Winter is officially here in California. Today I drove into the hills from the central valley to discover that the overnight storm had dropped snow as low as the 500 ft. level in my area. It actually snowed in Sacramento today as well. This kind of weather rarely finds its way to the valley floor.
In California, your chance of seeing snow is usually given based on elevation. The higher up in the hills you are, the more likely a storm will produce snow. I cannot remember hearing about or seeing a storm in years that has produced this much snow, so low. In a given winter the snow will get down as far as my folks place at the 2300 foot level about two or three times, in usually light amounts, but to get clear to the valley floor is about a once in a generation occurrence. I actually saw snow inbetween travel lanes in the area where I was sweating to death and getting a sunburn on the motorcycle this past summer.
Fortunately, I encountered no slippage whilst driving until I turned into my parents driveway. The roads all the way to the driveway had been plowed before I drove in. It didn’t mean I could drive quickly or at the speed limit once I left the state highway, but my travel was delayed by a few minutes. It could have been much more significant since California requires the use of these odd things called tire chains or, as I like to call them, wheel alignment destroyers.
While the snow can be inconvenient to those folks who rarely see it or drive in it, it does make for scenic driving. As I was driving up out of the valley this afternoon, I saw a hill in the distance that probably doesn’t get past about 1000 feet in elevation, covered with snow. Normally this time of year the hill is a golden brown from the dried out grass that adorns the landscape here until spring. Today it was white, with a dark grey backdrop, and green trees framing the view as I drove up the highway.
California can be dusty, dry, and boring. Today it was simply beautiful.
On another note… Big news may be on the way shortly. 
