These forecasts for Frazier Park, Pine Mountain Club and Mount Piños for Oct 3 – 5, 2015 have been sent by Jerry Ferris of Mountain Communities Weather. Please notice that the prediction for Mt. Pinos is….snow! Here are some comments by Ferris in response to our questions (see forecast below).

“The snow will only be on the very tops of the peaks, not unusual. I think we forget that not that many years ago we had snow as low as 4500’ on Halloween,, two years in a row actually (2002-2003 I believe). It snowed 4” on October 26, 2005 in PMC.  I remember it well. So some snow on the top peaks for October 3-5 isn’t too unusual, we just forget!

“There are two low pressure systems combining in the Pacific, one is from the Alaskan Gulf, so it is pretty cold… the other has more moisture out of the south. This is a typical El Niño type of storm attack for the California coast. It is encouraging that we may have many more this year, since it is only October 3  and we are seeing one already,” Ferris said.

Detailed Forecast – Frazier Park – 4606’ ASL
Today
Sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
Tonight
A 30 percent chance of showers after 11pm. Increasing clouds, with a low around 45. Breezy, with a north wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest 15 to 20 mph in the evening.
Sunday
Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 59. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Sunday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 43. South southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday
A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. West southwest wind around 5 mph becoming north northwest in the morning.
Monday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. North northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Detailed Forecast – PMC – 5495’ ASL
Today
Sunny, with a high near 78. Light and variable wind becoming northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
A 20 percent chance of showers after 11pm. Increasing clouds, with a low around 39. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming south after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.
Sunday
Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 60. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Sunday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 36. East wind around 5 mph becoming south southwest in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday
A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. West southwest wind around 5 mph becoming north in the morning.
Monday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. North northwest wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the evening.

Detailed Forecast for Mt. Pinos at  8420’ ASL
Please bear in mind that this is for Mount Pinos at 8400 feet.
Today
Sunny, with a high near 61. North wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.
Tonight
A 30 percent chance of showers after 11pm. Increasing clouds, with a low around 30. West wind 10 to 15 mph becoming south after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.
Sunday
Rain and snow showers likely, becoming all snow after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. South southeast wind 10 to 15 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Sunday Night
A chance of snow showers before 11pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around 27. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Monday
A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

This is part of the October 2, 2015 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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