Hail YES, We Have Weather in California!

Earthquakes. Mudslides. WildFires. Tsunamis. Floods. Pestilence (okay, likely no worse than anywhere else). All Biblical-type horrors for which California has worked hard to earn proper title. Even snow. BIG resorts around Tahoe and Mammoth, and even in the San Gabriels above LA there is enough snow to ski. [Isn't that just the best? SKI resorts so close to SURFING?!!?]

But HAIL??? Which requires THUNDERSTORMS??? Hardly ever ever in California. Locals will find conversation in a thunderstorm for days.

Yesterday, 24Jan08 I was dead asleep in the very early morning hours, and was snapped awake by one of those lightning flashes that pierces your eyelids - followed a second later by a sharp loud and CLOSE clap of thunder. Peeking outside at 1:45am and thinking I would see who-knows-what...


THIS is the exact 'real-time' view from the door of 'The Bunkhouse' (our name for our 1966 14' Aristocrat Traveleer-more on that in a future post).


While this may look like snow... it is HAIL. About the size of peas.

This is the shed where we store firewood for sale to campers. The white dots in the photos are falling hail.


Grabbing my camera the next morning, I left the chilly (48 degrees) Bunkhouse and was surprised to see so much hail still on the ground seven hours later.


The views over the water at El Capitan State Beach (where we live) were stunning. Ice. Fire. Water. = Hail. Sun. Ocean. Powerful stuff.

Double-Crested Cormorants and Brown Pelicans gathered more closely to shore than usual, perhaps taking in the view of the 'white stuff' themselves!

Not too many people using the great picnic facilities that morning - and they missed a great view.

The hail even piled up in wind-blown drifts like snow.

The hail also stayed frozen in puddles - and this was about eight hours after it fell - so it was still chilly by SoCal standards.

These are the pellets themselves - lying on a picnic table bench.

Arriving back at the Bunkhouse about 8:30am, I found that some hail pellets had begun to take residence on our canopy - and the thermometer registers 40 degrees!

By the time I hit the road to see 'snow-on-the-mountains' above Santa Barbara, the clouds had settled back in, covering up much of the earlier sun-lit drama. However, for snow to appear here, the 'snow level' has to be at 2,000' elevation or lower. For snow to form the air must be quite cold for 'Sunny Southern California' - something you are not likely to discover in any brochures from our wonderful and local Chambers of Commerce!

Many thanks to the the Canyon Market gang at El Capitan Canyon for sharing their great WiFi that allowed for pleasant production of this post. I can also vouch for their moist & tasty carrot cake! This environmentally sensitive upscale cabin, yurt & safari-tent resort is located just across 'the 101' from El Capitan State Beach.

This is the view I had of El Capitan Creek and Western Sycamores (complete w/laptop at right) from my blogging seat inside the Canyon Market & Deli.