Chillin' Again

A friend of mine is an award winning home winemaker. He spent Wednesday evening harvesting his Tempranillo and making wine. He answered my question from a month or so ago: "Yes, the crush is late this year" I checked the forecast...

We're warming this week after a couple of cool days...not a lot of heat to ripen the grapes, though afternoon highs will start to rise now.

Forecast matrix for September 15, 2011

While I was dodging thundershowers in Truckee last weekend, it was baking the vineyards in the Napa Valley. I've been down here for four days now, and while catching both noon and primetime newscasts, there hasn't been a single story on this year's crush...

Meanwhile out on the Pacific, things are also a little behind. Members of my online fishing club have just started to chase albacore tuna...most of which are 50-60 miles offshore. This fishery usually begins in mid to late July.

Nearshore waters are a little cooler than usual, consequently the Chinook Salmon are taking their sweet time to move into coastal waters before they push into sweet water for their bash and crash to spawn in their ancestral nursery streams.

Like the salmon swimming upstream, I'm making my annual trip to the Reno Air Races where I expect to see the first Autumnal Light in the High Desert sky...and the "World's Fastest Motorsport"!

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center issued their 90-Day Outlook Discussion today. La Niña is back friends and neighbors. I don't find this surprising given that we've just logged our eighth month in a row of below average temperatures here in Central California!

Pity the Southwest and Southeast. La Niña means their drought and above normal temps will continue.

Looking for the "Silver Lining", Northern Tier states will enjoy good Snowmaking Weather...perhaps a little earlier than usual.