[californiadisasters] North Ops News & Notes Update (3/06/12-7:30AM)

Date	Time	News and Notes
03/06/2012	0730	The Beale AFB Weather Radar, which is operated by the National Weather Service in Sacramento and covers much of the central portion of our GACC, will be begin upgrading to dual-polarization capabilities starting tomorrow, March 7. For the fire management community, the ability to measure both the horizontal and vertical polarized radar pulses will mean better forecasting of thunderstorm intensity, total precipitation values, classification of precipitation type, identification of snow levels in higher terrain, and mitigating non-weather echoes (such as birds). The Beale AFB radar is expected to be offline from March 7-20. For more information, visit http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sto/stodualpol.php .
03/06/2012	0700	There will be a cold front passing through the GACC today. Today's Weather Story from the Sacramento WFO forecasts mountain snow and some light valley rains; however, they are also advising that North winds at a sustained 25-35 mph with local gusts up to 40-50 mph will affect much of the Sacramento Valley and Coastal Mountains.
03/02/2012	0900	Today's Weather Story from the the Sacramento WFO of the National Weather Service has an excellent graphic of the current and historical precipitation values for the Northern Sierra Nevadas. Using an 8-Station index, the Northern Sierras have only received 51% of the total average precipitation to March 1.
03/01/2012	1300	Today's product from the National Drought Mitigation Center reports that as of last week, California's short-term drought has deepened throughout the state, most notably in Northeastern California. Approximately 4% of California is at normal levels (located in the extreme northern and southern coastal corners); 24% is "abnormally dry", 56% experiencing "moderate" drought conditions, and 16% of the state has now been classified as having "severe" short-term drought conditions; up from 5% last week. For information on the snow water equivalent of the recent storms, visit the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service's daily California SNOTEL Snow/Precipitation Update Report.

Source: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sgx/document/Dayinhistory/dayhistory0307.pdf

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