Late colors accent crazy start to autumn
In the crazy-quilt hopscotch-world of nature, the arrival of fall this year has even the trees confused. Long-term weather predictions seem just as random.
“We can’t remember fall colors appearing as late,” said field scout John Poimiroo, who publishes CaliforniaFallColor.com.
Here are signs of fall that some use to plan trips and predict the season’s weather:
Delayed fall statewide:
The hardwoods of the Bay Area, Yosemite National Park and the canyons of the Eastern Sierra are just starting to turn, at roughly zero to 10 percent for the most part, Poimiroo said. Another way of looking at it is that the next three weeks could be a burning fuse to an explosion.
Convict Lake, Inyo County:
On Sunday, the aspens in the basin that flank Convict Lake, 7,850-foot elevation, showed only a flicker of yellow, according to the marina operator. In past years, I’ve seen it explode in color by mid-September, with an array of yellows, oranges and reds by the start of October.
Sea/land temperature interface:
When there are small gaps between the coastal temperatures on land and sea, the storms tend to roll right in during winter. On Sunday morning, at the weather buoy 18 miles west of San Francisco, water temperature was 56.7, air temperature 55.8; at the offshore entrance to the Monterey Submarine Canyon, water temp was 60.8, air temp 59.5.
Ant mounds:
In the East Bay hills, Brian Murphy noted red ants have been building taller mounds, which, in conjunction with other signs, can mean a wet winter.
Giant acorn drop:
It started six weeks ago — one of the biggest acorn drops from oaks in Sonoma County (and some other areas) in the past 25 years.
First snowfall:
The first snowfall of the season, Sept. 21 in the high Sierra, though treated like an anomaly, was right on schedule. What was unique about that storm is that the snow levels fell to 7,000 feet; usually the first snow stays high, 8,500 feet up to the crest.
Medicine Lake, Modoc County:
In the extreme north state, all the hardwoods started turning last week, with a quick transformation over the past five days from elevations 3,500 and up. Perhaps that is a preview for the rest of the state. Tom Stienstra is The San Francisco Chronicle’s outdoor writer. Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom