Temperatures Heating Up For The Calaveras County Fair
The daytime temperatures are about to heat up just in time for the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, this Thursday May 18th through Sunday May 21st.
KCRA 3 Meteorologist Tamara Berg was Wednesday’s KVML “Newsmaker of the Day”.
By the time Sunday arrives, the day of the Frog Jumping Championships, the sunny high may reach into the low nineties.
Do frogs prefer the heat?
“I don’t know,” said Berg. “But I do know that under the stage is the froggy spa where several frogs have a chance to stay nice, cool and calm before they go out and make their jump.”
At the beginning of this year, Atmospheric Rivers soaked the Mother Lode and snow pounded the Sierra Nevada.
Was the wet weather due to a La Nina event?
“Towards the end of 2016, conditions were favorable for a La Nina event,” said Berg, “But then all of the models went back to neutral, meaning that things were going to go either way. We could end with either a great Winter or a not-so-great Winter.
Berg continued, “A short range forecast is what we do best. We can study atmospheric conditions over the Pacific Ocean and identify an El Nino or an El Nina event and showcase what that traditionally means for the next few months, but it is a showcase of tradition and not a specific forecast. Just like this upcoming Summer. After such an epic Winter, many are eager for a nice comfortable Summer, but I’m not going to put any money on it.”
The Mother Lode offers specific challenges when trying to forecast the weather, according to Berg.
“Both Tuolumne and Calaveras counties run from the east end of the Northern San Joaquin Valley, up to the crest of the Sierra Nevada. Based on topogrophy, elevation changes, canyons, terrain, climate and incoming storm systems, the Mother lode creates good challenges for our weather team,” said Berg. “We study, converse, apply math, apply science, sometimes disagree with one another and ultimately try to be as accurate as possible.”
Berg continued, “The Mother Lode is, what we call, micro-climate central. At times, there can be very small areas where the weather can change in a heartbeat. In one area there can be low snow, while in other areas it’s simply raining. We see this with cloud cover as well. It could be sunny in one place but just a few miles away, an area is locked in low clouds.”
Berg can be seen weekday mornings on KCRA 3 television and heard weekday mornings on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML, Star 92.7 FM and Today’s Country 93.5 FM KKBN.
The “Newsmaker of the Day” is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
