Weather Alerts for California

Recent Locations: Temple City, CA Bisbee, AZ Van Meter, IA

1. Wind Advisory for: Northern Sacramento Valley; Central Sacramento Valley; Southern Sacramento Valley

2. Winter Storm Watch for: Del Norte Interior; Northern Humboldt Interior; Southern Humboldt Interior

3. Winter Storm Watch for: Eastern Sierra Slopes of Inyo County

4. Winter Storm Watch for: Greater Lake Tahoe Area; Greater Lake Tahoe Area

5. Winter Storm Watch for: Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties

6. Winter Storm Watch for: Mariposa-Madera Lower Sierra; Fresno-Tulare Lower Sierra; South End of the Lower Sierra; Yosemite NP outside of the valley; Yosemite Valley; San Joaquin River Canyon; Upper San Joaquin River; Kaiser to Rodgers Ridge; Kings Canyon NP; Grant Grove Area; Sequoia NP; South End of the Upper Sierra; Piute Walker Basin

7. Winter Storm Watch for: Mono

8. Winter Storm Watch for: Northern Trinity; Southern Trinity

9. Winter Storm Watch for: Northwestern Mendocino Interior; Northeastern Mendocino Interior; Northern Lake County; Southern Lake County

10. Winter Storm Watch for: Shasta Lake Area / Northern Shasta County; Burney Basin / Eastern Shasta County; Mountains Southwestern Shasta County to Western Colusa County; Northeast Foothills/Sacramento Valley; Motherlode; Western Plumas County/Lassen Park; West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada

11. Winter Storm Watch for: South Central Siskiyou County; North Central and Southeast Siskiyou County

12. Winter Storm Watch for: South Central Siskiyou County; North Central and Southeast Siskiyou County

13. Winter Storm Watch for: Western Siskiyou County

14. Winter Storm Watch for: Western Siskiyou County

15. Winter Storm Watch for: White Mountains of Inyo County

Want more detail? Get the Complete 7 Day and Night Detailed Forecast!

Current U.S. National Radar--Current

The Current National Weather Radar is shown below with a UTC Time (subtract 5 hours from UTC to get Eastern Time).

National Weather Forecast--Current

The Current National Weather Forecast and National Weather Map are shown below.

National Weather Forecast for Tomorrow

Tomorrow National Weather Forecast and Tomorrow National Weather Map are show below.

North America Water Vapor (Moisture)

This map shows recent moisture content over North America. Bright and colored areas show high moisture (ie, clouds); brown indicates very little moisture present; black indicates no moisture.

Weather Topic: What are Cirrostratus Clouds?

Home - Education - Cloud Types - Cirrostratus Clouds

Next Topic: Cirrus Clouds

Cirrostratus clouds are high, thin clouds that form above 20,000 feet and are made mostly of ice crystals. They sometimes look like giant feathers, horse tails, or curls of hair in the sky. These clouds are pushed by the jet stream and can move at high speeds reaching 100 mph.

What do they indicate?
They indicate that a precipitation is likely within 24 hours.

Next Topic: Cirrus Clouds

Weather Topic: What is Condensation?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Condensation

Next Topic: Contrails

Condensation is the process which creates clouds, and therefore it is a crucial process in the water cycle. Condensation is the change of matter from a state of gas into a state of liquid, and it happens because water molecules release heat into the atmosphere and become organized into a more closely packed structure, what we might see as water droplets.

Water is always present in the air around us as a vapor, but it's too small for us to see. When water undergoes the process of condensation it becomes organized into visible water droplets. You've probably seen condensation happen before on the surface of a cold drink!

Next Topic: Contrails