The Peregine Falcon chicks must have been taking a nap, while mom and dad were keeping an eye on thinks near the nesting area. Devil's Slide, 5/6/2026.

With the upper level low centered near Santa Barbara, we are seeing some "backdoor" showers spreading into the Bay Area from the northeast. They are relatively high-based and rainfall amounts should be minimal

April rainfall boosted many areas of Northern and Central California by as much as 10%.

May 1, 2026, is National Heatstroke Prevention Day. A day to raise awareness about the hazards of children dying due to heatstroke inside hot cars. Take a moment to check out and SHARE the materials below and at NoHeatstroke.org. Thanks for any assistance in helping to save young, precious lives!

April's storms have kept the important Sierra Nevada and Cascade watertsheds at or above normal, and these indices account for both rainfall and snowfall.

Pillar Point Harbor, Princeton, and El Granada from the air flying out of SFO. 4/23/2026 #alwaysgetawindowseat

7:02 am. A NCFR (Narrow Cold-Frontal Rainband) overhead in Half Moon Bay, limiting visibility to about 50 yards and sounding like a herd of elephants on the roof!

7:30 am. Bands of showers continuing to rotate toward the Bay Area, with a cluster of thunderstorms about 150 miles (~3 hours?) southwest of Santa Cruz.

Following yesterday's tornado near Vina, there were several media comments/inquiries along the lines of "I thought California doesn't get tornadoes". Yes we do; on average 6.4 tornadoes per year! See the updated California Tornado Climatology at ggweather.com/ca_tornado.htm .

5:38pm. Radar showing the past 2-hours as the region is was plummeted by a Narrow Cold-Frontal Rainband (NCFR). Rain will decrease but continue off and on into Sunday with the possibility of a thunderstorm or two.

On Wednesday, and for the first time ever, there was a Climatology category on Jeopardy. Enjoy.

The hyperbole is cranking up again about a "Super El Niño" with the latest ECMWF ONI forecast. But for context, the April 2025 ECMWF forecast (and observed) is attached. Warm bias?

Golden Hour last night at Pigeon Point. Imagine yourself sitting on the bench, listening to the surf, and watching the sun set. 4/5/2026

Peregrine Falcons at Devil's Slide. 1) Mom on nest. 2) Mom launches to meet Dad. 3) Mom on right with small bird that Dad brought back to share. 4) Mom eating. 5) Mom headed back to nest with bird remains. 6) Mom feeding chicks. There are 4 total. 4/5/2026

If you also follow me on X (Twitter) that account got hacked. My new account is @ggweather2026. Thanks.

A Great Blue Heron on a successful hunt. (Condolences to the family of the vole.) Coastal Trail near Miramar Beach, Half Moon Bay.

Precipitation the past 2-days in the Nrn Sierra/Shasta area has pushed seasonal totals back up to 100% of normal. The 8-Station Index, reflects the Sacramento drainage and about 1/3 of the state's water supply, and is arguably the single most important water metric in Calif.

No fooling, it's April.

Despite an abysmal March, earlier storms have kept most statewide precip numbers above normal to date. Even with no additonal rain, these number will only drop about 10% thru June. ggweather.com/seasonal_rai... .

March 29th is National Vietnam War Veterans Day and honors the 3 million Americans who served in-country during the war, and 58,281 men and women made the ultimate sacrifice.

For us selenophiles, even an 83% Waxing Gibbous Moon is worthy of our attention and fascination. Half Moon Bay, 3/28/2026

Lots of Friday sunset color at Pescadero State Beach. 3/37/2026

There has been a lot of hyperbole of late about the possibility of Strong or Very Strong El Niño next winter. So, what has happened in the past? At almost any spot you pick, it was either wet or dry!! There are no "typical" ENSO events. See ggweather.com/enso2023/us_...

Not likely, but not impossible.

Woke up early. Checked for clear skies. Drove to Pigeon Point Lighthouse at 4:30! But I think it was worth it. 3/24/2026

A bit of a muted sunset over Pillar Point, shot from under the Mirada Bridge. 3/22/2026

The tiniest sliver of the moon, only 1.5% illuminated, that I have ever captured. Half Moon Bay, 8:10 pm, 3/19/2026

Brian, HMB's resident Great Blue Heron, evidently likes worms! Amongst the wet dewy grass this morning, he caught and ate about a half dozen of little wigglers in 5 minutes. 3/19/2026

California's natural air-conditioning gets turned, as a solid, albeit shallow, stratus layer fills in coastside. This will knock down maxima near the coast. The real question being how far inland it will influence inland temps as onshore gradients are currently pretty weak.

Updated March Top 10 hottest days. Half Moon Bay and Livermore fell just short, with readings of 75° and 85° respectively.

Arguably the most unusual Green Flash that I have photographed. The red tones below the green were coming through a thin layer of fog, while the bright area above the green apparently was being "ducted" by another layer above the warm air. Half Moon Bay, 3/16/2026

The predawn 7% waning Crescent Moon rising over the Coast Range, 3/16/2026

With the potential for widespread record heat next week, I have put together the Top 10 Hottest Days for the month of March for a number of Bay Area cities. (Note: These are not daily temperature records, as they are contaminated by the 1-day shift during Leap Years).

An orange sherbet sunset at Pigeon Point capped off a lovely Spring day on the coast. 3/13/2026

A quick stop at Devil's Slide yielded this shot of a high-flying Peregine Falcon cruising slow enough to capture.

This morning's predawn half moon over Half Moon Bay. (Yes, technically it's the third-quarter waning moon, but what fun is that?) 3/11/2026

My favorite image, out of many, of this otter mom and pup cuddling. Morro Bay. 3/6/2026

Playing hooky along the Central California coast. Sea Otters in Morro Bay and Elephant Seals at Pt Piedras Blancas; along with McWay Fall and Morro Rock. 3/6/2026

Early morning golden hour at Pigeon Point, with the just-past-full-moon setting. 3/5/2026

Full moon rising. It took about 20 minutes and 5 locations to get a shot through the rapidly forming coastal fog and low clouds. Enjoy. 3/2/2026

The California rainfall sesaon-to-date, showing mostly at or above normal precipitation through the end of February. (Note that the distribution of much-above-normal rainfall in the south half of Calif is 180° out of phase with a "typical La Niña" pattern as forecast.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse shot from the Wilbur's Watch trailhead. (Bonus points for the passing ship?) 3/1/2026

Last week, most headlines led with “below normal snowpack”. But that’s only part of the Calif water picture, as the snowpack is basically just a “frozen reservoir”. The 3 Sierra Precip Indices are a better metric, showing both frozen and liquid precip, and are all above normal!

High pressure and light offshore breezes pushed the mercury to 79° in Half Moon Bay this afternoon. This is the hottest February reading recorded in HMB; where offical NWS records go all the way back to 1939.

A balmy Friday on the coast! Light offshore winds have pushed late morning temperatures well into the 70's; up between 5 and 9 degrees over the same time yesterday.

Sunset serenity over Pillar Point Outer Harbor. (sound on) 2/22/26

No regrets about reflections of this egret.

All of the important Sierra Precipitation Indices are back above normal. 2/20/2026

The SF 2025-2026 rainfall roller coaster continues to zig-zag around the seasonal normal.