Hardwear Sessions

Our offices sit right on the edge of the San Francisco Bay. When a winter storm comes in, we know it. This morning, I woke to strong, steady winds and constant rain. I stood in my living room and watched the rain dance in sheets across Richmond, so thick that I could barely see Mt. Tamalpais, located barely 15 miles across the Bay. This morning, the wind is so strong that I can feel our building bow under strong gusts. (The SF Chronicle reports 70 mph "gale force winds.") Not a good day to be running around outside, but we're excited to see the storm, because California has been suffering from drought. We hope the storm will dump snow on the Sierra and produce a good, solid snowpack for the next season.

All that snow will make our ski trips a lot more fun. In the meantime, we try to stay off the roads and stay dry. The last weather report predicted that snow levels will drop almost to sea level this weekend, which means that it will probably snow (if we're lucky) in the Bay Area, and I won't have to drive far to see a winter wonderland.

Our friends in the Sierra won't be so lucky. The city of Mammoth left emergency messages for city residents, advising them to load up on supplies and hunker down. The weather reports predict gusty winds over 130 mph over the Sierra crestline, and up to 25 feet of snow at 8000 feet! Our snow season has been slow, so we're happy to suffer through the storm.