Snow in the Bay Area
Feb. 24th, 2023 01:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerThis morning we got some snow in the Bay Area. That alone is not so unusual. What is unusual is where it fell.
Usually a few times each winter there's snow on the higher inland peaks around the region, above 3,000' - 3,500' elevation. On a cold morning after rain the day before I can look southeast toward San Jose's Mt. Hamilton and see snow at the top. This morning there was snow in the coast range mountains, and it was a lot lower down than elev. 3,000'.
This pic I snapped on the way back from lunch shows the view from an intersection in Cupertino. There's significant patchy snow up in the coast range mountains, and it's fairly low down. I estimate the snow in the pic above is below 1,000' elevation.
In 25+ years of living here I don't think I've ever seen snow in the coast range mountains. Although they get way more precipitation than the mountains to the east of us due to their proximity to the ocean, they're also kept warmer in the winter by the moderating temperatures of the Pacific Ocean.
This weird winter weather isn't limited to the SF Bay Area. I heard on radio news yesterday that there's a blizzard warning for Los Angeles. A blizzard, in Los Angeles!
...Now, the catch was that it's not the City of Los Angeles, which is almost entirely right down at sea level, but Los Angeles County. LA County includes mountains that reach to 10,000'. Interstate 5 crests over 4,000' in the Grapevine north of the area. State roads wind through the mountains at up to 6,000'. Those are the areas that had severe weather warnings.
Usually a few times each winter there's snow on the higher inland peaks around the region, above 3,000' - 3,500' elevation. On a cold morning after rain the day before I can look southeast toward San Jose's Mt. Hamilton and see snow at the top. This morning there was snow in the coast range mountains, and it was a lot lower down than elev. 3,000'.
This pic I snapped on the way back from lunch shows the view from an intersection in Cupertino. There's significant patchy snow up in the coast range mountains, and it's fairly low down. I estimate the snow in the pic above is below 1,000' elevation.
In 25+ years of living here I don't think I've ever seen snow in the coast range mountains. Although they get way more precipitation than the mountains to the east of us due to their proximity to the ocean, they're also kept warmer in the winter by the moderating temperatures of the Pacific Ocean.
This weird winter weather isn't limited to the SF Bay Area. I heard on radio news yesterday that there's a blizzard warning for Los Angeles. A blizzard, in Los Angeles!
...Now, the catch was that it's not the City of Los Angeles, which is almost entirely right down at sea level, but Los Angeles County. LA County includes mountains that reach to 10,000'. Interstate 5 crests over 4,000' in the Grapevine north of the area. State roads wind through the mountains at up to 6,000'. Those are the areas that had severe weather warnings.
