Breaking: The U.S. began a large-scale attack against targets in Syria as the Trump administration retaliated for the deaths of three Americans last week.

The calm before the storm … along the Far Sonoma Coast

JUST IN: Thousands of Epstein files released by Justice Department

A strong atmospheric river will bring heavy rainfall to California this weekend into next week. Flood watches have already been issued for much of this area. Keep up to date with the latest forecast by checking weather.gov.

President Trump defended the economy in an 18-minute address, as the government released data that raised new questions about the economic health of the U.S. Our journalists discussed on "The Daily." Listen here.

By the middle of next week, a more "dramatic" storm is likely in California as a deepening surface low connects with/atmospheric river--likely generating heavy rain/strong winds. While it will start out warm, snow levels will drop to 6k ft or below behind the front (finally!!).

Very important for those of you who feel weather forecasts are useful.

This center can still make important advancements in our understanding of weather forecasting. I would much rather see my tax dollars funding this center, rather than funding actions against Venezuela.

Unbelievable. This would be a terrible blow to American science, writ large. It would decimate not only climate research, but also the kind of weather, wildfire, and disaster research that has underpinned half a century of progress in prediction, early warning, and increased resilience.

Due to a combination of widespread anomalous to record-breaking warmth & a mix of low precip (in Rockies/northern Sierra) and heavy warm rain (vs snow, in Pac NW), numerous locations throughout the American West are reporting their lowest Dec 15 snow water equivalents on record.

Henri Cartier-Bresson (French 1908-2004) Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany, 1956.

New Weather West post: As warm atmospheric rivers slide gradually southward along Pacific Coast, a return to rain and end to tule fog in NorCal later this week–but don’t expect much mountain snow (at least initially).

On Tue, Dec at @ noon Pacific Time, I'll have a livestream focused on the prolonged onslaught of very warm West Coast atmospheric rivers, increasing prospects for upcoming CA (warm) rain & end of tule fog (!) yet continued very poor Sierra snowpack.

DIck Van Dyke turns 100. Truly a SUPERcalifragilisticexpialidocious celebration of a man of joy. Happy Birthday!

Additional atmospheric rivers are expected to impact the West later this month. Given the significant river flooding already impacting Washington and Oregon, a continued risk of flooding and landslides is expected across the region through at least late December.

Trump's approval rating on his longtime political calling card — the economy — has sunk to 31%, the lowest it has been across both of his terms as president, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC.

Trump appears 4 times in newly released Epstein photos released by House Democrats. Here they are. www.cnn.com/2025/12/12/p...

Yep. No sun here in Lodi for days and days. During this period, my thermometer is showing a minimum of 41.9 F and a maximum of 48.7 F. We're stuck in the 40's. What isn't mentioned is that we haven't had any of our usual frosts, either.

BREAKING: Indiana Senate rejects Trump's redistricting effort

This is the key: Thompson said that the most effective relief for American farmers would be to end the tariffs altogether. “This has just been a nonstop tariff war with little or no rationale,” he said. “The best thing you can do is get out of the tariff war business and let people do their work.”

One misty winter morning as I walked through a block of ancient vine Zinfandel I was struck by one particular old soldier which seemed to be leading a legion of younger vines trained on single vertical trunks. Visit Randy Caparoso Photography Storefront, www.randycaparosophotographystorefront.com

From the Congressional Wine Caucus... The Specialty Crop & Wine Producer Tariff Relief Act will support our local growers and producers by: Creating a direct pay program through USDA for specialty crop growers and wine producers experiencing “covered losses” caused by increased foreign tariffs.

NEW: Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell grand jury records

If you've ever been curious about wine barrels, this is the full-fledged explanation of how it all works. Check out parts 1 & 2 as well.

The souring of our country's relationship with Canada is responsible for as much as a 10% drop in sales of Lodi wines. This was a completely unforced error and a stab in the back of our best friends.

NEW: Democrats release never-before-seen images and videos of Epstein Island

Ansel Adams (American, 1902–1984). Spring at Paul Masson Vineyard, Saratoga, California, 1962. A photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West, Adams served as a key advisor to MoMA New York. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980.

A masked bandit terrorized an Ashland ABC store over the weekend, smashing multiple bottles of bourbon before passing out drunk on the bathroom floor. The intoxicated suspect was a raccoon.

I'll be hosting *two* separate livestreams this week, each w/different focus. First, join me on Tue, Dec 2 @ 4pm PT for a CA weather update. I'll discuss the recent tule fog/stratus episode & what appears to be a pretty long dry spell into Dec. #CAwx [1/2]

Empathy is the new Christian battleground

A classic winter-like "tule fog" pattern will persist for at least a few more days in CA's Central Valley (w/spillover into SF Bay), but warm, dry, and mostly sunny conditions persist above and south of the fog layer! But how about some deeper tule fog context? [Thread] #CAwx

Wine Consumption in Major Wine-Consuming Countries (1840–2024)

Happy Thanksgiving from Lodi!

Meanwhile, while we do our best to attract tourists, our own government does the opposite.

Chances are, you've seen one of his recipes online (his hasselback potato gratin for @nytimes.com is having a moment). Author and food scientist J. Kenji Lopez-Alt shares that the secret behind a great Thanksgiving meal is solid chemistry. 🧪🦃

Following a very wet period in Southern California (even breaking some records for Nov and season-to-date precip!), dry and much warmer conditions will prevail this week. In fact, Thanksgiving will be quite mild & dry nearly U.S. West-wide EXCEPT for the Central Valley... #CAwx

BREAKING: Judge dismisses case against Trump foe James Comey

In 2024, the principal destination states for U.S. wine imports from France are New York, California, and New Jersey, with Florida and Texas trailing at some distance. Note that these refer to destination states, not ports of entry.

Trump Guns are now running commercials on Fox News

A 9,000-year history of Vitis vinifera: How the wine grapes we know today emerged from a genetic mixture of domesticated and wild grapes. Re caparoso.substack.com/p/a-9000-yea... #Vitisvinifera #winegrapes #Californiawine #winehistory #grapevine

Come join us!!

A long-term view on the meteoric rise and unabated dramatic fall of China's wine consumption and production. China's wine consumption peaked in 2017 and fell by 71%. China's wine production peaked in 2012 (!) and fell by 84%

Looking ahead toward late Nov/early Dec, a drier pattern (though not completely so) is likely as northeastern Pacific ridging shifts eastward to just west of CA, allowing cold low to drop southward east of CA. Some uncertainty, but generally looks drier/cooler/breezy. #CAwx

Most of the 20th century, Algeria was the world's largest wine exporter. Most Algerian wine was shipped to Sète (formerly "Cette"), the main wine port in Languedoc. Here an old postcard from 1921.

It’s getting more and more expensive for families to buy grocery and household essentials. We need to get rid of Trump’s reckless tariffs and work on real solutions to lower prices.

Americans deserve the full truth. The administration needs to keep its promise and release the Epstein files.

A very good update on what is happening with Ukraine's wine industry in the midst of much more opposition than we face here in California.

"Johnson will perform Grijalva's ceremonial swearing in at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday at 4pm ET, his office said in a statement." #Epstein

In 1846, France's most important export destinations were Algeria (43m liters), Switzerland (15m), the Hanseatic towns (15m) and the US (10m). After phylloxera, the direction of France’s wine trade with Algeria reversed: Algeria became the world’s largest wine exporter, shipping mainly to France