January Almanac A So. Cal. Winter Can’t Be Beat

Building a snowman in Julian, December 2004. Photo By Darrel Kinney

By Clinton S. Powell, Naturalist

January in our Southern California mountains is basically a whirling mixture of cold wind, frost, rain and snow, or stunning, still-warm mornings with bright winter sun.

A ripping cold Alaskan-born storm might tear in loudly one night. The sound of pines in the wind is a smooth, high-pitched wail. Evergreen oaks shatter the wind in a tangible vibration. This winter element loudly commands your attention as it muffles and often eliminates the barking of your neighbor’s dog; cars and trucks no longer penetrate your world. The noisy chatter that filled yesterday’s life is overpowered by the commanding weather pattern.

This is a gift, a new reward that signals, for the moment, a new lifestyle. Solitude, a welcome condition now, becomes the commanding element of life. This solitude can be so comforting that at first you are not aware of its arrival. And like so many subtle conditions, you wonder what is occurring.

Everything and everyone is consumed by this condition, and basically, the wind is cold. Don’t try to change the wind; it can’t be done. The focus is to keep warm, keep the fire burning, and crawl into warm flannel sheets covered with a thick, fluffy down comforter. Your dog, understanding this basic element perhaps more thoroughly, curls up in its bed, or hops on the bed and wraps warmly around you. If you are fortunate enough to understand this climactic condition and are tucked warmly in bed, with all the distracting elements of a television or a radio eliminated, merely the sound of the cold will sink you into a sleep that is priceless.

Often, the next day arrives silently with a hint of warmth and the sight of new narcissus outside your front door; these are your gifts of the season.

January is an interval of time where activity is centered on keeping warm, keeping moving, doing something to keep your internal furnace radiating.

A cold January day can be very stimulating; a hike or a walk through the forest is a seasonal treat, if you are prepared. The cold keeps you moving. The more you walk, the warmer you are. Keep a pace that feels comfortable, so you don’t becoming too warm and begin to perspire.

Winter exercise is one of life’s biggest treasures. You see, hear, smell and feel so much that at times you need to slow down. Sit and relax. Listen not only to the wonders around you, but to how your body is responding to your outing.

The common complaint of most people is being cold. That’s understandable. Coldness rides on your shoulder in Jackson Hole, Wyo.; in Julian, it slightly tingles a toe or finger. We learn to prepare for any weather condition.

January has a whispering voice that conjures the traditional delight of eggnog with a topping of cognac, of cinnamon tea and a warm wood stove or fireplace. For the true lover of winter, January provides the time to bring in your best firewood that you’ve saved all year. This might be a mixture of several species of oak, a few pieces of conifers, or all that’s needed might be several pine cones.

Winter sunshine can be so somnorific, so soothing that you lie down like a Labrador on a couch, dream and soon become as satisfied and as soundly asleep as that dog. Basic pleasures of comfort are supplied with simple principles of exposure.

Unpredictable January

January weather varies, as always. I’ve referred to many weather sites as well as my daily engagement calendars. Unfortunately, the National Weather Service does not have weather data for Julian. For stability of statistics, I use the California Department of Forestry station in Julian for temperatures and precipitation. To refer to weather records that are readily accessible to Julian, I use AOL Weather data found online. The oldest records I find begin in 1949; this, I believe, gives data that actually balances out quite accurately.

January weather has a mean temperature of 39 degrees. Three years, the highest temperature has been 74 degrees. The lowest temperature, however, is a stunner: minus 4 degrees in 1959. Sunrise on Jan. 1 is 6:50 a.m.; on the 31st, it’s 6:42 a.m. Sunset on Jan. 1 is 4:51 p m.; on the 31, 5:18 p.m.

One of the most important factors that dramatically changes temperature is the wind. Two winds basically flow in January: the western Pacific winds and the eastern winds from the Great Basin of Utah, Nevada and Arizona.

The foundation of the winds’ influence on low temperatures is called the wind-chill factor. The wind-chill factor is found in every weather book, even the Boy Scout manual. For some reason, most weather data today does not use this very efficient and readily available data. The temperature will be stated, and when wind is included, you now see, “feels like.” What in the rising and falling meaning of life is “feels like?” Why the change? I’m still researching this and the reason it is used.

In February’s Almanac, I will explain in further detail the effect of the east wind. Commonly called Santa Ana winds, a term I refuse to apply, they are very dramatic. These winds are a basic example of Boyle’s Law of expanding and contracting molecules. This law is the basis for cold, then hot katabatic winds in Southern California.

Also next month, rainfall will be reported in detail. I must add this one rainfall record now, however: In January 1916, 37.50 inches of rainfall was recorded at Lake Cuyamaca! Do you remember what caused this rain?

January weather in Julian can bring tears to residents of Minnesota, New Hampshire and all the northern latitudes. But our southern latitude is one of the many reasons we live here. Basically, our weather is warm in summer, cool in winter, with occasional violent roars of Canadian cold and balmy Cuban heat.