The storm last week brought us a couple of days of rain. And when the clouds cleared...? SNOW

Here's what Freel Peak, Tahoe's highest mountain, looked like.

Why does snow matter on September 22?

3 Reasons.

One: Snow melts slowly while rain runs off. When snow melts it has time to soak into the ground, which makes it less dry than ground where rain fell and ran off quickly. Water-soaked ground is a good thing.

Two: When the mountains are white with snow, it's good for the ski economy. People see it and start planning their trips to the mountains, booking their hotels and rental cars.

Three: It is a psychological boost to everyone to see that, despite climate change, global warming, and drought, we can have white mountains on the Autumnal Equinox!

The Sweetest Words To A Californian

The forecast calls for rain.

We're always grateful that we don't have much in the way of hurricanes, tornadoes, and other problems. But we do have fire. This time of year, the fire danger cranks up.

So looking at a weather forecast that shows the next few days bringing rain is great.

Another Big Fire Near Tahoe

 We almost felt guilty leaving the smoke that the Mosquito Fire has sent to the Tahoe Basin when we headed to the Mountain View Fine Arts Festival this weekend. The weather on the peninsula south of San Francisco cooled off and the air was very clear.

As of this writing at 8:30 Saturday night, CalFire's Mosquito Fire Incident report shows the fire has grown to 33,000 acres. For a size comparison, last year's Caldor Fire eventually torched something over 200,000 acres. The Mosquito Fire is currently 15% that size. But no one knows how much or how fast it will grow.

In classic fire expansion (as I worked into the story of Tahoe Blowup) the Mosquito Fire is making its own weather with a heat-created storm.

Here's what it looks like from a distance.

The good news is that few if any houses have burned so far. The fire is mostly in a wilderness. 

The bad news is that if its direction shifts much, there are communities that could be in its way.

We head home Monday and will get a closer look then.

My First Art & Wine Festival For 2022 - Mountain View

 The pandemic forced the cancellation of the Mountain View Art & Wine Festival for both 2020 and 2021.

The festival is finally back this coming weekend, September 10 and 11. The show is on Castro Street in downtown Mountain View. This festival is huge (400 artists and crafts people) and will keep you intrigued with countless types of artists. (Including a writer or two!)

The hours are Saturday 11 to 7 and Sunday 10 to 6. Admission is free. Come on by!

Here is more information:

https://mountainview.miramarevents.com/event-details/about-the-event