stunningly spectacular, then depressingly dreary

Wow! Enjoy the next couple of days if you love mild, springlike weather! It'll be sunny today, with highs in Chico pushing 70 degrees. Tomorrow will be nice, as well, with perhaps a few more clouds. Another storm will be making its way in from the west by Monday night, and it'll be dreary pretty much the rest of the week. Thursday may be an exception as dry conditions are expected then. Otherwise, know where the umbrella is located. The National Weather Service doesn't have any Special Weather Statements or Advisories out yet for the next storm. Perhaps they don't want to overhype it like the last one, which ended up not being nearly as powerful as they had thought. The mountains may get issued a Winter Weather Advisory or Winter Storm Watch later today or tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the lovely weather! Here's Chico's detailed seven day forecast from the NWS:

Today: Sunny, with a high near 67. North northwest wind around 7 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 39. South southwest wind around 6 mph becoming northeast.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 64. Southeast wind between 3 and 9 mph.

Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of rain after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. South southeast wind between 7 and 10 mph.

Tuesday: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 56. South southeast wind between 13 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Tuesday Night: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 46. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Wednesday: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Wednesday Night: A slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 58.

Thursday Night: A slight chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.

Friday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54.

Friday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.

Saturday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 55.

another overhyped storm?

Once again, I'm thinking this storm was made out to be a bigger monster than it really is. There is still a Wind Advisory up until 10 pm this evening for wind gusts to 40 mph, but I don't think that will happen. The highest wind gust so far in Chico today has been from the southeast at 23 mph. Those gusts have been fairly sustained over the past few hours. I simply don't expect the winds to gust much higher than that. Frankly, I'm quite surprised the advisory hasn't been cancelled. It has not been very stormy in Chico today. The National Weather Service also overestimated the rainfall amounts, saying over an inch of rain for Chico. So far, barely half an inch has fallen. There is a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast for this evening, bringing the possibility of localized heavy downpours. However, the widespread forecasts of an inch or more were grossly overestimated. My complaint is the NWS always does this- making these storms to be stronger than they really are. This gets my hopes up (because I love stormy weather, which makes me weird), then I become disappointed when the storms don't deliver on the expectations. Sigh. Anyway, once again I'm disappointed. Perhaps the next storm will not be a disappointment. Here's the specific forecast for Chico from the NWS:

Tonight: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 4am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4am. Low around 45. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 22 to 25 mph decreasing to between 9 and 12 mph. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. North northwest wind around 7 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. Northwest wind between 3 and 6 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 66. North northwest wind around 7 mph.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. South southwest wind around 6 mph becoming northeast.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63.

Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.

Tuesday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 53.

Tuesday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38.

Wednesday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.

Friday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 53.

wind advisory up for next storm

There is a Wind Advisory in effect for the Sacramento Valley (including Chico) starting at noon tomorrow and lasting until 10 pm tomorrow night. Sustained winds from 15 to 25 mph with gusts to over 45 mph are possible during that time period. Loose outdoor furniture and other objects that can be blown about need to be tied down or put away. Small tree limbs could fall onto power lines, causing localized power outages, so be prepared for that possibility. As far as precipitation, expect over an inch to an inch and a half of rain for the valley, 2-3 inches for the neighboring foothills, and 1-3 feet of snow for the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. A Winter Storm Warning is also in effect through late tomorrow night for the mountains east of Chico. If traveling to the mountains for weekend skiing, be prepared for dangerous conditions. Me, I have class tomorrow, but I'll be coming home right after class to hunker down for this storm. It's not expected to last very long, though, as it'll be in and out in under twelve hours. There will be some lingering showers on Saturday, but the sun returns for Sunday and Monday. However, another storm may influence our weather Tuesday into Wednesday. Temps will be mainly in the 50s and 60s for highs, while lows will be in the 40s. Gotta love El Nino!

storm train rolls on

This most recent storm dropped over an inch and a half of rain on Chico between yesterday afternoon and late this morning. That is some beneficial rain! The mountains saw anywhere from 3" to over a foot of snow. Guess what? More is on the way. In fact, forecasters are stating this next storm, set to arrive around early Friday, may be better organized and stronger than this last one. Expect more heavy rain, copious mountain snow, and gusty winds to 35 mph btween Friday and Friday night. There will be a bit of a lull late Saturday through Monday before more storms arrive for midweek next week. The storm train just rolls on! Here's the latest Chico forecast from the National Weather Service:

Tonight: Patchy fog after 10pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming northeast.

Thursday: Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 60. North northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Thursday Night: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 50. East southeast wind between 7 and 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday: Rain. High near 53. Southeast wind between 15 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Friday Night: Rain. Low around 46. South southeast wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 45.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63.

Monday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.

Tuesday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58.

Tuesday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44.

Wednesday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60.

stormy weather

The rain is falling in Chico as I type this. The rain should last through late tonight, giving Chico about three-quarters of an inch of rain. The Sierra Nevada mountains east of Chico should receive up to a foot above 5000' by tomorrow afternoon. If traveling to the mountains over the next 24 hours, be careful and be prepared for dangerous travel conditions. Winds are expected to pick up tonight, as well, with gusts to 40 mph in the valley and foothills. The mountains will see gusts to 50 mph. The rain tapers to showers tomorrow, and Thursday should be partly sunny. Another storm system moves in late Thursday into Friday, bringing another round of heavy rain for the valley and snow to the mountains. Saturday may be showery, but Sunday and next Monday look fabulous. Highs the next few days will stay in the 50s for Chico, but will climb into the 60s by the weekend. Stay safe out there!

more wet weather on its way

That isolated rain shower I talked about yesterday in my blog gave Chico about a quarter of an inch of precipitation. Some areas of the foothills east of town received up to half an inch. There was a lull in the shower activity yesterday afternoon, and the sun even came out periodically. More showery weather is on the way, though. Tonight into tomorrow looks wet, and a wetter storm will impact the area on Tuesday. Chances of rain are in the forecast through next weekend, as an unsettled weather pattern continues to plague us. Keep that umbrella handy! Here's the latest forecast for Chico from the National Weather Service:

Today: Showers likely, mainly after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 56. Southeast wind between 5 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Tonight: Showers likely, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. West northwest wind between 5 and 7 mph.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. North wind around 7 mph.

Tuesday: Rain likely, mainly after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 55. Northeast wind at 6 mph becoming west southwest. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Tuesday Night: Rain. Low around 44. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58.

Wednesday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.

Thursday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60.

Thursday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47.

Friday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57.

Friday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44.

Saturday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57.

nuisance showers

There was a very isolated glob of showers that moved through the Chico area this morning. There were some embedded heavy showers that dropped up to an inch of rain in some places in about an hour. It was interesting to me for two reasons: the blob of showers was very isolated (at one point it extended from I-5 to the west and Paradise to the east), and it moved from northwest to southeast on either side of highway 99. I don't believe it was associated with any major frontal system. The next storm that will affect our area is still over the Pacific Ocean currently. The last system that moved through yesterday (which didn't drop a bit of rain- just some slightly overcast skies) has moved off to the east and will give the Intermountain West some beneficial snows the next 36 hours.I don't know- this area of rain was very odd to me. Anyway, hopefully the sun will pop out later today and encourage the non-fruit bearing trees to continue to bloom. Parts of Chico are beautiful right now, with many of the plum, crabapple, almond and pear trees in shades of pink and white right now. Hopefully soon the cherry trees on campus will bloom. I hope to capture their beauty with my digital camera. I took some pics yesterday with my camera phone, but I don't have the equipment to download them onto my laptop. Oh, well- the pics make nice wallpaper on my cell. I'll have to remember to bring my digital camera with me next week and take some pictures before the blooms disappear. The forecast calls for some off and on showers tomorrow and Monday, with a chance of rain Tuesday through next Friday. There are a few storms still forming out in the Pacific, and forecasters don't yet know how potent they will become- hence the vagueness of the forecast. Just keep your umbrella handy over the next week. Highs will be in the upper 50s to lower 60s and lows will be in the low to mid 40s. Enjoy!