I said "I don't know but this is really strange when the polar vortex comes all the way down to Los Angeles and further south. To make this even weirder they just installed the solar panels on the roof the last couple of days and then I heard a banging from 50 mph wind gusts hitting us. So, hopefully these winds don't rip the newly installed solar panels off the roof or bring down large branches or trees nearby. I had to dodge many branches and Palm Fronds on the roads to the market today in high winds too.

Strange weather and strange times!

Basically if snow levels drop to 1000 feet the Grapevine (Interstate 5 into Los Angeles from the north) will close as well as the grade just north of San Luis Obispo leading to Atascadero too on 101. Otherwise cars will slide all the way down that slope on ice or snow. So, hopefully people are aware what snow and ice can do on that steep slope of 101 just north of San Luis Obispo. I wouldn't want to be driving either 5 or 101 in these conditions late at night with temperatures below freezing. People here in southern California mostly don't know how to drive in these conditions unless they are skiers or snowboarders or are from another snowy place other than California.

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