Outdoors
Atmospheric Ice-Crystal Effects are often observed, starting this time of year, because of the frequent appearance of high clouds made of tiny bits of ice. The most familiar of these optical effects is the 22˚-radius …
“Rainbow Season” arrives with the first rains of late fall. Scattered showers are best for rainbow watching: sunlight refracting and reflecting through the raindrops causes two bows to appear — an intense circular arc at …
November’s and December’s Vividly Colorful Sunsets and sunrises are no accident. This is the time of year when high cirrus clouds, often the precursors of storms, sweep through our area with some regularity. When cirrus …
The seductive village of Villa Angostura sits between mountain and lake, Tahoe style, an hour north of Bariloche (also well worth your time) but a world apart. Villa Angostura lies on the famed Seven Lakes …
Monarch Butterflies arrive along the California coast this month, migrating from their summer homes in the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains. Some 25 of the 260 wintering sites on the West Coast lie within …
Local Temperatures should be declining most rapidly during this time of year, according to more than a century of local meteorological records. With every successive week, daily maximum temperatures are declining by about .75˚ Fahrenheit, …
Leaves Are Beginning to Turn in coastal San Diego County’s riparian woodland and oak woodland habitats. The summer-green crowns of willows and sycamores are already fading to yellow and brown. Beneath the oaks, the deciduous …
The Floss Silk Tree, a conspicuous “autumn bloomer” here and there around San Diego, has been showing off its pinkish or purplish, hibiscus-like flowers for at least a month now. The broad, heavy trunks of …
Chinese Flame Trees all over the San Diego region are displaying colorful clusters of orange, reddish, or salmon-pink seed pods. Good specimens line the south end of Balboa Drive in Balboa Park, and Lake Murray …
Dense Ground Fogs are a trademark of the onset of autumn along San Diego’s coastal strip. Fog materializes during the night and early morning hours when moist marine air that has settled in valleys and …
The Smoggiest Days of the Year are most likely to occur during the next several weeks. Persistent temperature inversions (warmer air overlying cool marine air) are frequent this time of year. These inversions conspire with …