PG&E weather forecast for Thursday February 3

February 3, 2011

By JOHN LINDSEY from PG&E

SEA SWELL:

Today’s 5 to 7-foot westerly (275-degree deep-water) swell (with a 14 to 17-second period) will continue at this height and period through Friday morning.

A 5 to 7-foot west-northwesterly (285-degree deep-water) swell (with a 13 to 15-second period) is forecast along our coastline on Friday afternoon through Saturday morning, decreasing to 3 to 5-feet on Saturday afternoon and night.

A 3 to 5-foot northwesterly (300-degree deep-water) swell (with an 8 to 17-second period) is forecast along our coastline on Monday.

This 3 to 5-foot northwesterly (300-degree deep-water) swell will continue at this height but with a gradually shorter period through next Thursday.

PG&E San Francisco Met Office predicted temps:

Inland Temperatures, Paso Robles

Actual                    Predicted

Wed          Thu        Fri        Sat        Sun        Mon        Tue         Wed         Thu
28-63     30-62   32-67 35-70  36-71    39-74    40-72     39-69     37-71

Coastal Valleys Temperatures, San Luis Obispo

Wed           Thu        Fri        Sat        Sun        Mon         Tue         Wed          Thu
35-63     36-64    38-70 42-74   44-76  46-78     47-78     43-76      42-69

ATMOSPHERIC CONDITION:

Today’s barometer reading is reporting 30.42 in/Hg or 1030.1 millibars, which is quite strong.

The strong ridge of high pressure over California, producing these high barometer readings, will continue to give clear and progressively warmer temperatures through next week.

However, this morning’s clear skies have allowed temperatures to reach the high 20s in the North County, and the low 30s in the coastal valleys.

Temperatures will range from the low to mid 60s in the North County to the mid to high 60s in the coastal valleys. Overnight lows will gradually warm also, with areas in the North County dropping to the low 30s on Friday. Low temperatures in the coastal valleys will drop to the mid 30s on Friday.

Temperatures will warm through the weekend, reaching the mid to high 70s in San Luis Obispo and maybe even low 80s on Sunday and Monday.

The strong high pressure ridge responsible for this mild weather will gradually weaken and migrate westward late next week. At this time it looks like our dry weather pattern could change by about mid February with increasing chances for wet weather.

DIABLO CANYON AIR TEMPERATURES:

Diablo Canyon Meteorological Tower Air Temperature Data

Yesterday’s          Today’s          Tomorrow’s
Min    Max        Min    Max         Min     Max
49.8°   58.8°     45.2°   60.0°      51.0     62.0

WINDS:

A pattern of gentle to moderate (8 and 18 mph) northeasterly (offshore) winds developing during the night and morning hours, shifting out of northwest and increasing to moderate to fresh (13 and 24 mph) levels during the afternoon hours will will continue through Saturday.

Gentle to moderate (8 and 18 mph) northeasterly (offshore) winds are forecast on Sunday through Monday.

DIABLO CANYON METEOROLOGICAL TOWER WIND DATA:

Today’s winds:

Max peak winds:      E         7.2 mph at   7:45 a.m.
Max sustained wind:  E         5.1 mph at   7:45 a.m.

Yesterday’s Maximum Winds:

Max peak winds:      NW       22.7 mph at   7:30 p.m.
Max sustained wind:  NW       18.1 mph at   7:30 p.m.

SEAWATER TEMPERATURES:

The Diablo Canyon waverider buoy is reporting a sea surface
temperature of 53.6 degrees while the Nortek AWAC current
meter is reporting 53.8 degrees.

Intake seawater temperatures will range between 53 and 55 -degrees through Sunday.

OCEAN CURRENTS:

Both the DCPP Cal Poly CODAR stations and the DCPP Nortek AWAC meter are indicating a northerly (onshore) flowing current.

This northerly (onshore) flowing current will continue to flow northward through Sunday.

SEAWATER VISIBILITY:

Seawater visibility was 8 to 10 feet at the Diablo Canyon Intake.

==========================================================================
24-Hour Ocean Condition Outlook for Thursday 02/03 to Friday 02/04

Swell           DIR. W       HT.   5-7    PER. 14-18  This morning
Remaining  at:  DIR. W       HT.   5-7    PER. 14-17  This afternoon
Remaining  at:  DIR. W       HT.   5-7    PER. 14-17  Tonight

WINDS:          DIR. NE      SPEED  5-10              This morning
Increasing to:  DIR. NW      SPEED 15-20 + 25         This afternoon
Decreasing to:  DIR. NE      SPEED  5-10              Tonight
===========================================================================
48-Hour Ocean Condition Outlook for Friday 02/04 to Saturday 02/05

Swell           DIR. W       HT.   5-7    PER. 14-18  Friday morning
Remaining  at:  DIR. WNW     HT.   5-7    PER. 13-15  Friday afternoon
Remaining  at:  DIR. WNW     HT.   5-7    PER. 13-15  Friday night

WINDS:          DIR. NE      SPEED 10-15              Friday morning
Increasing to:  DIR. NW      SPEED 15-20 + 25         Friday afternoon
Decreasing to:  DIR. NE      SPEED  5-10              Friday night
===========================================================================
Extended Ocean Condition Outlook:

Looking at today’s charts and models it’s difficult to imagine any type of precipitation over the next 7 to 10 days. However, a few the longer-range models are indicating rain by mid February.

===========================================================================
The 24 – Hour Ocean Data From The Diablo Canyon Wave rider Buoy
MONTH  DAY  TIME  SIG.HEIGHT   PERIOD   SWELL DIRECTION     SST
01    29    1543     4.9       12            267          56.3
01    30    1713    11.0       14            257          55.6
01    31    0343    10.2       12            274          54.5
02    01    0713     6.3       12            271          54.0
02    02    0443     4.5       12            279          53.6
02    03    0513     5.2       17            250          53.6

(cm) (sec)  22+   20    17    15    13     11    9    7
———————————————————————–
01 29  1543  150   11     3     3    11    98   374   470   137  227
01 30  1713  336   13     9   185   329  1453  1749  1230   876  660
01 31  0343  312   11     6    24   223  1039  1292  1763   697  445
02 01  0713  191    7     2     3    21   188   225   369   430  416
02 02  0443  136   11     1     3     5    46   181   290   236  154
02 03  0513  159   17     6    55   366   298   344   185   127   98

Daily Swell Inspection Program

NAME                      DAY   TIME    HEIGHT   PERIOD     SST
(PST)   (FEET)  (SECONDS) (DEG. F)
# 166  Ocean Station Papa       3    0402      12       13       42.6
# 06   SE Papa                  3    0550      13       14       54.3
# 59   California Buoy          3    0550       8       13       55.6
# 01   Point Reyes Waverider    3    0546       6       15       52.3
# 15   Monterey Waverider Buoy  3    0550       6       15       54.0
# 28   Cape San Martin, Ca      3    0550       7       17       54.9
# 50   DCPP Waverider Buoy, Ca  3    0513       5       17       53.6
# 63   Harvest Buoy             3    0520       6       17       54.7
# 01   NW Hawaii                3    0550       7       14       75.0

* Note: Height (significant swell height) is the average height of the waves in the top third of the wave record. Maximum wave height may be up to TWICE the height in the data shown in the above table.

Precipitation at the Diablo Canyon Ocean Lab.

Tuesday    1500 through Wednesday  1500   0.00 inches
Wednesday  1500 through Thursday   1500   0.00 inches

Precipitation this rain season (July 1 – June 30): 17.67 inches
Average season rainfall at DIP to date:            13.17 inches

Ocean Lab Barometer:   30.42 in/Hg or 1030.1 mb  +0.0 mb (Steady)

Sunrise and Sunset

Today’s         Sunrise 7:01 AM      Sunset 5:33  PM
Tomorrow’s      Sunrise 7:00 AM      Sunset 5:34  PM

Tides:
Low Tide                 High Tide
AM          PM           AM          PM
3 Thursday    3:38  2.0    4:31 -0.3    9:36 5.6   11:00  4.3
4 Friday      4:16  1.9    4:58  0.0   10:11 5.3   11:26  4.4
5 Saturday    4:56  1.8    5:23  0.4   10:46 4.9   11:52  4.5
6 Sunday      5:38  1.8    5:48  0.8   11:24 4.4   —–  —
7 Monday      6:26  1.7    6:12  1.2   12:20 4.6   12:06  3.9
8 Tuesday     7:23  1.7    6:37  1.7   12:51 4.6   12:58  3.4
9 Wednesday   8:34  1.6    7:03  2.1    1:27 4.6    2:14  2.9
10 Thursday    9:58  1.4    7:36  2.5    2:11 4.7    4:19  2.7
11 Friday     11:16  1.0    8:46  2.7    3:07 4.8    6:31  2.8
12 Saturday  (12:16  0.5)  10:28  2.9    4:10 5.0    7:26  3.1
13 Sunday     (1:02  0.0)  11:46  2.7    5:13 5.3    7:57  3.4
14 Monday     —–  —    1:42 -0.5    6:09 5.6    8:24  3.7
15 Tuesday    12:46  2.4    2:19 -0.8    7:00 6.0    8:52  4.0
=========================================================================
This day in weather history

1917 –  Downtown Miami, FL, reported an all-time record low of 27 degrees. (David Ludlum)

1947 –  The temperature at Tanacross, AK, plunged to a record 75 degrees below zero. (David Ludlum)

2008 –  A cold front passed Diablo Canyon this morning at 04:45, producing  sustained winds of 32.4 mph with gust reaching 40.5 mph from the southwest. Since last night, the Diablo
Canyon met tower has recorded about 0.75 inches of rain.

=========================================================================
Conservation tip:

Greening our vehicles: For nearly two decades, PG&E has pushed for cleaner, more efficient vehicles for our customers.

Visit www.pge.com for more information on how PG&E will help you make the transition to driving an electric vehicle.

This weather forecast is a service provided by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to our energy customers. The forecast is valid only for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant coastline area (approximately a one-half mile radius surrounding the plant). Some of the information in this forecast is provided by Pacific Weather Analysis, with their permission.

Replication of this report must be in its entirety. You may view and copy material from this forecast, provided you retain all copyright, trademark, and other proprietary notices displayed on the materials. Use of these materials in publications, radio, television, other media presentations, or other websites is prohibited without PG&E’s express written consent.

PG&E is a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation, one of the largest natural gas and electric utilities in the United States, delivering some of the nation’s cleanest energy to 15 million people in northern and central California. If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to this daily forecast, please send an email to PGEweather@pge.com. Any questions about this forecast please E-mail John Lindsey at jcl5@pge.com or contact by phone at 546-5265. For more information visit, www.pge.com.