I know that this is not a big deal to a lot of you, but just now, here in normally sunny city of Los Angeles, we had a blizzard of hail, looking a bit like a snowstorm for a little while. Excellent! Apparently it is snowing for real in various parts of the greater region of Los Angeles county, (up to six inches up in the foothills of the mountains). There was accumulation of ice on the ground for a while, and I went outside to took a snap of the rather pretty concentration at the heart of one my cycads:
I was planning to do a bit of work in the garden today, but it will have to wait until this heavy precipitation has abated…..
Sean and Mark are in town apparently. They must be wondering what they did to deserve this on their trips away from the frozen North East or Midwest.
-cvj
March 11th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
I wonder if Lubos Motl will take this as another disproof of global warming?
March 11th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Indeed I am in town and am going to take this appalling weather up with you personally when I see you tomorrow.
Typical! I luck out and get upgraded to a convertible on my rental car and end up considering using the heater in the car.
See ya tomorrow.
March 11th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
It is colder here than in Chicago today. Stupid weather.
March 11th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
Mark…. wait…. a common Southern Californian indulgence (I’ve heard
) is to drive with the top down to enjoy the sun (and it has come out again for a bit) but -if chilly- to put the heaters on as well! It works rather well.
Don’t tell anyone you heard it from me though….. (it’s probably as sinful as driving a Hummer…)
-cvj
March 11th, 2006 at 4:42 pm
The more typical SoCal LALA convertible experience is to drive along under the hot sun with the top down and the air-conditioners blowing full blast, but i am sure the winterized version is just as cool. Actually the heaters vent excess heat from the engine so it is a great deal more efficient than air conditioning, unless of course one uses the defrost cycles.
Today in the frozen northwest, where it too snowed along the coastline, there has been some lovely walking weather in between the occasional but really nice snow flurries. Sunny to cloudy and back again all within minutes of one another.
March 11th, 2006 at 5:24 pm
Meanwhile, it’s a balmy 68 degrees in Chicago.
March 11th, 2006 at 7:19 pm
This was the nicest day in Chicago since mid-fall. Sorry you missed it, Sean
March 11th, 2006 at 9:16 pm
Dear Science,
we’ve had a beautiful spring day, an ideal opportunity for a trip to Bedford. If you have a flu from this Californian snow and ask which Bedford I mean, then I mean the Bedford that won’t become a Medford after you fully recover.
If I could pay money for some kind of weather, I would prefer to pay money for the spring days like one we had today in Massachusetts – even though snow is *cool*, no doubt about it. Apparently, Risa has the same conclusion in Illinois.
Clifford, I hope that you enjoy this preparation for a global cooling.
Best,
Lubos
March 11th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Sean,
If it makes you feel any better a line of thunderstorms is moving through Chicago now.
March 11th, 2006 at 10:08 pm
It’s nippy up in the SF bay area, too. I haven’t seen any frost (I live about 5 inches above sea level), but we had hail last night, described in the Chronicle as “explosive bursts of icy precipitation usually seen around here only in Slurpee cups.” The same article contained some helpful tips on how to distinguish hail from snow.
Btw, did you know that San Francisco is on Ganymede?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?o=2&f=/gate/archive/2006/03/12/baypixweek.DTL
March 12th, 2006 at 9:02 am
Heavy snow and howling winds in Durham
March 12th, 2006 at 9:37 am
16 below celsius way up north
We know that spring is coming by the sounds of certain birds. Such snow in contrast of such vegetation, would indeed seem quite shocking.
At the temperatures we live, we become quite envious even at these strange sights. Yes, we think, oh, try living in the absence of such greenery
We really learned to appreciate the foilage of summer, as well as the value of warmth.
The gardening topics, are a tropical paradise, as well as such foods, in the throes of such “cold” scenes.
Plato shivers, while he contemplates all the gold.
March 12th, 2006 at 9:48 am
a :- Has it got cold enough there this year for parts of the river to freeze over? It’s always impressive when that happens…
-cvj