Beautiful Mountain Blog of Belmont

Belmont Gets Blasted With Rain! (With Video)

OK it will be all over the news but here’s the local Belmont scoop. Just as a back-up to our weather station which uploads to the internet, I have this visual aid in our backyard because I guess I am a geek for starters (I also have triple redundancy for my hard drives now), but it did help when the circuit board stopped measuring rain earlier this year.

 The first picture is one I took when I left for work and the second is when I came home at lunchtime.

(You can click on any image to see a larger picture.)
 
Our weather station reported the following (see below). Notice the rain rate at 2” per hour at 11:52 and 36 MPH winds at 8:06 AM. It was raining cats and dogs.

Now we are up to 18.82 inches for the year (July-June), 3.82 for the month and 3.15 just since this storm event!

 Remember you can always view the weather station on our web site live 24/7 from our Hallmark area home.

The weather at work was amazing too as you see this poor pedestrian trying to maneuver around a small pond on Ralston Avenue whilst the cars pay scant attention to him.

Rare Tornado Warning in Belmont

A TORNADO WARNING WAS HOISTED FOR SAN MATEO COUNTY FOR A BREIF TIME. SEE BRIEFING BELOW. THE WARNING IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT

AT 1111 AM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TOINDICATE A TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR BELMONT...MOVINGNORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.
OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO FOSTER CITY AND REDWOOD CITY

The National Weather Service issued a rare tornado warning for San Mateo County.  The warning included the cities of San Mateo, San Carlos, Redwood City, Millbrae, Foster City, Burlingame, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough and Belmont and lasted about a half hour.

The have been no official sightings of a funnel clouds or tornadoes according to the NWS. There have been many lightening strikes along the Peninsula as well as heavy downpours. 

Watch Live Radar

The weather pattern continued to have the potential to become dangerous throughout Friday afternoon. The warning was issued at 11:02 a.m. with winds moving northeast at 40 mph, according to the NWS.

As of 11:32 a.m. it is traveling east from Oakland and expected to cross the East Bay city of Alamo by 12:03 p.m. and a minute later in San Ramon. By 12:31 p.m. it is suppose to cross Antioch.

The warning expired by 11:40 a.m. but the strong weather pattern held over, according to Steve Anderson of the National Weather Service.

"The activity is slowly moving to the South," he said. "It is moving to the South Bay and San Jose within the next hour."

Anderson said the National Weather Service rarely issues tornado warnings for the Bay Area but when they are issued, residents should seek shelter and stay indoors.

 

Orion in the night sky in Belmont

Just thought I’d share this with everyone.

 

We’ve always enjoyed astronomy and love it when there’s a new moon and we can get a good look at the night sky.

In Belmont, we’re pretty close to the city (San Francisco) and get a lot of city light which tends to wash-out the night sky.

If we look south-south-west however it’s much darker as we’re looking towards the Santa Cruz mountain range.

When I got up early this morning I had to grab my camera and capture one of my favorite constellations—Orion.

This was taken today, October 9^th 2010 just after six in the morning.

I used our Nikon D70 with a shutter speed of 30” at f4.8 and ISO of 1600.

Summer Succombs to Fall in Belmont

Anyone feeling like the weather has turned whimsical at best? First we have the coldest August in the Bay Area since 1958, and then we start September with a heat wave and one of the best Labor Day Weekends in recent memory, to be followed by rain?

Sunday evening, September 6^th at 5:00, while we were winding down one of the nicest weekends we’ve had in Belmont (and three days of it to boot), it was 82.6 degrees. Most homes in Belmont feel like they are made of chocolate when it’s that hot—everything inside it starts to melt. So like most, we were relegated to the cooler (at times) outdoors. Yet just one day later at the same time—5:00 PM Monday—it was only 59 degrees—a 23 degree difference.

Then yesterday, Wednesday, September 8^th at 5:00 PM it’s 57.3 and it has rained 4/100ths of an inch!

Enjoy the rest of this week’s unpredictable weather…

Belmont's Beautiful Weather

It was really neat to meet our Belmont neighbors at our open house on Hallmark Drive yesterday--thanks to all who stopped by. We had an amazing turn-out and the weather couldn’t have been more cooperative. Incidentally we did a survey at the open house where we asked our guests if they thought the home was a good value. Overwhelming, but not the least bit surprisingly, potential buyers gave lower scores for value than homeowners in the area--propagating the theory that sellers always view their home as worth more than a potential buyer.

The many nice compliments on our blog and web page were also appreciated. I had no idea so many of you read our blog and it inspires me to keep it up. Feel free to comment on anything you read too because it gives me a sense that there’s a real-time audience out there.

So the story of the day is about the last of the nice weather for awhile. We had an unusually warm October with 70+ degree evenings ‘til midnight. For those of you new to Belmont, September and October are getting to be our best months of the year. I say getting to be because my anecdotal evidence is my memory going back 40 years when I distinctly remember September being rather cool and October downright cold.

This graph looks at what is referred to as “Cooling Degree Days”. Cooling degree-days are used to estimate the amount of heat that must be removed (through air-conditioning) to keep a structure comfortable. Heating and cooling degree-days are based on departures from a base temperature, typically 65ºF (18ºC).

One cooling degree–day is the amount of cooling required to keep a structure at 65ºF when the outside temperature remains one degree above the 65ºF threshold for 24 hours. One cooling degree–day is also the amount of cooling required to keep that structure at 65ºF when the temperature remains 24ºF above that 65º threshold for 1 hour.

So the bottom line is the more cooling degree days the warmer the month. Don’t forget when we have extreme weather storms this winter you can go to our live weather station located in Hallmark for current rain rate, or frost conditions.

 

Belmont, Feeling the Chill?

It’s official. We’ve had a month of colder than usual weather interrupted only by a four day stint of hotter than usual days in the middle of May. Being one of best months for warm weather, May sure was a disappointment. And now June, notorious for windy conditions is upon us and it’s living up to its historical reputation.

Here are a series of graphs I produced from our weather station located at our home in the Hallmark Area of Belmont which illustrate the last month’s weather pattern:

This graph shows the highs and lows from May 4th to June 4th: Note if you click on any of these graphs you'll get a full size window view where you can actually read the data.

In this picture I've added a RED high temperature line to illustrate the day's highs.

The Orange line added here shows the high wind speed. It's easy to see why we had warm weather for a few days--hardly any wind.

Finally, this graph shows the wind direction. Notice that when the wind shifts to the east, we have warmer weather and invariably when it is from the west (on shore breezes) it's colder.

Don't forget you can view this information live on our weather web page at MorganHomes.com

Belmont's Beautiful Heat Wave

A week ago I posted a blog complaining about the relentless wind in Belmont over the past several weeks. This week we are enjoying record high temperatures not seen since 1970. Personally, I love the warm temperatures and slight breezes we get that take the edge off the heat.

May 14^th we had high clouds which made for a spectacular sunset—I think one of the best I have ever seen in Belmont.

When the Peninsula gets weather like this I can think of no other place I’d rather be living.

Nikon D70

Lens: Nikkor 18-200mm GED VR

Date taken: May 14^th 2008

Time: 20:24:25

f/4.5      1/8 exposure     ISO 200                Handheld  40mm focal length

Nikon D70

Lens: Nikkor 18-200mm GED VR

Date taken: May 14^th 2008

Time: 20:19:35

f/5.6      1/20 exposure   ISO 200                Handheld  200mm focal length

Belmont is in need of some negativity

If you’ve been thinking like we have, you're probably wondering when will the weather get a little warmer.

The wind has been relentless this month. Our Davis weather station located at our home in the Hallmark area of Belmont, has been collecting data since we moved to from Barclay Way in 2001. We’ve been broadcasting it live since January 2002 and it receives more hits than any of our other web pages each month.

A recent software upgrade has allowed us to extract data for analysis and this is my first graph. It illustrates the wind at time intervals for the Month of May, 2008—to date.

Notice that there hasn’t been one day so far this month that there hasn’t been any wind between the hours of 12:45 PM to 11:00 PM!

The positive ions wind can create may actually have a negative affect on the body by raising stress levels. Ever wonder why lying near a stream or waterfall feels so relaxing? Moving water creates negative ions which counteract the effects of positive ions created by the wind. Try washing your face with water after a bike ride. We hear it’s not just the coolness of the water that feels so good; it’s the positive ions being cancelled out by negative ones that have a calming effect. Admittedly these articles are not from scientific scholars, but sometimes experiencing something for yourself is all the affirmation one needs.

After awhile, the wind begins to grow a little tiresome and we’re just waiting for a calm mild day—I know a lull before the storm.

Hunter's Moon--October 26th 2007 The biggest of them all...

Today marks the occasion of the “Hunter’s Moon”. A full moon which occurs each October but this year is special. Tonight's full Moon is the biggest full Moon of 2007. It's no illusion.  The Moon's orbit is an ellipse with one side 30,000 miles closer to Earth than the other. The full Moon of Oct. 25-26 is located on the near side, making it appear as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons we've seen earlier in 2007.

This can be found on NASA’s web site, “According to folklore, October's full moon is called the "Hunter's Moon" or sometimes the "Blood Moon." It gets its name from hunters who tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead. You can picture them: silent figures padding through the forest, the moon overhead, pale as a corpse, its cold light betraying the creatures of the wood.

So how many moons do we really have? Twelve to be exact:

• January - Wolf Moon 
• February - Snow Moon 
• March - Worm Moon 
• April - Pink Moon 
• May - Flower Moon 
• June - Strawberry Moon 
• July - Buck Moon 
• August - Sturgeon Moon 
• September - Harvest Moon 
• October - Hunter's Moon 
• November - Beaver Moon 
• December - Cold Moon

Ever wonder why the moon appears so large at the horizon and so small up in the sky? This phenomenon referred to the “Moon Illusion” is best explained by scientists but it has everything to do with your brain’s perception of relative size as it compares the moon to objects on the horizon. Try taking a picture of the same moon and you’ll be sorely disappointed that your camera doesn't see things quite the way you do.

Enjoy the show tonight and as the moon rises near sunset and appears to fill the sky.

Which Way is the Wind Blowing in Belmont?

WHICH WAY IS THE WIND BLOWING IN BELMONT?

There are a many hot topics in Belmont that can cause the debate around water coolers to boil over although normally our weather isn’t one of them. Being nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay keeps the weather in Belmont relatively cool in the hot summer months and mild the rest of the year.

But what about the so-called microclimates we hear so much about? Having personally lived in three distinct neighborhoods in Belmont we noticed each one benefited from individualistic weather nuances.

If one were to drive around Belmont in a convertible, on a motorbike or bicycle on a summer day they’d no doubt experience dramatic variations in temperature from one neighborhood to another; for those who live and work in Belmont it comes as no surprise to find the temperature in one part of Belmont completely different from another. These so called "microclimates" exist all over the Peninsula but in some cities such as Belmont, they are found within the city itself.

Back in the day before air-conditioning, choosing a mild climate was key to comfortable summers. In the 1860's, William Chapman Ralston picked a strategic place in Belmont to call home when he bought Count Cipriani’s château on what is now Ralston Avenue. Located near the bustling downtown section of Belmont, yet secluded inland far enough to be protected from the cooler San Francisco Bay winds, this area today remains known for its superior microclimate.

Other microclimates can be found elsewhere in Belmont such as in the hills overlooking the bay. These higher elevations are affected two fold; by more exposure to the wind and their inherent altitude. Also referred to as the "lapse rate"-for every 1,000 feet in elevation, temperatures are around 3.5 degrees lower. So it stands to reason that a home up in Belcrest Gardens near Highway 92 would be slightly cooler than a home in Sterling Downs. It's not just elevation which accounts for the differential in temperatures. Microclimates created by the shelter of a hillside, ravine or eastern exposure can provide a protected environment free from cool afternoon winds which can drop temperatures as much as 20 degrees in the course of just a few hours.         

The temperature in Belmont peaks most days in the afternoon and has cooled considerably by early evening. Want to know what time of day is typically the warmest? On average it's 2:10 in the afternoon.

Belmont is a city with mild seasons and is ideally situated between Silicon Valley and San Francisco with easy access to three international airports. Once you’ve found Belmont, you’ve found home!

 

*Our NOAA registered weather station is located at our home in Belmont and provides real-time weather reports. Log on to: MorganHomes.com and click on "Interesting Links" to view our live weather station.

© D. Morgan, 2007