The Vintage – 2011 Vintage Report Week #3
Week #3 1/1/11 – 1/7/11
Santa Ynez
Summary: This week saw some cooler temperatures.
Rain Fall: 0.05″
Temperatures: Low for the week, 37 High for the week 64. Average Low: 41 Average High: 59
Week Look Ahead: Considerably cooler night time lows will develop over the weekend before stabilizing.
Lompoc
Rain Fall: 1.07″
Temperatures: Low for the week, 34. High for the week 64. Average Low: 39.3. Average High: 59.40
Week Look Ahead: Pleasant.
Santa Maria
Summary: The early week brought in nearly an inch of rain but was quiet after that.
Rain Fall: .98″
Temperatures: Low for the week, 35. High for the week 68. Average Low: 39.9. Average High: 60
Week Look Ahead: Should stay dry.
Week #2 12/25 – 12/31/10
Santa Ynez
Summary: The week saw some showers with slightly warmer day time highs than the previous week but colder nights.
Rain Fall: 0.05″
Temperatures: Low for the week, 37 High for the week 65. Average Low: 54 Average High: 60
Week Look Ahead: Wet winter storms will move into Santa Barbara County and Southern California bringing heavy winds, rain, and snow. Temperatures will remain cool.
December totals: 2.50 inces of rain, Average high 67, average low 39. High/low for the month, 83/34
Lompoc
Summary: A cool down in temperatures from the previous week and moderate rainfall with some heavy winds.
Rain Fall: 1.78″
Temperatures: Low for the week, 30. High for the week 63. Average Low: 39. Average High: 59
Week Look Ahead: Rain will develop Sunday through Monday with moderate weather through the end of the week.
December totals: 7.65 inces of rain, Average high 67, average low 40. High/low for the month, 75/30
Santa Maria
Summary: Santa Maria saw moderate rainfall and heavy rains a log with cooler temperatures.
Rain Fall: 1.74″
Temperatures: Low for the week, 31. High for the week 62. Average Low: 41. Average High: 57.7
Week Look Ahead: Rain will develop Sunday through Monday with moderate weather through the end of the week.
December totals: 9.50 inces of rain, Average high 65, average low 38. High/low for the month, 76/31
Week #1 – Introduction
As 2010 wraps up, I continue to consider how I can push A Long Pour into something more than it is now. Among my many ideas, brilliant and not so brilliant (mostly the later), I would like to create a documentation of the 2011 vintage, a journal if you will.
Take the 2010 vintage. After the harvest of 2009 it rained, and rained, and then rained some more. Jason Haas wrote a charming post on the topic (A paean to rain and a phone call to Mabel). After years of drought and declining crop, the wet weather was welcome. Then things really heated up, well actually they never did. California had one of the coolest Summers on records, pushing the harvest back 2-3 weeks depending on the region. Then, more rain in October in much of California, not a good time when you still have grapes on the vine.
Now that even the latest harvests have been done for several weeks, we are officially in the 2011 vintage. So far, the vintage is starting with a bang. More wild weather throughout California, with records broken up and down the State. Last week alone, parts of Santa Barbara received upwards of 14-16 inches of rain in less than a week!
The heat, the rain, the wind, and the cold all effect the outcome of a vintage. Therefore, while I cannot document all of the many regions of California in any meaningful way, I can do so in Santa Barbara. Starting today I will post an ongoing summary of the weeks weather in Santa Barbara County.
How will I do this? Santa Barbara has at least three very distinct regions, Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Ynez Valley, and the Santa Maria Valley. There are more, but let’s be modest here. By looking at the weather of Lompoc on the western edge of the St. Rita Hills, Santa Ynez in the middle of the valley, and Santa Maria in the north (a triangle), we should be able to develop a good idea of what is going on in the region as a whole and in these more particular regions. It will not be perfect, or overly scientific, but it will serve as a record of the 2011 vintage, which I am excited about.
This week, I am going to go back to 12/17 until today, 12/14
Week #1 12/17 – 12/24/10
Santa Ynez
Summary: The weekend started with rain and held the pattern from Friday until Thursday, with a series of tropical storms hammering California. Temperatures remained fairly constant with the warmer tropical storms moving through the area.
Rain Fall: 2.07″
Temperatures: Low for the week, 45. High for the week 63. Average Low: 50. Average High: 59
Week Look Ahead: Temperatures will remain in the upper 50’s to low 60’s for the highs, but expect temperatures to continue to drop at night into the high 30’s by the end of the week. Some light showers are expected over the Christmas weekend and the potential remains for some rain mid week.
Lompoc
Summary: Like Santa Ynez and Santa Barbara County as a whole, the weekend started with rain and held the pattern from Friday until Thursday, however Lompoc saw considerably more rain than Santa Ynez.
Rain Fall: 5.27″
Temperatures: Low for the week, 43. High for the week 63. Average Low: 50. Average High: 59
Week Look Ahead: Temperatures will remain in the upper 50’s to low 60’s for the highs, but expect temperatures to continue to drop at night into the low 40’s and upper 30’s closer to the eat end of the SRH by the end of the week. Some light showers are expected over the Christmas weekend and the potential remains for some rain mid week.
Santa Maria
Summary: Santa Maria saw the worse of the rain from the nearly week of storms but saw a similar balance in temperatures.
Rain Fall: An impressive 7.08″
Temperatures: Low for the week, 46. High for the week 63. Average Low: 50. Average High: 59.5
Week Look Ahead: Temperatures will rise towards the low 60’s before dropping back to the mid to high 50’s but expect temperatures to continue to drop at night into the mid 40’s by mid week and upper 30’s to low 40’s at the end of the week. Some light showers are expected over the Christmas weekend and the potential remains for some rain mid week. Rain could potentially be stronger than in Santa Ynez or Lompoc.
