Update! A week before Sea Otter’s opening day, the forecast is trending nicely toward mostly sun, a few clouds, but little to no chance of rain. Given the exposed nature of the Fort Ord fairgrounds, race and demo tracks should be dry if not hero!
The past week of weather disturbances, and forecasts calling for more rain over the weekend, have given some of us Sea Otter veterans pause for the 2014 edition coming up April 10 through 13.
We remember all too well the days of “Sea Mudder” — when you could count on at least one, and possibly more, days of absolute downpour.
Photos from that era are hilarious — racers and spectators both covered in mud, the only uncaked part of them their teeth —— shining through a “might as well make the best of it” grin.
But that was back when the event was held in March. And March traditionally is a much wetter month in the San Francisco Bay Area than April.
The last few Otters have been spectacularly gorgeous. Sunshine, dry, warm (sometimes a bit too warm).
But this has been a weird weather year in the Bay Area. All winter long we had summery sunshine and temps. It took the official advent of spring for winter to finally arrive.
Given the turbulence of the past week, we couldn’t help but take a look at intermediate-range forecasts for the Monterey area.
Looking 15 days out is always a bit of a crap shoot of course, but at this point the prospects are mixed.
Accuweather calls for sunshine Wednesday and Thursday, Sea Otter’s opening days, but clouds and showers through the weekend and temps in the high 50s.
“Showers” in the Bay Area can mean a lot of things, from spritzes to gullywashers lasting only a minute or two. This could all be a case of cool and cloudy but otherwise perfectly serviceable conditions.
We’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed. Plagued with drought, NorCal can use all the rain it can get.
But we’d prefer it bracketed around, not during, Sea Otter!