Does everyone remember last January when it didn't rain at all and half the month was sunny and 70 degrees? Yeah, well, we're having a repeat of that pattern which is terrible news for the drought, and for Tahoe skiing, and the climate at large. But you may as well numb yourself to the crisis and spend the weekend at the beach or up in wine country!
It's going to be in the 70s in the city come Friday and Saturday, and as high as 78 or 80 in the North Bay and inland, with some clouds returning by Sunday in some locations.
The cause of this is an area of high pressure that's only getting more intense, and just like it did this time last year it's keeping all the rain to the north of us and perpetuating California's drought, now in its fourth year, despite a very wet December.
So, yes, it's another Summer in January, with the kind of weather we're used to seeing in March or April, which may or may not be followed by some more typical rain and cold in February. You might as well enjoy it but please don't do so by barbecuing, as we are very likely to have Spare the Air Days as a consequence of the weather pattern, and that means wood and coal burning are no-nos (but don't tell that to the libertarians in Walnut Creek).
Also much like we have each winter, some really high tides, known as King Tides, arrive at their today and tomorrow, with today's, happening right about now, surging to almost seven feet, as the Chron reports. With extra-high tides come extra-low ones as well, and low tide on Monday evening stranded some fishermen near Coyote Creek in Fremont, as ABC 7 reports.
The King Tides come around every year about this time, arriving in three sets in December, January, and February when the moon and our part of earth are at their closest and the gravitational pull on tides is greatest. The tides are made more dramatic by stormy weather, which we're not having right now, and you can learn a bit more from the explanatory video below from the California King Tides Project. Environmentalists study coastal effects of these tides in order to look into the future to see possible impacts of rising sea levels, since the highest tides of the year show where water will end up if waters rise a foot or two.