Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Skyline News

A chance of rain tonight, they say. Lovely, lovely rain.

That rain comes with a "cold upper level low pressure system." For two days. Snow in the grapevine,* maybe. In April. In southern California. You know, where we live in this here hot, desert climate.

Bundle up.


*"The Grapevine" is local vernacular for the highest altitude point of Interstate 5, the main north-south route in California. It's fewer than 80 miles north of Pasadena. It's usually impassable when it snows.

26 comments:

Unknown said...

Did you photoshop those palms back to upright?

John Sandel said...

Lovely. Any shot which reminds me of the sky's incessant processes is welcome. Those snowy mounts of cloud—that limitless blue, like ceramic … surely the ancestors have their habitation in the heights, in the vaults of air.

Anonymous said...

Another inundation in sight.

Latino Heritage said...

Coming toward LA County and crossing the grapevine after a light snow is a delight. On full moon nights the snow gently reflects the light in the most subtle and sublime shades of blue and indigo.
Love you photo. You can almost hear the fronds rustling.

lewi14@gmail.com said...

Wonderful shot. I'm amazed about the beautiful sky, the contrast between the blue and the white. Fantastic.

mark said...

Just a beautiful photo. The sky does not get any bluer than that. The word "Minnesota" translated is "Land of sky tinted waters." I think you should put this photo in your portfolio or in your book.

Michael Coppess said...

With thunder storms tonight and tomorrow. This is very unusual for us and should be interesting.

Katie said...

Those clouds look downright un-Californian! Ok so the palm trees give you away though. It's raining up North so you might get it too. I figure this might be the last rain until October so I'm going to enjoy it!

Virginia said...

Man oh man, that sky is gawgeous!!!
V

Petrea Burchard said...

No, Cliff, but you remind me--J and I finally went walking north of JPL as far as the ranger station to see the flood damage. Yowza! I'll post photos soon.

Imaginary beings, J? Gods? Ghosts? Or Valhalla, maybe, as we'd like to think of it.

It would be nice, Anonymous, if we could have just the right amount: nourishing without inundating. But I don't know who places the orders.

Thanks, LH. Driving through the mountains at night (when you're not in a hurry) is pleasure. I pity the truckers and rush hour drivers, though.

Hi Steffen. Thanks. We do get pretty skies here. Our climate is dry and we don't get clouds often so I love to snap them when I can.

Mark you are buckin' for a promotion.

Michael, being from the Midwest I really, really miss thunder. I hope we get a lot.

Yeah, Katie, it might be our last for a while. Sigh.

We'll keep it blue for you, V.

Dirk said...

That is a beautiful shot, but I must disagree with Katie--those clouds look thoroughly Californian to me. Of a certain type that hug the mountains sometimes. Mahvelous.

Y'all should drive the Grapevine in early spring when the wild flowers are blooming--that's an awesome sight. Rolling hillsides covered with pink and yellow.

pasadenapio said...

For a second there it looked like the Station Fire all over again!

Gina said...

I would love a good thunderstorm...my Midwestern roots miss the occasional rough and tumble weather.

TheChieftess said...

Grey skies today!!! I've even seen and felt a few drops...but no real rain yet! But you can bet the local news stations are talking about Stormwatch!!! We Californians get pretty excited when it mists over...

-K- said...

A monsoon is currently (1:50 pm)washing memories off the sidewalk of life here on the Westside.

TheChieftess said...

Oh good!!! That means that at just about the time I'm ready to go out and run some errands, it should be pouring here!!!

Shanna said...

I love the way you have three roof tops pointing to the sky, three palm trees reaching for the sky, and all united by the layer of puffy clouds. A wonderful photo!

Anonymous said...

Chieftess, we have similar timing.

Petrea Burchard said...

I managed to be out all afternoon during the heaviest part of the rain. Now that I've worn myself out and need to set for a spell it looks like it's clearing up. I share timing with Chieftess and Hiker, apparently.

Nancy Giles said...

What a beautiful picture! You know, my favorite days in Los Angeles were the days after a rain. The sky would be crisp, blue, and brilliant. And the air almost smelled sweet. Those were some of my best days living there. Very cool blog, Petrea!

Greg Sweet said...

Take a look in the morning at the Grapevine Cam for any snow: http://www.lonejuniper.com/grapevine.html

Amy said...

I had to get my warm jammies back out. Yay rain and cooler weather.

John Sandel said...

"Hey, Nancy Giles! Hey! Hey!"

—Mr. Petrea Burchard, jumping up & down

Petrea Burchard said...

See, people just love to talk about the weather.

Hey, Nancita! Not that we get many of those days, but this year we've had more than usual. I had no idea you were blogging. I'll be reading.

Thank you, Greg. You always know the coolest stuff in the mountains.

Either that or an extra blanket, Amy.

I'm sure Nancy jumps up and down when she sees you, too, sweetie.

Unknown said...

Beautiful sky and the palms over the rooftops.

valeria said...

I hope you had a nice, lovely rain... I love those clouds coming...I love storms!