Sunday's Game

Saturday my San Francisco Giants beat Philadelphia in Philadelphia to win Major League Baseball's National League Championship and the World Series berth versus the Texas Rangers!

The game was a typical Giants victory...in doubt 'till the last out. It's become known this season as "Torture" This is how the Giants got there...they've been scratching out victories this way since the beginning of July. A different hero every day...many, many one run games...all drama...all the time.

The National League Championship Series followed suit. The Giants' win 6-5 Wednesday at AT&T Park was one for the Ages! The electricity generated by that see-saw battle could power a medium sized American city!

Now I'm following a different game Sunday. I've been following the progress of the first big Winter Storm across the Big Valley and into the Foothills and the High Sierra. Here in the Inland Valley, the storm began Saturday afternoon with rain showers and blustery winds. The winds and rain are still pounding here at the Ancestral Digs...I've decided to miss the Farmer's Market, and the rest of the errands can wait for drier days too.

@CorduroyPlanet's Twitter Feed is alive this afternoon with Weather Advisories, weather news and newspaper features on the storm from the coast to Reno.

Curiosity whetted, I surfed the webcams and they tell the story...Regular Readers will remember Saturday's Boreal image:

Today's webcam image shows Sunday's storm story:

There's been a couple of Flood Advisories posted by the NWS: First one around 10AM, then an update around 1PM.

Reno's AFD has been updated often too...mostly to raise snow levels and warn of the big winds in the forecast area. Wind Advisories, High Wind Warnings are in effect all across the State. Here in the Inland Valley, the rain really started to come down at 2PM...it's roaring down now.

It's a great day to stay indoors...cozy and warm...following the "Game"

Pumping Iron

Well, I've been paying a little more attention to the weekend forecast than I have to any forecast since April. Ditto for the NWS Forecasters.

There's lots of buzz radiating from the Sierra Crest today...it snowed overnight! @borealmtn beat @skialpine by about an hour Saturday morning to tweet the good news first. Boreal's webcam shows the incontrovertible evidence.

Alpine posted their pictures to their Facebook page.

Boreal tweeted at 10:49AM their Opening Plans (still pending weather & snowmaking, as they say) Excitedly tweeting the typo "OPENING DAT ANNOUNCED: Friday, October 29, 2010"

All the hub-bub sent me back to Reno's AFD..the Reno Office is abuzz too. They've done an extra AFD Update already today, and continue to marvel over the coming Cold Front:

THE MORE INTENSE SYSTEM OFF THE PACIFIC DRIVEN BY THE UNUSUALLY
STRONG UPPER LEVEL JET STREAM OF 180+ KT WILL REACH THE WEST COAST
BY LATE TONIGHT. LIGHT RAIN WILL SPREAD OVER LOWER ELEVATIONS OF
NERN CA-FAR WRN NV THIS EVENING...THEN CARRY INTO W-CNTRL NV LATER
TONIGHT AS WARM ADVECTION PROVIDES SOME LIFT AS THE DEEPER PACIFIC
MOISTURE ARRIVES. MOST AREAS BELOW 5000 FT ARE EXPECTED TO
RECEIVE 0.10 INCH OF RAIN OR LESS...WHILE NEAR THE SIERRA CREST
FROM TAHOE NORTHWARD TO WRN LASSEN COUNTY THE RAINFALL RATES WILL
INCREASE OVERNIGHT AS A PRECURSOR TO THE MORE INTENSE PRECIP
EXPECTED ON SUNDAY. BY EARLY SUN MORNING...700 MB FLOW WILL
INCREASE TO NEAR 50 KT...ALLOWING FOR SOME GUSTS TO 40 MPH TO MIX
DOWN ALONG THE LEE SIDE OF THE SIERRA INTO THE HWY 395 CORRIDOR.
LOCAL WIND PRONE SITES COULD RECEIVE GUSTS NEAR 50 MPH THRU MID
MORNING...PRECEDING THE STRONGER WIND EVENT EXPECTED FROM LATE
SUNDAY MORNING THRU THE REST OF THE DAY.

THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE TAHOE BASIN AND INTO THE
RENO-CARSON CITY VICINITY ON SUNDAY FROM LATE MORNING THRU EARLY
EVENING...AND EXPANDING SOUTH TO MONO AND MINERAL-LYON COUNTIES
SUN AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. INGREDIENTS FOR DOWNSLOPE WIND EVENT
REMAIN IN PLACE ESPECIALLY NEAR HWY 395 CORRIDOR WITH 60-70 KT
WINDS AT 700 MB...STABLE LAYER EXTENDING FROM 700-600 MB AND SOME
PRECIP SHADOWING ALSO HELPING AS WELL. EVEN IF SOME RAIN FALLS AT
TIMES IN THE RENO-CARSON VICINITY...THE WINDS WILL STILL HAVE
POTENTIAL TO REACH HIGH WIND CRITERIA ESPECIALLY BTWN 2 AND 6 PM.

All abuzz just like every first "real storm" of the Fall, everyone is pumped! My heart rate pumped up too, when I read 180+ Knot Jet Stream...the forecast team had been waxing poetic almost as the system developed and their models foretold possible scenarios. I loved this from Friday afternoon's AFD:

A SECOND...STRONGER STORM SYSTEM DRIVEN BY A POWERFUL 180+ KNOT JET
AND FUELED BY A LONG FETCH OF MOISTURE IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC

I like the salty sound of that...Long Fetch...salty as in nautical. Then I read the 180+ Knots deal, and I'm thinking aeronautical...I'm pretty sure you could land an FA-18 Hornet (like the Navy's Blue Angels fly) at 180 knots in a pinch...good thing that's the Jet Stream and not down on the deck (read Sierra Ridges)!

Airspeed guage for a multi-engine aircraft...much lower performance than the FA-18!

There are some High Wind Warnings set for Sunday into Monday...


Snowmaking weather is less certain going forward. There's plenty of confusion in the models this far out...say 48 hours and beyond...a lot of stuff happening along the storm track. Persistent high clouds would scotch the whole snowmaking program by acting like a lid on a saucepan, keeping temps warm and humidities up.


Stay tuned, as they say...

The Storm Door Is Open

That title is a direct quote...I just heard KTVU2's WeatherDude, Steve Paulson say it and go on to amplify for anchor Tori Campbell, remarking: "Wide open after Sunday" Exciting times for Bay Area Meteorologists! These guys live for "Pattern Change" every Fall.

The satellite image shows the source of all the excitement, though the image I lifted from KTVU2's website isn't half as dramatic as the satellite picture they featured on their Noon News!

This morning, the streets near the Ancestral Digs were damp. We've had some drizzle, but not enough to run through the roof's gutters and down the downspout. (I'd forgotten about the comforting sound of that downspout outside my childhood bedroom)

I'm actually doing a little irrigating out in the Diggins despite the light drizzle today...I want to transplant a couple of things before the rain begins in earnest.

While the hose runs, I'm tuned into Sacramento's KCRA3 Noon News...sadly, they're running wall to wall remote from the Roseville Galleria in the aftermath of the devastating barricaded suspect/arson fire that destroyed 25% of the area's most prosperous mall. They did give the weather guy enough time to promise an inch of rain for the Big Valley and "several inches in the High Country"

I hit the Diggs and snapped a few photos while the hose ran...

Fall is the Inland Valley's "Second Spring" when the hills turn green and all manner of new green shoots pop up..

OK, time to take a deep breath...exhale...center...close your eyes...Thanksgiving is next month. It's Boreal that wants to turn their lifts on Halloween...in 8 Day's time...relax...Boreal Snowmakers can do their Snow Dances...

Wow!
I checked my Twitter feed after I finished soaking the transplant candidates. @Skiingmag touted Maine's @sundayriver announcing they were open for business! Yup, Man-Made snow, one lift...one trail...first in the country for the 2010-2011 Season.

The Storm Door is Open...ski season beckons...Stay Tuned!

Waiting, Anticipating

It's "sitting on pins and needles" time at the Ancestral Digs...I'm listening to Sports Radio count down to the first pitch of NLCS Game 4 at AT&T Park. To call tonight's game "highly anticipated" would be a World Class understatement.

This afternoon, I ran over to a neighboring town to pick up some building materials, and stopped at the local grocery on my way back to the Digs. I saw a lot of brand spankin' new Giants hats, T-Shirts, hoodies, and Jerseys. I even saw a hybrid Giants/Golf hat...it was a Black and Orange ballcap, with an orange Titleist logo on the front and the Giants' "SF" logo on the sides...kinda cool...I saw a waking World Series couple coming out of the market...Him, 6-4 all smiles in his Yankees T-Shirt and Ballcap..Her (all 5-1 90lbs) stylin' in the brand new SF Giants two-tone track suit!

I didn't engage them, but they were the walking, talking personification of my dream World Series Re-Match!

It's not just Giants' fans waiting for a sign. All the local WeatherPeople are awaiting their own "Post Season" now that their "Spring Training" is over and Big League Weather is on the horizon!

Talk about anticipation...these weathergeeks can barely contain their excitement! They've been teasing the approaching cold front for more than a week. In the Bay Area, the first rainstorm is a big deal to the weather presenters on TV.

This is their version of breaking hibernation...at last! Now there will be change and variety to talk about after six months of day in day out...low clouds near the coast...with afternoon winds...and warm temps inland...

Looking at Reno's AFD, I'm sure the NWS forecasters are having a ball with the coming system too. At this time, the snow levels still look to be high, with most of the forecast 1.5-2.0 inches of precip falling on the Western Slope, leaving little to fall as snow over the Sierra Crest.

Never say never, but it is three days out still...

Up in the High Sierra, snowmaking crews are waiting with baited breath...Boreal's been tweeting in anticipation of the coming cooling. I can't blame 'em, it's been cool all Spring and Summer, and warm so far this Fall. Only one short stretch of freezing temps in the last 30 days...barely more than an hour long in the wee hours of October 8th...no wonder the call is going out for some SnowDancing!

There is moisture on the way, it rained for a while tonight on the baseball game. It turned into rain on the Giants' parade, when the Philies beat the Giants 4-2...now the teams head back to Philadelphia for Game 5 Saturday...and more waiting, anticipating...

Great Scott!

I believe that was The Daily Planet's editor Perry White's all-purpose exclamation in the old Superman TV Series...

Confession: I was a Batman kid...not the campy 60's TV Show, but the awesome DC Comics Batman! I watched the Superman show in reruns after school long before I started reading comic books.

I use the phrase because I'm at a loss to find an appropriate adjective to describe the indescribably delicious victory of my San Francisco Giants tonight in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series!

Tonight's contest turned out to be almost literature!

Our plucky, under the radar underdogs battled the Kings of the Major Leagues to eke out the victory in the scratch it out a little at a time fashion that's been their stock in trade since they began playing playoff-style baseball in early August.

Tonight's game was a see-saw battle that saw the Philies tie up the game in the 8th inning, and bring in their best starting pitcher to close the game. With one out, San Francisco's banged-up shortstop, Juan Uribe, came to the plate...and with two strikes, belted the game winning sacrifice fly.

What an explosion of emotion in the stands! Giants' Fan Believe! A game for the Ages to Giants' fans...we are ready!

I may not get to sleep tonight!

Crunch Time Roundup

More "My Niche Sports" News
Nothing serious really...just a little Sports Talk. After a Travel Day, the San Francisco Giants hosted Game 3 of the National League Championship Series Tuesday at their Bayside Stadium, AT&T Park.

I was a little worried when I saw the fog and haze hanging over the Bay Tuesday morning when I drove into Downtown Oakland to find an office at Broadway and 20th. It was 11:20AM and the sun was shining in Oakland, but you couldn't see the Bay, the Bridges, or the Coast Range. The fog and haze were hanging in when I headed back through the Caldecott Tunnel on my way home at 12:30.

By the time the first pitch was thrown, 1:20PM, the fog had burned off at the Park, and a beautiful almost windless afternoon ensued. With no wind, AT&T Park plays even bigger than usual. It's a Pitcher's Ballpark, harder than most to hit homeruns from.

Brilliant pitching by Giants' starter Matt Cain, and some more MVP-Worthy batting from Cody Ross powered the Giants to a 3-0 victory, their second shut-out game in this Post Season.

A huge flotilla of watercraft from 2-man rafts, kayaks, up to yachts, Fire Boats and Ferry Boats covered McCovey Cove giving the game it's "Only in San Francisco" stamp...no splash hits though...it was after all a Pitching Duel!

Le Tour de France News
The Tour Organizers announced the Route for the 2011 Tour de France. It should be another Titanic Tour...this time there's six Mountaintop Finishes...three each in the Alps and Pyrénées!

The storied mountaintop finish atop L’Alpe d’Huez returns next year. Always stunning in scenery, the crowd scene, and drama...more than one Tour has been won on it's switchbacks. As always, I expect nothing less in 2011. VeloNews has a good overview by cycling scribe, John Wilcockson.

Cycling news whet  my whistle for AMGEN Tour of California news, but there's still no new details on the 2011 Stages...The first two stages are within earshot of the DaveCave, so I'm stoked for any news on the stage's street level route!

Formula One visits a brand new track in South Korea this weekend. There were fears the track would not be ready in time, but the Korean promoters have it together...on the track anyway...Hotels and nearby amenities are on schedule for next year, so thing will be tres spartan bt F1 standards.

No 34th America's Cup News broke yet this week...should be something soon...

Weather: Changes Ahead?
There's a little something causing weathergeeks to stir a little this week. After the Giants' game Tuesday, the KTVU2 News teased a slight chance of rain for the weekend.

The KTVU2 WeatherGuy's Facebook Page allowed that it's the GFS Model promising the chance of precip Sunday Afternoon. Five days out is an eternity in a La Niña year, but I looked at Reno's AFD anyway...They're saying snow levels will drop to 6000ft after the front passes...but:

SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN VERY HIGH AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT...WITH
MOST OF THE LEVELS BETWEEN 9000-11000 FEET. AS THE FRONT PASSES
THROUGH LEVELS WILL DROP TO AROUND 6000 FEET...BUT THE MAJORITY OF
THE MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT WILL HAVE PASSED BY THIS TIME
SO SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED

Darn the luck! Before the Sun set, I peeked at Boreal's webcam...still not much to see...the grass is turning brown...there's 12 days 'till Halloween...I dunno...

I'm sure Boreal's snowmakers, groomers and park builders are choreographing their Snowmaking Dance as we speak!

Here We Go, and Here It Comes!

I'm still all amped-up! The San Francisco Giants went to Philadelphia Saturday night and won the first game of the National League Championship Series. Good pitching by both starters plus a little offense and the Giants won 4-3...and yes, it qualifies as...wait for it...
...Torture!

As is usual with this 2010 version of the Giants, there would be drama, and of course it would be a one run game.

You want drama? OK, how about your two-time Cy Young Award winning starting pitcher has a blister on his throwing finger? OK, how about it's the finger that controls his slider...the pitch he used to devastating effect in his team record, 14 strikeout, winning performance against Atlanta in his last start...(his first post-season start) OK then, I got your drama right here!

It's hours after the game now, and my Facebook page is flashing *TILT* like a pinball machine in a dive bar on a Saturday night...totally, my peeps are all amped...and all up! Giants' kudos...from two continents... in three languages!

OK, I'll risk sayin' it out loud...these Giants have seemed like Destiny's Team since July...every game has had that "Playoff Atmosphere". Scrapping for every game, slowly clawing their way to the top of the Division...chasing San Diego, until they clinched the Division Title on the last day of the regular season. Many one run decisions...hence the moniker: Torture. Too much more of this, and I'll understand bondage and discipline.

I'll get to sleep sometime tonight...er, this morning. Yet another "Kid on Christmas Eve" scenario at the Ancestral Digs.

I changed the channel to catch some Local News, and the Weatherfolks were almost as animated as the Sports Guys. Changes are afoot for the High Sierra's weather, with showers on tap Sunday into Monday. During a lull in the Post Game foldaroll, I did a lap around the CorduroyPlanet Toolbox. I surfed the Reno AFD, NOAA's Remote Sensors, and Weather Underground's Truckee Forecast.

Well the trough is approaching, but it isn't doing much to drop the temps...Basin-wide temps are in the mid-40's

It's all well above the helpful level for anxious snowmaking crews hoping to blow some Halloween treats.

Sunday will be a busy day...first, I play at the Farmer's Market, then I drop the Siskiyou Wing of the family at the train station on my way to the OAK Airport to pick up SturgeUrge and his brother off their return flight from Baja. Then I gotta straighten up the den...it looks like a crime scene in there since I finished the taxes. I'm gonna enjoy my weekend...all Giants...all Torture...

See ya all Wednesday. Go Giants!