Weather Alerts for California

Recent Locations: Rosamond, CA

Current Alerts for Rosamond, CA: Red Flag Warning

1. Extreme Heat Warning for: Western Mojave Desert

2. Fire Weather Watch for: Northern Sacramento Valley to Southern Tehama County Line Below 1000 Ft; Central Sacramento Valley including Glenn/Colusa/Yuba/Northern Sutter/Butte County Below 1000 Ft; Southern Sacramento Valley In Yolo/Sacramento/Far Western Placer/Southern Sutter and Solano County Below 1000 Ft - Excludes the Delta; Eastern Delta; Northern San Joaquin Valley in San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties Below 1000 ft - Excludes the Delta; Southern Motherlode From 1000 to 3000 Ft/Calaveras and Toulumne Counties; Southeast Edge Shasta/Trinity NF and Western Portions of Tehama/Glenn RU; Northern Sierra Foothills from 1000 to 3000 Ft. Includes Nevada-Yuba-Placer RU and Anador-Eldorado RU; Eastern Mendocino NF

3. Lake Wind Advisory for: Mono; Mineral and Southern Lyon Counties; Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area; Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake

4. Red Flag Warning for: Indian Wells Valley

5. Red Flag Warning for: Kern County Desert

6. Red Flag Warning for: Southern Mono County; Eastern Lassen County; Northern Sierra Front - Carson City/Douglas/Storey/Southern Washoe/Eastern Lyon/Far Southern Lassen Counties; Southern Sierra Front - Alpine/Northern Mono/Southern Lyon/Western Mineral Counties; West Humboldt Basin - Pershing County; Lahontan Basin - Churchill and Eastern Mineral Counties; Northern Washoe County

7. Wind Advisory for: Greater Lake Tahoe Area; Greater Lake Tahoe Area

8. Wind Advisory for: Interstate 5 Corridor

9. Wind Advisory for: Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties; Northern Washoe County

10. Wind Advisory for: Mono; Mineral and Southern Lyon Counties; Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area; Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake

11. Wind Advisory for: San Gorgonio Pass Near Banning

12. Wind Advisory for: San Luis Obispo County Beaches; San Luis Obispo County Inland Central Coast; Santa Barbara County Central Coast Beaches; Santa Barbara County Inland Central Coast

13. Wind Advisory for: Santa Barbara County Southwestern Coast; Santa Ynez Mountains Western Range

14. Wind Advisory for: Santa Lucia Mountains; Southern Salinas Valley

15. Wind Advisory for: Western Antelope Valley Foothills; Eastern Antelope Valley Foothills; Antelope Valley

16. Wind Advisory for: Western Mojave Desert

17. Wind Advisory for: Western San Gabriel Mountains and Highway 14 Corridor

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Weather Topic: What is Sleet?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Sleet

Sleet Next Topic: Snow

Sleet is a form of precipitation in which small ice pellets are the primary components. These ice pellets are smaller and more translucent than hailstones, and harder than graupel. Sleet is caused by specific atmospheric conditions and therefore typically doesn't last for extended periods of time.

The condition which leads to sleet formation requires a warmer body of air to be wedged in between two sub-freezing bodies of air. When snow falls through a warmer layer of air it melts, and as it falls through the next sub-freezing body of air it freezes again, forming ice pellets known as sleet. In some cases, water droplets don't have time to freeze before reaching the surface and the result is freezing rain.

Next Topic: Snow

Weather Topic: What are Stratocumulus Clouds?

Home - Education - Cloud Types - Stratocumulus Clouds

Next Topic: Stratus Clouds

Stratocumulus clouds are similar to altocumulus clouds in their fluffy appearance, but have a slightly darker shade due to their additional mass.

A good way to distinguish the two cloud types is to hold your hand out and measure the size of an individual cloud; if it is the size of your thumb it is generally an altocumulus cloud, if it is the size of your hand it is generally a stratocumulus cloud.

It is uncommon for stratocumulus clouds to produce precipitation, but if they do it is usually a light rain or snow.

Next Topic: Stratus Clouds