CSERC Blogger

   Once I had a professor who told my class that most meteorologists in this country come from the Midwest, inspired by their region’s notorious extreme weather in “Tornado Alley”.  While this made sense to me, I also couldn’t help but think that the weather phenomena of the Sierra Nevada of California could also be just as inspiring!

The basics of the rain shadow effect

The Rain Shadow effect

   The north/south orientation of the 400 mile long Sierra Nevada acts as a barrier to westerly winds carrying storms from the moist Pacific Ocean to the east.  The rising air masses cool and condense as they climb up the mountain, forcing the weather system to drop most of its precipitation on the west slope.

The west slope of the Sierra Nevada has large expanses of coniferous forests.

 
 
   The result?  The western side of the mountain range is largely dominated by tall coniferous forests (think pine, fir, cedar) that depend on a high annual rain/snow fall to survive, while the eastern side of the range is dominated by high-desert vegetation (such as sage brush and rabbit brush).

The eastern Sierra Nevada

   Can you imagine what kind of ecological landscape would be in this part of California, if it wasn’t for the Sierra Nevada?

The Sierra Wave-

Lenticular clouds formed by the Sierra Wave

   Playing an essential role in our interesting weather phenomena yet again, the westerly winds that climb the ridges and descend into the troughs of the Sierra Nevada range are well known for regularly creating smooth and mysterious wave (or lenticular) clouds, regionally nicknamed the “Sierra Wave”.  For an excellent description of how these clouds are formed, read NASA’s breakdown of the process here.  In the meantime check out these great shots of clouds formed by the Sierra Wave.

The Sierra Wave.

The Sierra Wave from above. Image provided by NASA.

Satellite image of Tule Fog filling the Central Valley.

Tule fog
   In winter months, cold air from the mountains sinks down to the paralleling Central Valley at night, causing the moist air of the fertile valley to condense into a dense fog known locally as the Tule Fog (named after the tule grass wetlands that once covered much of the valley).

View from above: Looking down into the Valley at Tule Fog from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

   The valley has little air flow since it is capped on all ends by mountain ranges, and fog can linger all day long, causing traffic accidents and chilling the air for valley residents. The Tule Fog can run the  400 mile length of the valley all the way from Red Bluff down to Bakersfield!

And even a tornado?

   So much for tornado alley!  In July 2004, the highest elevation tornado ever recorded touched down near Rockwell Pass (about 11,600 feet) in the southern Sierra. Such a mountainous topography is a rare setting for tornado formation (especially at such a high elevation), and this article breaks down the science behind its formation.  Very cool.

   What is your favorite weather event from wherever you are from? Share with us here!

-Julia Stephens, CSERC Blogger

If you’re like me, you might be wondering about the lack of snow and rain over the past couple months in the Sierra Nevada. Not to mention the fact that Sonora, Ebbetts, and Tioga Passes have all remained unseasonably open well into December. Are we entering a drought? Is the snow and rain just late this season? I was recently astonished to find out that two major U.S. snowfall records occurred in our local region during a year much like this one.

Tamarack, CA just west of Bear Valley Ski Area holds the:
- U.S. snowfall record for one month: 390 inches (32.5 ft) in January 1911
- U.S. seasonal snow depth record: 454 inches (37.8 ft) on March 10^th, 1911.

How did all this record-breaking weather begin?

On New Year’s Day in 1911, many of the Sierra Nevada passes remained unusually free of snow, much as our very own passes are currently lacking in snow. Also, as is the case this winter, the prior winter in 1910 had been a La Nina year and it was still being determined whether or not La Nina would continue into the winter of 1911. Overall, the weather was unseasonably mild at this time and it’s likely that people thought they might be in for a mild winter.

On January 10th, 1911, to the astonishment of everyone, La Nina came in at full force.  The most intense winter storm in 21 years roared out the Gulf of Alaska and charged into the Central Sierra. The storm caused high winds and widespread flooding in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills. Some areas received up to 20 inches of rain over a 5-day period. Above 5,000 feet in the mountains, snow was estimated at times to be accumulating at a rate of 12 inches an hour. Avalanches were widespread and shut down train traffic throughout the Sierra snow belt. Several pack trains also got stuck in the storm.

On January 27^th, 1911, another storm barreled into the Sierra Nevada. The Tamarack Weather Station tallied 390 inches (32.5 feet) of snow for the month of January. Later that winter, on March 10th, 1911, an astonishing record snow depth of 37.8 feet was also recorded in Tamarack!

So, what sort of winter are we in for in 2012 – nearly a century later?

Perhaps, it will stay mellow and be a dry year. Yet again, as seen in 1911, mother nature always has the possibility of having a few things up her sleeve. What a surprise she had in store for people living in 1911 who probably looked at the dry weather in December as a possible sign of a mild winter. Is it likely we will have another record year? Probably not. Yet, learning about the past winter of 1911 definitely makes a person stop and ponder what is possible.

What are your thoughts on this coming winter?

-Heather Campbell, CSERC Blogger

(Information sourced from the Mark McLaughlin, Weather Historian, Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum)

This week, I was searching for gifts that I could give while still keeping the earth in mind.  I realized that if I could use some help coming up with ideas, others probably could too! Without further ado, here are a few suggestions on how to give naturally this holiday season.  Hope this helps!

Natural Holiday Gift Ideas

1. Native seeds- Everyone loves flowers, especially when you grow them yourself.  Give a collection of native seeds to your loved one this year!  If you live in California, Larner Seeds is a great Nursery with an online site where you can order according to the region of California you are from!

2.  Frame your own nature photograph- Remember the awesome hike you went on this past summer up in the mountains?  I’ll bet you took some great scenic photos on your camera. Why not enlarge one of them and frame it for a gift?

3.  Buy your loved one a CSA membership to your local farm for 2012- The gift of sustainable, locally grown produce.  Have you heard of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)?  The concept is this: you “subscribe” to a local farm and receive a weekly box of goodies fresh from the harvest.  Its delicious, nutritious, and sustainable!  Read more about the concept here.  We have some great local farms to buy a CSA share from here in Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties: Red Earth Farm, Blue Oak Farm, and Outer Aisle Foods all deserve your business.

4.  Buy a season pass to your local park- What could be better than unlimited access to your nearby park or refuge?  The National Park pass is $80 and allows unlimited entry to any and all National Parks in the United States for one full year. A year-long pass to Yosemite is $40. A bit more expensive is the California State Park Pass, at $125.

Andy Goldsworthy

5.  Of course, the gift of time is always valuable-  Take your loved one to a beautiful scenic destination, or spend the day making a nature sculpture with the kids-at-heart in your family.  There are some great nature sculpture ideas, here and here.

6. Enroll your giftee in a field course through your local community college- I have taken field courses that run 1-4 days in length from Columbia College (our local CC), on topics including wildflower identification, mushroom identification, and Sierra Nevada natural history. They are great ways to get to know your local ecology better, visit beautiful locations, and meet cool people interested in nature.

7.  Give to nature in honor of your friend/family- Support your local environmental non-profit organization (like CSERC!), and make the donation in the name of your loved one.

What did I miss? Share you great natural gift idea with us here.

This year, CSERC wildlife cameras photographed some of the best footage our Center has ever had of a diversity of rare and interesting animals.  We set these cameras up in remote areas of the high Sierra in our region, surveying for the presence of animals such as fisher, Sierra Nevada red fox, marten, and wolverine. By locating these rare mammals, our Center helps ensure that the habitat needed for their survival is managed in a way to help protect them.

The camera footage we get from these stations are not only informative but often quite entertaining!  Not every animal that visits our stations is considered “rare”, but they all help provide valuable information about which animals are thriving in our mountains, and where they can be found. Watching the fast-sequence photos of animals investigating the bait left by our staff, this year I had the inspiration to make YouTube videos of our best footage.  Have you seen any of them yet?  If not (or you just want to watch them again), here they are for your viewing pleasure!
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
Let me know what you think, and which one you enjoyed the most!

-Julia Stephens, CSERC Blogger

The final installment of my recent trip from Cherry Lake to Leavitt Lake through the Emigrant Wilderness

Day 3: Huckleberry Lake to Snow Lake

Made it to Snow Lake!  And man, it was worth the effort.  I sit alone (no offense Monster) in a High Sierra paradise!  I got up this morning around 6:30 and was on the trail by 8:30 (yes it took me 2 hours to get ready).  Most of the day was spent continuing up the East Fork Cherry Creek Drainage.  Smoother sailing today in terms of there being a trail, and I made much better time as a result.  Much of my route has been used by horses, making it very dusty and rocky from a hiker’s perspective.  Bugs were still really bad, and I could hardly stop to take pictures without getting barraged, so many of the flowers I admired will have to just be a fond memory.

Read on »

It’s been a week now since I returned from my backpacking adventure, and I’m finally caught up enough to write about my trip. Here are some pictures and excerpts from my trip journal.  Hope you enjoy!

Starting out...

Day 1- Kibbie Ridge to Lord Meadow

A challenging first day for my first trip of the year, with 11 miles and an over all elevation gain of 1400 feet.  Traveling solo weighs me down more than is ideal, and I’m starting to envy those folks who invest in ultra-lightweight gear!

Read on »

If you’ve read my blogs before, you’ve probably gathered that something I enjoy doing in the summer up here in the Sierra Nevada is hiking in the backcountry. So – as our three-day weekend rolls in, I decided to take a few extra days off and do what I enjoy best – hike in the high alpine wildflowers of this amazing place.

Some of the awesome places I may visit on the way!

I  wanted to take the kind of trip that got me somewhere instead of returning to the same trailhead, and also go to a place in our area that I had never been before.   Read on »

I have to admit I am little hesitant to share this spot with you. You know those special places in nature that capture you heart the moment you first see it? Well, that’s were I went this past Saturday with my friend (and co-worker) Lindsey. As much as I want to share this lake with you, I also want to keep it to myself, so that it stays a little more under-the-radar as a destination. Read on »

      Connecting with nature and spending time in it is a large part of who I am as a person!  Being outside and exploring the mountains around me keeps my sense of wonder open, and always gets me excited to learn something new.

      Someone recently asked me about where my love of nature came from, and I had to think about it for a minute.  At first, I said it was a big road trip traveling west I took with friends when I was 18, where I camped under the stars away from city lights and saw some of the amazing natural landscapes our country has for the first time.  But as I reflected back on my childhood, I realized that my connection with the outdoors goes much further back. Read on »

Springtime in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Spring weather has finally arrived, and the lush green that covers the foothills is especially refreshing as we recover from an unusually harsh winter. The newly budded green leaves of the deciduous blue oak woodlands inspired me, and I couldn’t resist taking a hike amongst them yesterday afternoon, despite an already overloaded schedule.

How could I resist? In just a few more weeks the “lush green” grasses of the foothills will turn to brown as the summer sun cranks up, and I’ll be forced to find refuge from the heat higher in the mountains.
Read on »