Wind Advisory in effect for this afternoon and evening

Another Bad Hair Day Alert: THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SACRAMENTO HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO MIDNIGHT PDT TONIGHT FOR THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY AND ADJACENT SIERRA FOOTHILLS. * WINDS: SOUTH 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH AT TIMES. * TIMING: WINDS WILL BE INCREASING THROUGH THE DAY AND ARE EXPECTED TO BEGIN REACHING ADVISORY SPEEDS AFTER 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON. THE WINDS ARE LIKELY TO BE STRONGEST DURING THE EVENING HOURS. * LOCATIONS INCLUDE: CHICO...REDDING...PARADISE. * IMPACTS: BLOWING DEBRIS MAY MAKE ROAD TRAVEL HAZARDOUS. STEERING COULD BECOME DIFFICULT ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES.

rain increasingly likely

There is more confidence based on computer forecast models that we here in the Northstate will be affected by this storm that is currently bringing heavy rain and wind to parts of the Pacific Northwest. Today should be sunny all day, but clouds will increase overnight tonight and showers may begin as soon as tomorrow afternoon. Winds will also increase, gusting 25-30 mph tomorrow afternoon and evening. Remnants of tropical typhoon Pabuk have been caught up in a powerful jet stream. Those remnants have been carried across the vast Pacific Ocean from the coast of Japan. These remnants of Pabuk are the reason for the winds and rain. I am continually fascinated by weather. It's amazing that a storm that affected an area thousands of miles away can end up impacting our weather here. Anyway, prepare for some wet and breezy weather the next 36-48 hours. The rest of the seven day forecast looks sunny and mild, with highs ranging from the low 70s Monday to the low 80s by next Friday. Here's the specific forecast for Chico from the National Weather Service: Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Light east wind becoming south southeast 8 to 13 mph in the afternoon. Tonight Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. Southeast wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Sunday A slight chance of rain before noon, then a chance of showers after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 73. Southeast wind 11 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday Night Showers likely before midnight, then a chance of rain after midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 59. South southeast wind around 17 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Monday A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. South southeast wind 8 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Monday Night A 20 percent chance of showers before midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low around 54. Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 74. Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 54. Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 77. Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 52. Thursday Sunny, with a high near 78. Thursday Night Clear, with a low around 54. Friday Sunny, with a high near 81.

more rain in the forecast?

This has been a very unusual weather pattern this second half of September. Normally we would see a long stretch of sunny, warm weather, usually with highs in the upper 80s to lower 90s and no rain until around the latter part of October. Not this year. Chico has already seen nearly an inch and a half of rainfall and highs only in the 70s the past few days. I am not complaining, believe me. I love this weather. The forecast is calling for a beautiful last weekend of September, with sunshine and highs right around 80 degrees for Saturday. Sunday will be a bit cooler, with mid 70s and a slight chance of an afternoon shower. Rain chances increase Sunday night into Monday, with highs on Monday only in the low 70s. This does not appear to be a strong storm for us, as most of the moisture and energy associated with this next storm is to our north. Places like Seattle and Portland could see rainfall amounts of 2-3 inches this weekend! We here in Chico won't have to worry about that. By the middle of next week we will see highs in the mid to upper 70s and sunny conditions. Here is the detailed seven day forecast for Chico from the National Weather Service: Today Sunny, with a high near 78. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 53. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the evening. Saturday Sunny, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming south southeast 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 57. Southeast wind around 9 mph. Sunday A 20 percent chance of rain after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 75. South southeast wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Sunday Night A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Monday A 40 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 71. Monday Night A chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 73. Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 54. Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 52. Thursday Sunny, with a high near 78.

fall like weather

Last night Chico and surrounding areas experienced some unusual weather. Isolated thunderstorms popped up due to atmospheric instability and produced torrential, but brief, rain. I was driving home and hit the heavy rain around 8:40 pm last night. It was very isolated, however, as five minutes later the rain stopped as I traveled north on Highway 99. It was very heavy and I had to slow down due to reduced visibility. I thought I was back in Florida! Chico received officially three tenths of an inch of rain from the storm, although I'm sure other areas received more. At my house, over six-tenths of an inch was recorded on my automatic weather station. Today was cool and breezy, with a high temperature at the University Farm of 73 degrees. Winds were breezy from the north at around 20-25 mph. Some areas in the valley witnessed some isolated shower activity as a cold front moved through. The weather tomorrow will be similar to today, with less in the way of clouds and showers. Friday the winds slacken and the temps warm into the mid 70s. Saturday and Sunday look beautiful, with sunshine and highs around 80 degrees. Highs early next week will stay in the low 80s. Looks like fall weather is hanging around for awhile! Here's Chico's seven day forecast from the National Weather Service: Tonight A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9pm, then a slight chance of showers between 9pm and midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low around 47. North northwest wind 7 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Thursday Sunny, with a high near 71. Northwest wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Thursday Night Clear, with a low around 49. North wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Friday Sunny, with a high near 76. North wind 7 to 9 mph. Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 52. Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph becoming east northeast after midnight. Saturday Sunny, with a high near 79. Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 57. Sunday Sunny, with a high near 79. Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 56. Monday A slight chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Monday Night A slight chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 83. Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 57. Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 81.

becoming windy this week

Yesterday was a gorgeous day in the Northstate, with a high of 84 degrees in Chico under sunny skies. Today will be even better, with continued sunny skies and a high of only 74 degrees. Fall is definitely in the air. By Wednesday expect a slight chance of showers as a quick-moving storm slides through the area. This storm will also bring some snowflakes to the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada mountains by Wednesday night. In the valley, winds will increase tomorrow behind this front, gusting from the north between 25-30 mph. If you have any loose objects in the backyard, today may be the day to secure them. Winds will continue into Thursday before abating on Friday. Highs tomorrow will only be in the upper 60s (!) in Chico, warming into the mid 70s Thursday and upper 70s by Friday. The weekend looks dry and warm, with sunshine both Saturday and Sunday and highs in the mid 80s. The average high this time of year in Chico is around 87 degrees, so we should remain below that for the next seven days. Nice! Here's Chico's forecast from the National Weather Service: Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. East southeast wind 7 to 9 mph. Tonight A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. North wind 8 to 10 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Wednesday A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Northwest wind 13 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 47. North northwest wind 8 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Thursday Sunny, with a high near 73. North northwest wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Thursday Night Clear, with a low around 49. Friday Sunny, with a high near 78. Friday Night Clear, with a low around 52. Saturday Sunny, with a high near 81. Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 55. Sunday Sunny, with a high near 83. Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 57. Monday Sunny, with a high near 84.

lots of rain

Yesterday was one for the history books. Chico State University Farm, on the south side of town, received exactly one inch of rain from this storm. It began raining early Saturday morning and rained almost continuously (well, not continuously, but it seemed like it) most of the day. The high temperature in Chico yesterday did not get above the mid 60s, over 20 degrees below average for the date. The rainfall had to have broken a record for the date, but Chico does not have an official National Weather Service reporting site, so I have no idea. I do know that the total precipitation for Chico for the month of September is .42 inches, so we got over double the amount for the whole month in just one day. Other locations around the Northstate did break their daily rainfall records, including Sacramento, Red Bluff and Redding. Again, very unusual to see a storm of this strength this time of year, but we desperately needed the rain. All of that rain has moved on to the east, leaving us with a clear but chilly morning- the temperature currently is 48 degrees in Chico. The expected high for today is 73- fall is definitely in the air! It will remain below normal temperature-wise the rest of the week, with highs only in the 70s to lower 80s. This is my kind of weather! Here are the specifics for Chico courtesy of the NWS: Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 56. Light and variable wind becoming north around 5 mph after midnight. Monday Sunny, with a high near 80. North wind 5 to 9 mph becoming west northwest in the afternoon. Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 58. Light and variable wind. Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Light and variable wind becoming south southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 70. Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. Thursday Sunny, with a high near 75. Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 52. Friday Sunny, with a high near 80. Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 56. Saturday Sunny, with a high near 84.

some showers, then nice weather

It has been breezy and warm in Chico today, with sunny skies this morning giving way to mostly cloudy skies this afternoon as the front inches closer. Highs so far today have been in the mid 80s, with gusty south winds to 25 mph. There is still a chance of showers overnight tonight (a 30% chance), and a better chance tomorrow (a 70% chance). Winds will decelerate some tonight and then pick back up tomorrow as the actual front moves through. Chico should expect around a quarter of an inch in the rain bucket by late tomorrow afternoon. Some mountain locations could see one to two inches of rain, while elevations above 7500 feet may see a dusting of snow. Temperatures will drop by nearly twenty degrees tomorrow compared to today, with highs only in the mid to upper 60s. Highs climb into the mid 70s Sunday with the return of sunshine. Temps warm into the lower 80s for much of next week, but that's still below average for this time of year (88 degrees). So enjoy the touch of fall as we head into fall- it begins Sunday afternoon local time. Pastels on the Plaza occurs tomorrow at Chico's Downtown Plaza. It's a chance for the community to show their creative side by drawing on the sidewalks bordering the plaza. The weather may not cooperate, as showers are in the forecast. I doubt a little rain will deter attendees from this fun event, however. Here is Chico's seven day forecast from the National Weather Service: Tonight Scattered showers after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. South southeast wind 7 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Saturday Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66. South southeast wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Saturday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm, then a chance of showers between 8pm and 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. South wind 11 to 16 mph becoming light and variable in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming west northwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Sunday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 55. Light and variable wind. Monday Sunny, with a high near 81. Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 57. Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. Thursday Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Thursday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.