Plus: A severe car crash at Caesar Chavez and Alabama streets left a van flipped over.
It was a particularly gorgeous weekend for sunrises and sunsets, as well as bouts of mid-afternoon sunshine. During the winter months, the San Francisco Bay Area’s cooler temperatures, coupled with more particulate-dense skies, lead to simply sublime color pallets painting our skies. But this is also one of our most cloud-heavy parts of the year, thanks to increased rain — reminder: we’re expected to see another big rainstorm this Wednesday that could lead to flooding for parts of the region — and that aforenoted cooler weather conditions moist air in the atmosphere.
Amazing clouds sitting over a gorgeous Point Reyes made for incredible photos. Could be an epic sunset. pic.twitter.com/sngYRU3OlJ
— The West Marin Feed (@WestMarinFeed) January 28, 2024
Over the weekend, some Bay Area locals quickly pointed out that some unusual clouds began swirling up and around this slice of NorCal. Unlike the familiar cotton balls we associate with our region’s cloud coverage, this past weekend saw caterpillar-like clouds crawling along skies in straight lines; some of these clouds looked like ink-blot tests or dollops of whipped cream. They left many people careening their necks toward the heavens and wondering… “WTF?”
According to climate scientist Dr. Daniel Swain, these rare clouds are stratocumulus clouds — a genus of clouds that usually clusters in groups, lines, or waves.
Some spectacular stratocumulus clouds in an unusually mild late January airmass ahead of what will later become an active weather week in California. These clouds are indicators of subtropical moisture streaming northward ahead of a British Columbia-bound atmospheric river.#CAwx https://t.co/pFZ6Xitx00
— Dr. Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) January 28, 2024
“Some spectacular stratocumulus clouds in an unusually mild late January airmass ahead of what will later become a weather week in California,” Swain writes in a post on X. As a whole, they usually form at lower altitudes and more common clouds, sitting somewhere around 7,000 feet above the ground. “These clouds are indicators of subtropical moisture streaming northward ahead of a British Columbia-bound atmospheric river.”
Mother Nature has a particularly comical way of reminding us all to look up from our dumb, little screens and appreciate the organic splendors right above them.
What else transpired over the weekend? Let’s take a look.
- A Prius collided with a van at Ceaesar Chavez and Alabama streets. What looks like a gnarly car crash, a white van can be seen in a video posted on X by the San Francisco Fire Department flipped on its side, while the majority of the front-end of the Pirus is pretty much entirely caved in; it’s unclear if any injuries were sustained by the drivers or any passengers in the vehicles. More info.
- The Niners are going to the Super Bowl, baby! After a nail-biting game between the Detroit Lions, San Francisco’s home football team came out victorious with a 31-34 win and will now play off against the Kansas City Chiefs on February 11th in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII. More info.
- Speaking of Niner victories, the Mission District was alive with cheer, fireworks, and palpable joy last night after the big win. “I don’t think there’s anywhere in San Francisco where they celebrate it like they do [in the Mission District],” Flores said. “Here on 24th is where the heart of the celebration is.” More info.
- A body was found on the BART tracks near Balboa Park (stay that ten times fast). The was found early Monday morning around 1 a.m. at the BART trackway near Balboa Park Station, causing some delays with Monday’s earliest trains; information around the remains has not been shared, though the coroner reports suspect no foul play was present. More info.
Feature image: Courtesy of [at]LeeHepner via X
