Winds Of Change

I woke to the twin symphonies of Talk Radio and prefrontal winds blustering outside. I like to start my days with a chortle or two, and the Armstrong and Getty Show always delivers.

It is really howling out this morning! Before I started packing, I looked around the web for some weather intel...Boreal's webcam, nearby remote sensors, Reno's AFD. Wind Advisory this morning, and a Winter Weather Advisory for the afternoon (5PM PDT) Forecasters say the front is dawdling a bit, and the precip is limited at best...mostly right behind the frontal boundary. They say 4-6 inches at the Crest at 1-2 inches an hour.

Another round of snow for the weekend, and unsettled weather 'till midweek. It doesn't look like a season starter, but it should favor snowmaking.

While data harvesting, news of the 2012 AMGEN Tour of California bicycle race caught my eye...I've been waiting months for the announcement of the Route and Host Cities. Regulars will recall what happened last May when the AMGEN was slated to run right through Truckee and over Donner Summit on Old Highway 40. That's right...a May snowstorm forced organizers to cancel Stage 1 from South Lake Tahoe to Northstar, and shorten Stage 2 (My local stage) bypassing the climb over Donner Pass. We did catch up with the AMGEN for Stage 4, enjoying our delayed gratification.

Actually light on Route information, the Host Cities do tell a tale. Not much racing in the High Sierra...in fact-None! Sonora is Mother Lode territory, not high mountains. Burned last year by La Niña's last blast of winter, AMGEN doesn't appear to be taking any chances with lingering winter in 2012.  The mountaintop finishes are all in SoCal, though winter could linger there...witness Mammoth Mountain's July 4th closing date this year!  Also MIA: Sacramento, Modesto and Solvang.

Worth waiting for! Chain controls are already moving up the mountain.

The snow began falling on Donner Summit right at 6PM.  Interstate 80 closed at Drum at 8:15PM Multiple spinouts cited. I escaped it all but a few sprinkles around Vacaville.