Another month of no winter.

The week of 10/13 brought some low pressure systems our way, but they just didn't look very threatening. The 7 day forecast looked about the same.

On Monday the 13th, PM, some nice cirrus... 

 

By Tuesday morning, it starts to darken, but i am not reaching for the umbrella yet.

By Tues. PM, it looks darker. The week continued to be an evolving thing, ever changing, sometimes interesting, sometimes blah.

Here's a potpourri:

There's poetry aplenty above, but you have to be open to it.

Finally 10/24-25, it rained over night, nothing major, partly cloudy skies by Sat 9AM.

Thursday 10/30 something was 'sposed to be headed this way. I couldn't see that happening, but when i woke at 2 AM 10/31 the street was wet... but that was about it.
None of this will put a dent in the drought.

Links for the month? check this one out, a new cloud type:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2014/10/10/undulatus_asperatus_a_new_cloud_type.html

Here's a few good general info links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud
Long, informative.

"In meteorology, a cloud is a visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals made of water or various chemicals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body."  After this, it gets incredibly complicated.

This is a bit simpler:
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/%28Gh%29/guides/mtr/cld/cldtyp/home.rxml

http://www.clouds-online.com/

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/clouds/cloud-names-classifications
You can download a PDF file
"Cloud types for observers Cloud types for observers (PDF, 4 MB)  guide."

Weather 101 A tutorial on cloud types:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMagDRCpJ14

http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/find-a-cloud/#p=1&i=0

This one is rather simplistic, but sometimes that's OK:
http://www.slideshare.net/jdlowe78/cloud-formation-28383426

RE: the drought (which is not going away anytime soon):

http://mashable.com/2014/10/16/7-underwater-secrets-found-in-dried-out-california-lakes/

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/seven_ways_california_might_change_in_a_72year_drought.php

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1030249-14-california-communities-now-on-verge-of-waterless-ness-mass-migration-out-of-california-seems-imminent/?sidebar=todaysheadline

http://theweek.com/article/index/269602/how-californias-central-valley-went-from-breadbasket-to-wasteland

http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/08/25/california-drought-7-gifs

What I want to see on the western horizon heading in from the Pacific is something like this:

No, I am not holding my breath.

But I'll be back next month, come hell or high water as the saying goes.

Another rather boring month...

Another rather boring month September was, skies-wise. No end to drought, not many interesting skies.  A bit of nice cirrus, nothing special.

And forecasts of an el nino? ... down-graded significantly.

However!... 9/25-26
Overnight, a mild storm system spun thru. Nothing outrageous, but it did rain. In the AM, the last of the front was passing to the east, i took in the western edge of the front, moving east.

Niiiiice :-)

The aftermath the next day was pretty awesome too - big, FAT!

& then some awesome nimbo-cumulus!

The drought continues on... this is getting to be scary.

When the shit really hits the fan, we may all be in this same boat:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/03/us/california-drought-tulare-county.html?_r=0
With Dry Taps and Toilets, California Drought Turns Desperate
By JENNIFER MEDINA OCT. 2, 2014

PORTERVILLE, Calif. — After a nine-hour day working at a citrus packing plant, her body covered in a sheen of fruit wax and dust, there is nothing Angelica Gallegos wants more than a hot shower, with steam to help clear her throat and lungs.

“I can just picture it, that feeling of finally being clean — really refreshed and clean,” Ms. Gallegos, 37, said one recent evening.

But she has not had running water for more than five months — nor is there any tap water in her near future — because of a punishing and relentless drought in California. In the Gallegos household and more than 500 others in Tulare County, residents cannot flush a toilet, fill a drinking glass, wash dishes or clothes, or even rinse their hands without reaching for a bottle or bucket."

Read this/above and then think about it, real hard.

I have several gallons of water in my freezer... and numerous cans of beans, corn, breakfast cereal etc. on my shelves, earthquake supplies.
But will this really help me 'when the wheels come down'?
Nope, no fucking way. Maybe for a few days or so...

Here's the Foo Fighters video ('when the wheels come down'), for your convenience:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONkiLR5Ehys
(The drummer is *totally kick-ass*, but Dave would have it that way being a big John Bonham fan.)

Here's more to ponder:

Orange County's Great Drought of 1864
By Gustavo Arellano Wed., Sep. 10 2014 at 2:00 PM

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2014/09/orange_county_california_drought_water_history.php

http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Satellites-show-major-Southwest-groundwater-loss-5644748.php

http://earthjustice.org/slideshow/the-california-drought?gclid=CJWRks-l378CFQmoaQod8j8A2w

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/is-the-wests-dry-spell-really-a-megadrought-16824

Keep checking this one, bookmark it, if you are so interested:
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

Not a very well put together web page (it's text expands beyond my screen width, at least w/ an old version of Firefox - if you are on a Mac, w/ Safari, it works much better) but you will get the idea, nonetheless:
http://cacs.org/research/unsustainable-california-the-top-10-issues-facing-the-golden-state-water-supply/

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102057022?trknav=homestack:topnews:4




 Are we in deep shit, or what??

“We’re living in a dream world.”
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/02/west-coast-track-worst-drought-500-years.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/us/severe-drought-has-us-west-fearing-worst.html?_r=0


Who knows what tomorrow may bring?

Let's end this post on a good note, & hope for the best.
Traffic, the band, from late 60's:
"Who knows what tomorrow may bring"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwfUfTmOHvA