Weather forecast for Thursday April 14

April 14, 2011

By JOHN LINDSEY from PG&E

Join PG&E employees this Saturday morning, April 16 to celebrate Earth Day at Montaña de Oro State Park.

Check-in time: 8:30 a.m. Project time: 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Location: Spooner Ranch House, Montana de Oro State Park.

The event is one of a number of service projects sponsored by PG&E and the California State Parks Foundation. Please register at the California State Parks Foundation website,www.calparks.org.

Be sure to dress for outdoor work with long pants, long-sleeved shirt, sturdy shoes, hat, gloves and sunscreen. Snacks and a light lunch will be provided. Bring your own refillable water bottle. Rangers will provide tools and supervision.

The weather is looking great for this year’s event.

ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS:

A 1,030-millibar Eastern Pacific High will remain firmly in place about 400 miles to the west of San Luis Obispo. Along with the Eastern Pacific High, a ridge of high pressure will build over California over the next 48 hours.

This condition will produce gentle to moderate (8- to 18-mph) northeasterly (offshore) winds during the morning hours and sunny and clear weather with gradually warmer temperatures.

Today’s temperatures will reach the mid to high 60’s, warming to the low to mid 70s on Friday.

Gradual warming is expected to continue through the weekend, with Sunday being the warmest day of the next seven. Rain will develop across Northern California late Sunday and Monday, as another cold front moves onshore. However, rain is no longer expected for the Central Coast.

Next week looks fair and dry with a few possible lingering showers along the Sierras.

Yesterday’s         Today’s          Tomorrow’s
Min    Max        Min    Max         Min     Max
48.9°   56.3°      51.4°   60.0°      54.0°    64.0°

PG&E San Francisco Met Office predicted temps:

Inland Temperatures, Paso Robles

Actual                    Predicted

Wed        Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun   Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu
40 65      33 67 37 76 46 78 47 76 46 72 41 74 40 75 39 74

Coastal Valleys Temperatures, San Luis Obispo

Wed        Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun   Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu
43 60      41 66 45 71 48 72 49 73 51 69 49 68 46 69 46 68

SEA/SWELL:

Strong to gale force (25- to 38-mph) northwesterly winds along the Central Coast will generate 4- to 6-foot northwesterly (310-degree deep-water) sea and swell (with a 7- to 13-second period) through Sunday.

A 3- to 5-foot northwesterly (290-degree deep-water) swell (with an 8- to 15-second period) is expected on Monday, followed by increasing northwesterly sea and swell on Tuesday through next Thursday.

Arriving from the southern hemisphere:

A 1-foot southern hemisphere (205-degree deep-water) swell (with a 16- to 18-second period) will arrive along our coastline Monday, increasing to 1- to 2-feet (with a 15- to
17-second period) on Tuesday.

WINDS:

A pattern of gentle to moderate (8 to 18-mph) north to northeasterly (offshore) winds developing during the morning hours, shifting out of the northwest and increasing to strong
to gale force (25- to 38-mph) levels during afternoon and evening hours will continue through Sunday.

The northwesterly winds will decrease on Monday, followed by increasing northwesterly winds on Tuesday through next Wednesday.

DIABLO CANYON METEOROLOGICAL TOWER WIND DATA:

Today’s winds:

Max peak winds:      NE       13.6 mph at    6:15 a.m.
Max sustained wind:  NE        4.9 mph at    6:15 a.m.

Yesterday’s Maximum Winds:

Max peak winds:      NW       40.2 mph at    8:00 p.m.
Max sustained wind:  NW       27.7 mph at    9:00 p.m.

SEAWATER TEMPERATURES:

The Diablo Canyon waverider buoy is reporting a sea surface temperature of 51.6 degrees while the Nortek AWAC current meter is reporting 49.5 degrees.

Intake seawater temperatures will range between 48- and 51-degrees through Wednesday.

OCEAN CURRENTS:

Both the DCPP Cal Poly CODAR stations and the DCPP Nortek AWAC meter are indicating a southerly (offshore) flowing current today.

This southerly (offshore) current will continue to flow southward through Wednesday.

SEAWATER VISIBILITY:

Seawater visibility was 18- to 20-feet at the Diablo Canyon Intake.

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24-Hour Ocean Condition Outlook for Thursday 04/14 to Friday 04/15

Sea/Swell       DIR. NW      HT.   4-6   PER.   7-12  This morning
Remaining  at:  DIR. NW      HT.   4-6   PER.   7-12  This afternoon
Remaining  at:  DIR. NW      HT.   4-6   PER.   7-12  Tonight

WINDS:          DIR. NE      SPEED 10-15              This morning
Increasing to:  DIR. NW      SPEED 25-30 + 40         This afternoon
Decreasing to:  DIR. NW      SPEED 20-25              Tonight
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48-Hour Ocean Condition Outlook for Thursday 04/14 to Friday 04/15

Sea/Swell       DIR. NW      HT.   4-6   PER.   7-12  Friday morning
Remaining  at:  DIR. NW      HT.   4-6   PER.   7-12  Friday afternoon
Remaining  at:  DIR. NW      HT.   4-6   PER.   7-12  Friday night

WINDS:          DIR. NE      SPEED 10-15              Friday morning
Increasing to:  DIR. NW      SPEED 25-30 + 40         Friday afternoon
Decreasing to:  DIR. NW      SPEED 20-25              Friday night
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Extended Ocean Condition Outlook:

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The 24 – Hour Ocean Data From The Diablo Canyon Wave rider Buoy
MONTH  DAY  TIME  SIG.HEIGHT   PERIOD   SWELL DIRECTION     SST
04    10    0043     6.2       11            285          52.7
04    11    0613     3.7       14            230          50.2
04    12    0413     5.0       13            263          52.5
04    13    0243     7.0       13            271          54.0
04    13    0843     6.0       13            270          54.9
04    14    0512     5.0       12            275          51.6

(cm) (sec)  22+   20    17    15    13     11    9    7
———————————————————————
04 10  0043  189   11     1     8    31    98   251   523   443  446
04 11  0613  112    4     1     3    19    62    85    93    91  294
04 12  0413  152    7     1     3    23    69   151    84   205  430
04 13  0243  214    7     2     4    11   114   641   469   416  560
04 13  0843  183   11     1     4     9   110   438   526   382  305
04 14  0512  154    4     1     4    28    30   102   262   211  432

Daily Swell Inspection Program

NAME                      DAY   TIME    HEIGHT   PERIOD     SST
(PST)   (FEET)  (SECONDS) (DEG. F)
# 166  Ocean Station Papa      14    0402      10       10       41.7
# 06   SE Papa                 14    0550       9       11       51.8
# 59   California Buoy         14    0550       8       12       56.1
# 01   Point Reyes Waverider   14    0546       8       10       52.5
# 15   Monterey Waverider Buoy 14    0550       6       12       50.9
# 28   Cape San Martin, Ca     14    0550       9       12       54.5
# 50   DCPP Waverider Buoy, Ca 14    0543       5       12       51.6
# 63   Harvest Buoy            14    0520       7       12       52.5
# 01   NW Hawaii               14 0550 5 8 75.4

* 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): 25.84 inches
Average season rainfall at DIP to date:            23.52 inches

Ocean Lab Barometer:  30.32 in/Hg or 1026.8 mb  +0.0 mb (Steady)
Sunrise and Sunset

Today’s         Sunrise 6:32 AM      Sunset 7:35  PM
Tomorrow’s      Sunrise 6:31 AM      Sunset 7:36  PM

Tides:
Low Tide                 High Tide
AM          PM           AM          PM
14 Thursday    1:36  1.3    1:55  0.0    7:28 4.6    8:21  4.9
15 Friday      2:29  0.6    2:35  0.2    8:29 4.7    8:54  5.4
16 Saturday    3:19 -0.2    3:14  0.5    9:26 4.6    9:29  5.9
17 Sunday      4:09 -0.8    3:54  0.8   10:23 4.5   10:07  6.2
18 Monday      4:58 -1.2    4:34  1.2   11:19 4.3   10:46  6.3
19 Tuesday     5:49 -1.3    5:16  1.6  (12:18 4.1)  11:28  6.2
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This day in weather history

1873 – A famous Easter blizzard raged across Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. Gale force winds blew the wet snow into massive drifts. (David Ludlum)

1988 – A weather disturbance off the southern coast of California brought parts of southern California their first rain in six weeks. Rain-slickened roads resulted in numerous accidents
in southern California, including a ten car pile-up at Riverside. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1989 – Late afternoon thunderstorms in northern Florida soaked the town of Golden Gate with 4.37 inches of rain in about two hours, resulting in local flooding. (Storm Data)

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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.

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