Hail on the way

  

Dark clouds to the west, headed our way.  A couple of these passing squalls brought hail to Bodega Head today (27 February 2023).   Here's a short video clip.  [If you're reading this in an e-mail and can't see the video player, click on the title of the post to go to the NHBH web page.]

 

Stormwatcher

At around 10:30 a.m. this morning (28 March 2019), we could see some serious dark clouds to the northwest:

 

Later, I checked the radar and this is what the NWS Bay Area radar showed at ~10:50 a.m.:

 

What did that look like on the ground?

I had walked out to take a photo of some of the weather instruments with the squall in the background.  This photo is from ~10:53 a.m.:

 

And here's a close-up of those dramatic clouds soon after:

 

There were a few lightning strikes in the distance and some thunder.  I didn't get a great photo, but since lightning is rare in Bodega Bay, here's one still shot pulled from a video clip:

 

I didn't know it at the time, but Alex took a picture of me taking a picture of the approaching storm.  Fun!

 

It started raining soon after this.  We received ~0.8 inches of rain during the day, bringing the rainfall year total in Bodega Bay to ~40 inches (103 cm).

Caught by the storm

Yesterday I had fun watching an isolated squall approach Bodega Head from offshore.  I was watching it out at sea, and could see that it was moving towards Bodega Head.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

3:13 p.m.

The contrast between the ocean ahead of the squall and within it was mesmerizing. 

3:14 p.m.

 

At first I thought it might slide to the north of where I was standing, and then I realized it wasn't going to, and I thought, "Uh oh...now I'm going to get soaked."  

3:16 p.m.

I took a few quick pictures and then turned to try to find shelter.  

3:18 p.m.

I knew that it was too late to stay dry, but I had had fun watching the storm.  Then all of a sudden I started getting pelted with hail!  It wasn't rain, so I had a little more fun taking a few pictures of the hailstones, and then I headed back in.

3:25 p.m.

 

Weather views

Yesterday, the light was interesting everywhere you looked.  Just for fun, here are three views of the ocean during a brief 10-minute period around mid-day.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 Squall on the horizon:

 

River runoff in the waves:

 

 

Sliver of light:

 

No stone left unturned?

It was a dramatic weather day on Bodega Head (15 February 2019).  Several intense squalls passed over, with some producing small hail.  For the record, here's a photo and a video taken at ~1:15 p.m.  The largest hailstones were ~5 mm across.

 

The video below is ~20 seconds long.  (If you can't see the video player, click here to go to the web page.)

 

Hail 15 Feb 2019 from Jackie Sones on Vimeo.

Approaching from the west

Well, I know I owe you some more photos of the mystery close-up from 2 February 2019.  But...there was a football game to watch yesterday, and there was some interesting weather today.  So I'll show a few seascapes tonight and then I'll get back to the mystery tomorrow.

Today the weather forecast called for showers with local gale force wind gusts...and they weren't kidding!

At one point while I was sitting at my desk today, the sky darkened noticeably.  I went out to see what was happening.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

Storm clouds over the ocean and rain showers approaching Bodega Head from the west:

 

Soon after I stepped outside, the temperature dropped, the wind picked up, and I knew I better put on a rain coat!

 

I went back inside to see if this squall was visible on the radar (below).  Bodega Head is hidden by the red patch below and to the left of Sebastopol.  (Rain intensity increases from green --> yellow --> red --> purple.)

 

By the way, did you notice the small patch of blue just above and to the west of Sebastopol?  That indicates possible snow in the Cazadero area!  I'm curious — did anyone see snow up there today?

 

(Radar maps from Accuweather.com)

Before the squall

I was trying to get a few things done in the field this morning, when I looked up to see this beautiful rainbow over the ocean:

 

I took a few pictures, including the one below, with a Gray Whale "photo-bombing" the rainbow seascape.  (The spout is on the left side just below the horizon.)

 

The sky became very dark and I decided I should head back before getting soaked, but I took one more shot looking to the northwest from Bodega Head, with the waves rolling into Salmon Creek Beach. 

 

I made it back to the office just in time.  It started pouring rain a few minutes later.  I think we recorded ~0.35 inches of rain within ~20 minutes!

A change in the air

 

Several significant squalls passed by Bodega Head today.  Some were visible on the western horizon, others darkened the sky to the east.  

 

There was a noticeable drop in air temperature after the passage of one of these squalls around noontime.  I checked the temperature readings.  It was 54.2°F (12.4°C) at 12 p.m.  Not long after, it was 47.3°F (8.5°C) — a drop of  7 degrees within minutes!  (My hands told me something had changed.)

 

It looks like it rained about 1 inch early this morning, and only a very small amount (0.03 inches) during the day today.  Let's hope for some more showers before we round the corner into May.

Reds and purples

Sometimes there seems to be a color scheme for the day.  Today I helped Eric with field work at Van Damme State Park in Mendocino County.  Between tasks I took a few photos, where reds and purples kept appearing.

 

Red Urchin (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus) among Purple Urchins (S. purpuratus)

Close-up of a Gumboot Chiton (Cryptochiton stelleri)

 

A very small (~1 cm across) Ochre Seastar (Pisaster ochraceus)

 An elegant scale worm in a shallow pool (not certain of the species)

 

The day started with an intense squall line approaching from the horizon.  It moved very quickly across the ocean towards land.  I barely had time to take this picture before it started to pour!