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Rare Snow Storm Hits Los Angeles

An unusually cold storm brought a light dusting of snow to areas rarely seen in Los Angeles, evening hitting the Sunset Strip.

LOS ANGELES, CA — For the first time in nearly 60 years, swaths of Los Angeles saw snowfall Thursday afternoon thanks to a rare drop in temperatures as a light storm washed over the region. The snow level dropped to a mere 1,5000 feet, dusting the Santa Monica Mountains and even surprising folks along the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.

"This is probably the coldest storm system I've seen in my time in California," NWS meteorologist David Sweet told the Los Angeles Times. "We've had cold mornings and freeze conditions, but I don't remember seeing anything quite this cold."

The cold storm moving across Southern California is bringing snow showers to local mountains and dropping the snow level to the lowest point of the season, National Weather Service forecasters said. By Thursday afternoon, snow fell in unlikely places such as Malibu and Pasadena.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department Air Operations Section tweeted that as of 12:50 p.m., snow was falling at the 1,500-feet level in the Santa Monica Mountains above Malibu. Officials warned that roads there "will be slippery."

"Isolated rain shower with pea-sized hail near Topanga Blvd and PCH along the Malibu/(Santa Monica) city border," the NWS' Los Angeles office tweeted around 1 p.m
Snow and hail were also reported over parts of the region.


Fresh snow coats Mount Wilson above Pasadena, Calif. after a series of storms that have given California a very wet winter.
The National Weather Service said rainfall in January for downtown Los Angeles was 191 percent of normal. (AP Photo/John Antczak)

The California Highway Patrol announced at around 12:30 p.m. Thursday that Interstate 5 was completely shut down in both directions between Parker Road in Castaic and Grapevine Road in Kern County.

Vehicles were backed up for miles in the early afternoon. Caltrans officials said they were working diligently to clear ice off the road, but "Mother Nature isn't cooperating."

Forecasters said they expected snow accumulations of 1 to 4 inches during this latest storm, with 4 to 6 inches possible across the eastern San Gabriel Mountains in L.A. County, along with "dangerous winter weather driving conditions due to snow showers, icy roadways, and gusty winds."

The snow level in the San Gabriel Mountains was expected to fall to 2,000 feet Thursday.

"Plan on slippery road conditions and be prepared for reduced visibility at times," warned the NWS statement. "Portions of highways 14 and 138 (Pearblossom Highway), mainly near the foothill communities could be impacted by light snow and icy roads."

State Route 39 was closed in both directions from two miles north of Crystal Lake Road to State Route 2 in the Angeles National Forest due to mud and rock slides.

Off the coast, thunderstorms were expected through Thursday night as a result of the moist and unstable air mass in the region.

"Any thunderstorm that forms will be capable of producing local gale force winds and rough seas, dangerous lightning, heavy rainfall with reduced visibility, and waterspouts," said an NWS statement.

A freeze watch is in effect through Friday morning, when temperatures are expected to drop to between 29 and 32 degrees in some Southland areas.

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Here in Michigan, we are experiencing high winds (Bomb Cyclone...the phrase is new to me) which will continue until tomorrow afternoon. Expecting some power outages and broken trees scattered across the roads. Removed everything from the yard which might be picked up by winds and hurled into the windows. Generator is gassed up, emergency supplies are on stand-by, have a good book to while away the hours & plenty of food to eat. Bring it on.

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We shook the cold finally, today was a surprising 45f/7c,

today's ride, fog...







Nothing to see here folks....move along...













(I like how some of them are just white dots).




We definitely skated this year, even if we get bombed now, its march soon which is only a half bad month...two years ago was 110in/3m, this year I plowed the driveway once...

45f=7c, 13f= -10c



Soon we'll fix the clocks...

_________________
Lesser-evilism is war.

Hang in there lads!

meanwhile down-under

Summer scorcher: New Zealand hit by third-hottest on record - National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
Scott Palmer
2 hrs ago


© Image: NIWA / Twitter; Video: Weather Watch An "enormous high pressure system" turns its sights on our shores.

This summer has been New Zealand's third-hottest on record, NIWA says.

The nationwide average summer temperature was 17.9°C (64.2°F), beaten only by the summers of 2017/18 and 1934/35.

The Summer Climate Summary, released on Tuesday, shows the main cause was above average sea temperatures around the coast.

"Marine heatwave conditions persisted in the Tasman Sea and coastal areas of Hawke's Bay and Canterbury experienced marine heatwave conditions for part of summer," NIWA says.

In addition to the warm seas, summer air flow patterns pushed up temperatures due to a lack of southerlies throughout the season.

"Most notably, the combination of high pressure and hot air masses originating from Australia led to prolonged hot conditions throughout much of New Zealand to the end of January," NIWA says.

"The dry and sunny weather was influenced by a central Pacific El Niño event."

Several locations across the country observed record or near record high daily maximum and minimum summer temperatures during this time.

The highest summer temperatures were in the Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Coromandel. But the top temperature itself was in Hanmer Forest with 38.4°C (101.12°F).

Rainfall was also below normal for many places, which has pushed Nelson, Tasman and the Buller District into drought.

"Nelson observed a 40-day dry spell which was the fourth-longest dry spell on record there (with records extending back to 1862), while Tauranga and Hamilton had 36 consecutive dry days - their third-longest dry spells on record," NIWA says.

http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/ ... ocid=ientp

Rain is back for a few days. Heavy at times.

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Hail storm in Long Beach!
Take cover!

Happy Spring, everyone!

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We are having typical April/May showers in March...

'Exceptional' heavy rain, gales, floods to slam New Zealand
Scott Palmer
1 hour ago

Heavy rain and gale force winds are set to slam New Zealand in the next few days after a week of calm conditions.

"A change is coming for many this week, as a cold front moves over the South Island and lower North Island," says Met Service meteorologist Rob Kerr.

"Warm, moist north westerlies ahead of the front [are] set to bring heavy rain and gale force winds to southern and central parts of the country during the next few days."

Severe weather warnings for rain accumulation have been put in place for parts of the South Island.

As much as 600mm is forecast to fall on Fiordland and West Coast ranges between Sunday and Tuesday, while a massive 500mm is possible into the headwaters of Otago and Canterbury rivers.

"Even for these areas this is an exceptional amount of rain and could lead to significant flooding and possible road closures," Met Service warns.

"The heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous."

Northwest gales could become severe, starting in Southland and Fiordland on Monday evening, and then affecting all of Otago and Canterbury during Tuesday. A Met Service severe weather watch has been put in place.

"This is both a significant event, and a big change from current conditions," Kerr warns.

"Updates to current severe weather warnings and watches [are] likely as the system approaches, and further severe weather warnings and/or watches possible as it moves northwards during the week."

http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/ ... ocid=ientp

The showers can't be all that typical.

California drought officially over after more than seven years

"California is officially free of drought after more than seven years, drought monitors said Thursday.
The Golden State has experienced some form of drought for 376 consecutive weeks, the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska, tweeted. It’s the first time the state has been free of drought since Dec. 20, 2011."

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/california-drought/california-drought-officially-over-after-more-seven-years-n983461

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You're probably wondering why I'm here
(not that it makes a heck of a lot of a difference to ya)

Damn! I'm going to have to stay inside and immerse myself in FZ's latest release for the whole weekend, if I'm lucky.

It's been raining on and off for most of the night, hailing here right now, the wildlife is freaking out, it was summer yesterday.

Temperatures plummet, heavy rain and hail on the cards
Brittney Deguara·09:00, Apr 06 2019


KENT BLECHYNDEN/STUFF
New Zealanders can expect some wild weather this weekend, with severe weather warnings in place for parts of the country.

New Zealanders have woken up to bitter cold and heavy rain, with severe weather warnings flagging the wild weather is expected to continue this weekend.

Temperatures have cooled all over the country as an east to southeast flow covers both islands.

Alexandra in the South Island dropped to -1 degrees Celsius (30.2°F) earlier this morning, with temperatures to only picked to hit 13°C (55.4°F) throughout the day.

The capital was looking to be the complete opposite of the blue skies and warm temperatures experienced at last week's Cuba Dupa event - the outlook was cold and wet with showers expected all day and potential hail come Saturday afternoon. Heavy rain was forecast for the evening through to Sunday.

Temperatures in Wellington weren't varying much throughout the day with a low of 9°C (48.2°F) and a top of 12°C (53.6°F).


SUPPLIED

The weather forecast in Wellington is cold and wet with showers expected all day and potential hail come Saturday afternoon.

As the country inched closer to winter, snow was beginning to fall in parts of the country already. Avid trampers planning to tackle Tongariro Alpine Crossing within Tongariro National Park would need to be well prepared as the region expected 1cm of snowfall and temperatures as low as -6°C (21.2°F).

A heavy rain warning was currently in place for eastern Marlborough, the Kaikoura Coast, southern Wairarapa and eastern hills of Wellington.

Many Jaffas (Aucklanders) would have been woken by overnight heavy downpours, with the city being ranked as the wettest place in New Zealand by Met Service at just before 9am Saturday.

While the city could enjoy some warmer temperatures with a high of 20°C (68°F) forecast, it would see downpours again with heavy showers picked to fall.

The wet weather continued to affect the South Island with showers expected all day in Christchurch. Temperatures were expected to stay cool with a chilly low of 5°C (41°F) and a top of just 13°C (55.4°).

People in Queenstown woke to a bitterly cold morning with the mercury pushing just 1°C (33.8°F). While the town would be spared rain it would only see a top temperature of 14°C (57.2°).


Stuff

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/111846 ... -the-cards

We finally got 'em...thank god that's over...

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Lesser-evilism is war.

Chilling down noticeably now, still stubbornly refusing to be driven inside at dusk despite the falling mercury and extra layer of clothing.....

Wellington's Forecast

Latest Reading Updated: 22nd of April 16:15

Right About Now: 15°C (59.0°F)

Max: 17°C (62.6°F)

Min: 13°C (55.4°F)

Wind: 17 km/hr. (10.5mph)

Rain Today: 1.0

Humidity: 86%

Clothing: Yes

Today's Forecast

A shower or two, then occasional rain this evening as southerlies strengthen.

Tuesday's Forecast

Mostly cloudy. Showers becoming isolated in the afternoon. Southerlies dying out in the evening.

Thunderstorm woke me at 6am. Lightning and heavy rain with winds followed but eventually became a calm drizzle which I was able to get the daily 2 mile dog walked. Have raincoat, will travel.

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We're definitely coming off the Orion side..

We're getting starting to catch a break up here...


The weather here, 50/10 and very still...

_________________
Lesser-evilism is war.

32 degrees, humid and sunny on our last day in Zhanjiang - just as it has been for the last 12 days.

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"I have learned from my mistakes, and I am sure I can repeat them exactly."

We're out of it now...

65f = 18c

Got a b-day coming up and a next week off for it, and it looks like nice weather next week...



I'm just wrapping up this years round of briar battles, I try to claim a little more territory every spring...before the ticks come...

It's deer tick season now, the little bastards are out there laying eggs, their kids will be looking for field mice so they can get a meal
...and pick up some other wee beasties to transmit...

...then they molt and are real trouble...

It's ground zero around here, 5m/10k from Lyme, CT, after which the disease is named...

But I'm more worried about the life threatening Babesia parasites that replicate in your red blood cells, rupture your spleen - mandating it's removal
- which sends you to 1:5 odds of not making it out alive...

...the little bastards...

Meanwhile, back on the ride...most of the trees have at least buds now, most have small leaves...

This will all fill in over the next couple of weeks...





I guess Spring is kinds like Fall in Reverse, just slightly more green and the leaves are smaller...

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Lesser-evilism is war.

Weather: 'Cold snap' brings -9°C (15.8°F) temperatures
Scott Palmer 7 hours ago


© Image - Supplied; Video - Weather Watch / YouTube Blustery conditions will whip up some big waves and push more rain on to the wet West Coast.

New Zealand is going through freezing period as a "cold snap" strikes with strong winds, snow and showers.

"We have a colder surge of air heading northwards today with windier south to south west winds bringing in showers to sea level and snow to the mountains," Weather Watch says.

"Parts of northern Southland and central Otago do have a chance of single-digit daytime highs on Sunday, which is below average."

Cooler temperatures have already seen places in the South Island drop below freezing overnight.

"Places at higher elevation in the South Island have been dropping well below 0C, with a ski field reporting as low as -9°C (15.8°F), and more populated areas such as Pukaki and Tekapo dropping to about -2°C (28.4°F) or -3°C (26.6°F) over the last few days," says Met Service meteorologist Kyle Lee.

Met Service says a ridge of high pressure is building in the Tasman Sea, which will bring more settled weather and cooler temperatures. This cooler air flow will be more noticeable overnight Sunday and into Monday morning as winds ease further, meaning the colder air can sink and settle better.

"Overnight temperatures are likely to continue to drop below 0°C with frosts possible for many inland spots as we expect clearer skies over the next few days," Lee says.

http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/ ... ocid=ientp

^^^Lol, just as we're starting to get happy, you're starting to get fucked...

Such is life here on the Sagittarius side

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Lesser-evilism is war.

Locally we're not doing too bad really, we've just had a couple of weeks of the four seasons in one day routine, however the last three days were fantastic, almost summer like. Some of the kids were fooled and hit the beach, rookies the water was still freezing.....

The weather is about to pack up again mid week, I'm ready.....

You're at about 41 degrees south, we're at around 41 degrees north, so I'm guessing we have about the same range of temps, just opposite months, (unless you have some kind of moderation going on that I don't know about). I get slight moderation off the ocean, it's a few clicks away.

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Lesser-evilism is war.

Warning of rapidly rising swells and dangerous surf conditions through weekend
Michael Daly·09:48, Jun 07 2019


Glenn Jeffrey/Fairfax NZ
Waves crash over the end main breakwater at Port Taranaki

Met Service is warning of rapidly rising swells and dangerous surf conditions, as a cold southwest flow builds over the country.

South westerlies could get to severe gale strength in coastal Southland, Clutha and the Coromandel Peninsula from mid-afternoon on Friday. On Saturday, south westerlies could get to gale strength along the east coast from Gisborne to Otago.

The winds are forecast to become strong in Auckland during Friday, and there's a possibility of heavy, thundery showers with hail around lunchtime. Gales could gust to more than 80kmh in the Hauraki Gulf and to more than 70kmh in the Waitemata and Manukau harbours during the afternoon and evening.

Wellington is expected to have some showers and strong southerlies through to mid-afternoon, while strong southwesterlies at first in Christchurch should ease and showers should clear.

Combined wave heights - swell plus the effect of wind - could get up to 8 metres offshore from the west coast, and possibly up to 6m high at the coast from about Raglan north.


JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF
Snow levels and temperatures dropped during the past week. For the next few days many areas will feel the sting of strong, cold south westerlies.

Swell, which was generated by wind elsewhere, would account for about 6m of the 8m maximum, Met Service meteorologist Gerrit Keyser said.

In this case, the swell was generated between Tasmania, the South Island and the Auckland Islands.

"The South Island west coast is feeling it already. Later today it's reaching the North Island," Keyser said on Friday morning.

The swell height would be rising rapidly - from perhaps 1.5-2m in the morning to 6m by the evening.

"That's what's dangerous. You're out there. It's very windy already ... You can see the wind waves, it looks choppy but the waves aren't that big. But within the span of about six hours it rises rapidly to 6m," Keyser said.

The large swells would be coming through in pulses. "After this initial pulse it dies down, back to about 1.5-2m. Then it comes back Saturday afternoon to evening, again mostly the west coast."

Offshore from the east coast a pulse was expected to start overnight Saturday, then spread along the whole of the coastline by the end of Sunday.

With the swell coming from the southwest, the angle of the east coastline meant the swell would be even more offshore in the east than the west.

For most of the west coastline the swell was moving parallel to the coast, so some height was lost when it bent toward the coastline, Keyser said.

But from about Raglan north, the angle of the west coast meant a southwest swell hit it directly, and so waves at the coast would be bigger for that area.

It was hard to say how big waves would be at the coast, but it was possible the largest waves on the west coast north of Raglan could be 6m high, Keyser said.

"That is large, that is significant. People like boaties and surfers need to be careful out there."

People at the coast would not see the full 6m height, which was a measure from the trough to the crest of the wave. That's the height that would be measured by a buoy, but people looking at the sea would only see the upper part of the wave.

"It's (the swell) going to be 6m everywhere, but most of the swell will be offshore. It will still be very big on the coastline, but not 6m. That's because of the way the country is angled.

"But that Northland, Kaipara area does feel the direct swell ... so it will be a bit higher there."


Stuff

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/113300 ... gh-weekend


We've had a break in the weather locally.....

Right about now: 12°C (53.6°F)

Max: 13°C (55.4°F)

Min: 10°C (50.0°F)

Wind: 39 km/hr. (24.3 mph)

Rain Today: 0.0 for a change.....

Humidity: 70%

Clothing: 75%

Updated: 09th of June, 2019: 17:41

Today's Forecast

Partly cloudy. Northerlies strengthening.

Monday's Forecast

Fine, with high cloud. Northwest breezes.

The long-awaited upgrade to the US weather forecast model is here
It’s been almost 40 years since the model got a new core.
Scott K. Johnson - 6/12/2019, 12:00 PM

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/06/us-weather-forecasts-get-a-software-update/

Weather forecasters need a ton of knowledge and a fair bit of experience with local weather patterns to do their job well. They also need a good forecast model. These computer models take in measurements from weather stations on the ground, satellites in orbit, and balloons in between and then simulate the physics of weather forward in time a few days.

For the first time in about 40 years, the guts of the US model got swapped out for something new today. The upgrade brings us a new “Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere” (or FV3) dynamical core, which simulates the basic atmospheric physics at the heart of this endeavor, a change that has been in the works for a while.

The new core had its origins in simulating atmospheric chemistry but ended up being adapted into other models. A few years ago, it was selected to replace the old core in the US Global Forecast System model. And for more than a year now, the new version of the model has been running in parallel so its results could be compared to the operational model.

That evaluation also included retroactive forecasts (that is, forecast simulations with the same inputs that were available on each day in the past) of the past three years, with an additional focus on case studies of major hurricanes and common storm types.

The results have been a little mixed. The new core improves computational efficiency and allows some processes to be simulated at a higher resolution—unequivocal improvements. It also simulates the physics of water vapor more realistically. In a press conference today, NOAA scientists cited a number of areas where forecast improvements have been seen. Forecast tracks of hurricanes and the mid-latitude storms that frequently sweep across the US have both improved, they said, along with forecasts of hurricane strength. Forecast precipitation amounts were also cited as a key area of progress.

But there have also been grumblings in the weather community over the past year about results that didn’t seem so hot. For example, surface temperatures have been biased low in some situations, throwing off forecasts.

Of course, no model is a perfect replica of the planet, and part of using these models to forecast weather requires us to understand and account for their biases. NOAA says that the cold bias has been reduced by development over the past few months—and development is a continuous process that doesn’t stop when a model goes live. Still, there could be an adjustment period here as forecasters get used to their new souped-up model. At least through September of this year, the old model will still be running in parallel to aid in that transition.

Improvements to the forecast system can come from other fronts, too, from recent upgrades to NOAA’s supercomputers that drive the models to launches of the latest and greatest satellites. But switching out the core of the main forecast model is a big deal that will hopefully help it keep up with the progress being made by others. Right now, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model is generally seen as the top dog.

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in maryland, usa @ 7:10 pm, it's 95°, feels like 106°.

I need to cut my fucking grass. when am I gonna be able to do that?

at 5 am in the morning? I don't think so. let it grow.

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"bit of nostalgia for the old folks."

Oh, the weather outside is steamy.
But, inside the cool is dreamy.
So, when you ask me when will I mow the grass,
Let it grow. Let it grow. Let it grow.

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You're probably wondering why I'm here
(not that it makes a heck of a lot of a difference to ya)