Winter Spare the Air Season - Review

Q:  It seemed like we had more Winter Spare the Air alerts this year.  Could it have been just an increase in awareness do to the new burn ban?

Great question.

The 2008/2009 Winter Spare the Air season ran from November 1st of 2008 to February 28th of this year.  During this time the Bay Area Air Quality Managment District (BAAQMD) issued 11 alerts, below the seasonal average of nearly 20.  We did exceed the national air quality health standars on 13 days. 

The new burn ban generated 1,442 complaints from the 9 county Bay Area during the four-month season.  From that, 254 warning letters were sent to those not complying with the new burning rule. 

Complaints by County                            Warning Letters By County

Alameda County                   208                 Alameda County               32

Contra Costa County            239                Contra Costa County          55

Marin County                         389                 Marin County                   55

Napa County                          43                   Napa County                  12

San Francisco County          56                   San Francisco County          0

San Mateo County                169                 San Mateo County            15       

Santa Clara County              178                 Santa Clara County             33       

Solano County                       29                   Solano County                 11       

Sonoma County                    131                 Sonoma County                  41

TOTAL                                1422                                                         254

Take care,

Mike

Where is San Jose's rainfall measured and how does it differ from west San Jose and Saratoga?

San Jose's rainfall is measured at Mineta San Jose International Airport. In order to produce rain you need moisture, in the form of humidity, and rising air. Rainfall amounts at Mineta San Jose International tend to be less than Saratoga and neighborhoods in west San Jose. The majority of our storms cross the Santa Cruz Mountains. After air crosses the higher terrain it descends into the Santa Clara Valley and stabilizes the atmosphere, choking the storms and making it harder to produce rain.

Appreciate the question.

Take care,

Mike

Kirby, Perfect Pet - Friday, March 20th

Kirby

I am a 4 year old, 18 pound, cream, neutered male, Shih Tsu, looking for my forever home. I do love to run, play, and snuggle. But, you should know I have some special medical needs: daily eye drops, and skin meds. Plus I have a little trouble with my ticker-aka a heart murmur. For now, this is nothing to worry about, and may never be anything to worry about, but you can speak with The SF/SPCA medical staff and with your own veterinarian. My fur will grow back, so at some point in the future regular spa days will need to be part of the regime.

If your interested in making a home for Kirby, please call or stop by.

San Francisco SPCA

2500 16th Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

415.554.3000

Vernal Equinox at 4:44 AM Today

The Vernal Equinox marks the date when the center of the sun passes directly over the equator marking the beginning of Astronomical Spring. 

The earth rotates on a 23.5 degree tilt.  This tilt and the earth's path as it orbits the sun allows the sun to migrate northward until it reaches 23.5 degrees north latitude, the Tropic of Cancer.  The Tropic of Cancer marks the northern most point where the center of the sun passes directly overhead.  Havana, Cuba is one major city near 23.5 degrees north latitude.    

Latest San Jose Area Freeze

Hi Mike Nicco ~

I am a beginning gardener and was wondering, when we are "past the danger of frost" to do some planting from seed? I live in the Cambrian (San Jose) area.

Thanks for your help

Chris Burnham

Hi Chris,

I spent a while looking for an official last frost date for your area.  Unfortunately, no official records exist.  Best I can tell, the latest freeze date is March 3rd.  On this date in 1966 the temperature dropped to 30 degrees in San Jose. 

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the great question.

Mike

Weekend Forecast

A shallow (1000’) cloud deck developed overnight and kept temperatures mild, middle to upper 40s.  By 10 AM the clouds retreat to the Coast keeping you cooler than everybody else this afternoon, near 60.  Look for middle to upper 60s around the Bay with a mostly sunny sky today.

Clouds and mild temperatures return tonight, middle to upper 40s with near 50 degree lows in Downtown San Francisco and the Coast.

Extra clouds cool our temperatures to the middle 60s Saturday afternoon.

A weakening cold front spreads light rain through the Bay from north to south Saturday Night (10 PM) through Sunday morning (10 AM).  Rain fall amounts will be less than a tenth of an inch. 

Mainly cloudy Sunday with highs in the lower 60s.

Record Cold

A cold airmass from Canada combined with a clear and calm sky allowed a few of us to experience record cold temperatures Tuesday morning. 

San Rafael dipped to 34 degrees, breaking the old record of 36 from 2006.

Monterey also broke a record when the temperature plunged to 36 degrees.  The old record was 37 also from 2006.

Downtown Oakland and Moffett Field tied record lows with 39 and 35 degrees.  the last time we felt this cold was 2006 and 1948 respectively. 

Hail Cannons

Even with no supporting scientific data, many still believe loud noises can disrupt hail development in thunderstorm.  Hoping to prevent crop loss from hail, some civilizations still ring church bells when weather threatens.  Fatal lightning strikes prompted many European countries to outlaw this practice. 

Luigi Bombicci was a mineralogist and chairman of the Department of Mineralogy at the University of Bologna.  In certain circles he is credited with originating the theory of loud noises and hail prevention.  In 1880, he introduced his ideas on hail formation and negation by hail canons.

Early hail canons were constructed from old locomotive smoke stacks mounted to a large block of wood.  Black powder created the explosion and the smoke stack directed the potentially hail stopping sound wave toward the sky.  Anti-hail rockets with 800 grams of dynamite replaced hail canons in the early 20th century.

The last decade has seen an increase in hail cannon usage.  Hail canon prices begin at $60,000.  They claim the use acetylene and air produces sound shockwaves which disrupt hailstones during their growth stage.  You can see the 20-foot tall hail canons and hear their every 6-second blast on California farms in the Central Valley.

You Tube Video

Perfect Pet - Friday, 3/6/09

If you're looking for an intelligent, imaginative, and curious cat, Bingo might be the right guy for you. He’s got a John Wayne edge with a John Travolta strut, Freddy Mercury’s overbite, and Clark Gable’s classic good looks. Bingo is the perfect cat for someone who will remind him that, contrary to his own deep-rooted belief, this cat does not always get to be the boss of the world. He does respond well to clear boundaries, but should probably not go home with children who are not so savvy with animal communication. He may act like a 500 pound dominant lion, but he's just a big goofball underneath that massive personality.

Come and meet Bingo at the East Bay SPCA in Oakland. 8323 Baldwin St. Oakland, CA. 510-569-0702.

Rainfall Season Update

From February 4th through March 5th the Bay Area received rain on 24 of 32 (75%) days. The highest daily rain was 2.42 inches at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday, February 15th.

SAN FRANCISCO:
July 1, 2008 - March 6, 2009
16.65 inches of rain - which is 94% of our normal average rainfall of 17.75 inches

PRECIPITATION CLIMATOLOGY
------------------------------------------------------------------
NORMALS ARE LAST JUL 01- JUL 01- JUL 01-
1971-2000 24 MAR 06 MAR 06 JUN 30
AVERAGES HOURS 2009 PON NORMAL NORMAL
-------------- ----- ------------ ------------ ------ -------
SAN FRANCISCO 0.00 16.65 94 17.75 22.28
SFO AIRPORT 0.00 14.14 89 15.95 20.11
OAKLAND 0.00 17.24 95 18.15 22.94
MOFFETT FIELD 0.02 10.60 98 10.86 14.13
SAN JOSE 0.00 10.83 95 11.43 15.08
SANTA ROSA 0.00 17.59 71 24.75 31.01