Tag: Weather
A Passing Summer Returns
DRAFT In progress………
In August,
we thought we had forgotten.
And upon arrival,
We realized we had to just continue.
“I will never leave you.”
Whispers old lady summer.
By September, a rhythm
Only upset by a single cold morning.
“Aren’t I beautiful?”
In October a hope arises,
None of this will end.
“Stand by me, my sweets.”
By November,
Moments can be perfect, fragile, then lost.
“Please, not now… Why?”
In December,
The last leaf falls
On a rising wind
And we hope we will never forget.
“Because we will meet again.”
Saturday Night Wind Party
Featuring Steady Eddy and the Gusts…
I bailed out from an evening on the town with a pretty yound lady to chase rumours of a windless afternoon over the hill. The wind was manageable when I got there, then proceeded to &*%#ing howl. As the sunset over the hill, the wind lapsed for about 30 seconds and I thought that would be the start of a pleasant evening. Nothing doing. You could hear the big whoosh coming up the canyon before you ever felt it. Fishing in the wind is hardly ever the ideal situation. If it’s steady, you can adapt the casting stroke and manage it all fairly well. However, where I was at – a kink in the canyon where the wind funnels through a neck and turns more to the northeast – it came through in pulsing, swirling waves. The riffle at the downstream end of the run would cast a showery mist into the air with each new push of wind.
I did manage my casting fairly well – with some unseen blunders – and managed three half pounders to hand and a few missed grabs. A slow evening – maybe I should have reconsidered my priorities and stuck to the evening-on-the-town plan, but at least I got it out of my system – for a couple of days at least.
Summer returns, tropical storms brew and fizzle and a new job looms
No fishing this evening. The front passed through this morning, wetting the streets with heavy drizzle that quickly vanished with sunrise. In it’s wake, fresh northwest winds kicked in – not a good situation. It’s supposed to return to smokin’ hot conditions over the hill for the rest of the week. Even if the river cools down overnight, the wind will probably be ferocious tomorrow.
I often wonder if these tropical storms of the eastern Pacific that form this time of year ever make it up to northern California and produce significant rainfall. Unlike the east coast where remnant hurricanes will occasionally barrel up to New England and wreak havoc – I’ve never seen or heard of such a scenario here on the west coast. Any geologic or stratigraphic evidence of a large, early season mega-rainfall producer would be hard, if not impossible, to separate from other storms that come later in the year. I might have to one day take a look at some long running rainfall records and look for large rainfall events in August/September and try and track down their origins.
Regardless, this afternoon Julio was downgraded to a tropical depression and began to wash out sending some impressive looking thunderstorms into Arizona. Today’s discussion indicated a long range chance of some thunderstorms moving up our way – but it’s a long way off – both in time and space – and likely won’t be anything organized for widespread, prolonged rainfall. Oh well, time to enjoy some more summer tomatoes or run down to Arizona and chase flash floods.
The big news is that this is my last week at my current job. I’ve been there for 10 years and it’s time to move on – moving all the way across the parking lot to a different building – and a new group of co-workers. Of course, in my mind, the first order of business is to get a feel for how flexible I can make my schedule and still get away with it. I’m told it’s very flexible – so we will see if afternoon river trips are still a viable option. One of the benefits of a long time job is that you come to understand when you can and can’t bail out on short notice. Hopefully I can figure this out quickly because it’s about that time. Don’t get me wrong – I’m into my work – I just have competing priorities.
A dying cold front and a sunset is born
I was up on campus this evening – I walked outside to the warm glow of a spectacular apricot-hued sky. Layers of clouds were each catching the last rays of the sun painting watercolor stripes across the western sky. I wish I woulda had my camera but wouldn’t have captured the scale of it. The ingredients were perfect. An approaching storm is fizzling out – sending broken layers of clouds towards the coast. The afternoon forecast discussion reads as follows:
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA 505 PM PDT SUN AUG 24 2008 .SYNOPSIS...A WEAKENING COLD FRONT WILL WASH ON SHORE OVER THE REDWOOD COAST AND NORTHERN INTERIOR TONIGHT INTO MONDAY...BRINGING PERIODS OF DRIZZLE AND PATCHY LIGHT RAIN TO DEL NORTE AND NORTHERN HUMBOLDT COUNTIES. COOL TEMPERATURES TUESDAY MORNING WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A SHARP WARM UP WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AREA WIDE...
“Washing ashore” is the perfect description. Meanwhile, high up overhead, our neighborhood weather satellite captures the infrared image showing the bands of clouds filtering towards the coast.
If it cools down inland overnight, that means tommorrow will be a day to bail out of late afternoon work responsibilities and go swing a two-handed rod on some river somewhere. A true harbinger of fall passing through but the longer forecast shows triple digit temperatures returning later in the week – a typical August feint. But it will only get better from here.
On the Coming of Storms
Reminiscing on Fall Steelhead
Somewhere in August a subtle change happens. One morning dawns cooler than the last. Maybe it lasts a day, maybe three, then the notion is lost in the incessant summer. Nothing of real importance happens now, except maybe noting a yellowing cottonwood leaf hanging from a branch. Finally, well into August, I realize there is no turning back now and the best time of year is at hand.
Over the hill and away from the coast, the relentless heat holds fast – lasting well into September and often October. I remember sunsets along the coast when far off webs of cirrus clouds would hold low on the horizon hinting at some far off storm and the reminder that winter is not far off. But these can be days of agony – days I spend with a sense that all of summer’s delights are now out of reach, even though I well know that many more weeks lie ahead. All the while, the fog-shrouded, chilly mornings I remember of seasons well underway seem impossible now. As the days go by, as summer hangs on, I wonder if they will ever come this year. Sometime, not long after, in a fit of desperation, the decision is made to make the annual pilgrimage over the hill, to return to the river. I do not have high hopes of hooking a steelhead, after all, summer is still holding fast. This is a journey to prove that something really is happening. Continue reading “On the Coming of Storms”
Shaken Rain 