Weather

Heavy Rains Create Chert Waterfall on Bernal Hill

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

ChertFalls

The storms that passed through the Dominion of Bernalwood late last week were real soakers. In fact, so much wet stuff fell on us that even after the rains stopped and the sun came out, water continued to flow from the peak of Bernal Hill to the flat(ter) ground below.

That explains why Neighbor Sarah was able to capture this remarkable photograph of a chert waterfall trickling down Bernal Hill on Sunday afternoon. Rather lovely.

Meanwhile, the extreme weather here generated headines all over the country. Upon reading about our rains, my (Sandy-traumatized) ancestors in New Jersey called to make sure were were staying above water, while the weather geeks at The Weather Channel featured a photo from Bernal Heights as one of their Pictures of the Week. So glamorous!

WeatherChan.WeekPic

PHOTOS: Top, Sarah Rogers. Below, NAME via The Weather Channel (hat tip, Neighbor Tammy)

With Winter Rains, a Chair Sprouts on Bernal Hill

/ Todd_Lappin / 7 Comments

Along with green grass and seasonal flowers, the winter rains have also spawned some unusual topiary in the Dominion of Bernalwood — including this chair, which sprouted overnight atop Bernal Hill.

I’m no arborist, but that appears to be a Wingback Beigeicus, an ancient species that’s native to this region.

Meanwhile, with typically keen insight, La Lengua rebel spokesblogger (and Sutro Tower fetishist) Burrrito Justice was able to ascertain the true reason why Mother Nature brought this chair into our lives:

PHOTOS: Burrito Justice and Mcnangus

Junior Science Team Explores Puddles at Precita Playground

/ Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

Last weekend’s heavy rains were good new for flowers, foliage… and small children. During a lull in the rains on Saturday, Neighbor Kristen led a team of aspiring Bernal Heights scientists on a mission to the Precita Park playground:

Neighbors Max and Kennedy confirm that this morning’s Precita Park puddles meet toddler approval for depth and breadth.

As you can see, these junior researchers conducted their experiments very thoroughly:

PHOTOS: Neighbor Kristen

Confirmed: Bernal Hill’s Verdant Transition Now Underway

/ Todd_Lappin / 6 Comments

With the arrival of some recent rainstorms, we are pleased to report that the chromatic transition of Bernal Hill from parched brown to verdant green is now underway.

La Lengua’s rebel spokesblogger Burrito Justice recently noticed that Bernal is turning green as he enviously looked up at our hill (as he is wont to do):

Indeed, the change is so conspicuous, I even noticed it while waiting on the checkout line this weekend at our Taoist Safeway on Mission Street:

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics (top, bottom) and Burrito Justice (center)

VIdeo: Moon vs. Fog Over Bernal Hill

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Earlier this week, Bernalwood contributor Joe Thomas created this rather awesome time-lapse video that captures a dance of moon and fog taking place around Bernal Hill. It’s beautiful.

Joe didn’t add a soundtrack, however, so might we suggest pairing his video with a song? Your audio sommelier has selected “Sandusky” by Uncle Tupelo, and it compliments the visuals rather nicely. Start the song below, then start the video above, and enjoy the ride.

Astronomer Explores Lunar Surface and Jupiter from Bernal Heights Observatory

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

While you were enjoying the warm weather earlier this week, your neighborhood aeronautics and space agency was hard at work exploring the solar system. Neighbor Clifton, Chief of Astronomical Research for the Bernal Aeronautics and Space Administration (BASA), files this report on his most recent observations from the Bernal Heights Observatory:

The skies above Bernal Heights are ablaze with activity this week. The current heat wave and passing of the Fall Equinox has created a double whammy of astronomical delights. The constellation Orion has reappeared in the early morning, sporting “The Great Orion Nebula” or M42. Look for M42 just under the 3 star belt of Orion, it’s the blurry patch just under the belt which can be seen by naked eye and resolved brilliantly with just about any pair of binoculars.

The Autumn sky also brings the return of the king of planets: Jupiter — which I’ve been busy attempting imaging via the webcam method. This week’s waning Gibbous Moon has been an excellent target for Jupiter practice. I did a quick survey on Monday. The sky was so clear I was able to do a close-up of the lunar surface.

I also took a crack at Jupiter, with somewhat disappointing results:

Jupiter will raise earlier as the year concludes, there will be more opportunity. Look for Jupiter, or Jove as I like to call him, about 30 degrees following the moon towards the Eastern Horizon. Jupiter raises at about 12:00 AM this week.

This is your BASA astronomer, wishing you clear skies.

PHOTOS: Clifton Reed

Five Year-Old Covers Bernal Hill with Graffiti, Leaves No Trace

/ Todd_Lappin / 7 Comments

Ahhhhhh… Indian Summer, here at last. And with a full moon to boot!

On Sunday night Bernalwood’s Cub Reporter and I headed up Folsom Street to savor the evening — and the view — from high atop Bernal Hill. As we sat on the warm dirt watching the twinkle of the lights, the Cub Reporter declared the shimmering skyline “the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” She’s a San Francisco kid, so that’s high praise.

Then, when we looked east to admire the giant moon, she noticed something strange…

There was bizarre vessel tied up at one of the piers on the waterfront. “It’s a ghost ship!” the Cub Reporter said.

Let’s zoom and enhance for a closer look:

Later research revealed that the ship was not, in fact, an oceangoing emissary from the afterlife, but rather a South Korean warship in town to ferry a delegation of diplomats to Our Faire City. Almost as good, I guess.

The Cub Reporter had insisted upon bringing her spiffy new LED flashlight on our nighttime micro-hike, so we decided to have some fun with it.  With the camera set to take long-exposure photos, I urged her to wave her arm with the light turned on. This was the result:

“THAT’S AWESOME!” she declared after seeing the result in the camera’s view screen. “Let’s do more!!!”

So we did…

It was a free-form spectacle of creativity, but by morning, her proto-Pollock light paintings were gone without a trace. Luckily, we got a photo of the culprit at the scene of the crime:

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Satellite Photo Shows Wall of Fog Avoiding Bernal Heights

/ Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

Our friends at NASA, that *other* space agency, shared a recent satellite photo that shows a massive wall of fog rolling in to San Francisco — and (in typical fashion) completely missing Bernal Heights:

For some people, the relentless waves of fog that roll off the Pacific Ocean into San Francisco each summerinspire awe. For others, they arouse frustration, even depression. Either way, fog is simply a fact of life for San Franciscans, particularly those who live near the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite acquired this view of fog encroaching on the city on August 16, 2012. The fog is part of the marine layer, a mass of cool, dense air from the sea that was sandwiched beneath a layer of warmer air as part of a temperature inversion. Fog is often present in the lower part of the marine layer, whereas wispy stratus clouds form in the upper part.

Intrusions by the marine layer—and all of the accompanying fog and clouds—are routine in San Francisco during the summer. The intrusions are caused by westerly breezes that push cold air inland to replace the warm air rising off of California’s Central Valley. As it did on the day this image was taken, the marine layer often completely envelops the Golden Gate Bridge in a thick cloak of fog and clouds.

PHOTO: NASA

Epic Double Rainbow Euphoria Was “Nature’s Gift to Bernal”

/ Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

All the training. All the practice. All the hard work. It all comes together when the time is now, the situation is real, and all you have to go on is instinct and experience.

That time was last night, and the situation was an epic rainbow that erupted over Bernal Heights just as the sun was setting for the night. The skies turned pink, the light glowed orange, and a truly monumental Category Five double rainbow stretched across the sky from horizon to horizon. It happened fast. It was euphoric. But we were ready. The Citizens of Bernalwood mobilized their photographic imaging equipment, and the magic of the double rainbow was captured by many for all to see.

Neighbor Jean tells her story:

We were making tacos. Husband went out to take dog for walk, and the sky was pink!  Neighbor Robin was running down Bocana in ecstasy… saying “Look at the east!!  WOW!!”  I ran back in and turned off all the burners and grabbed my Canon5D… Already the drama had toned, but I managed to capture this. Nature’s gift to Bernal tonight!

Here’s Neighbor Jean’s photo:

Neighbor Craig had a BIG view to the east:

At the Bernalwood Rainbow Monitoring Station, Neighbor Chuck zoomed in to conduct a full spectral analysis and confirm this was indeed a Category 5+ Rainbow Event:

Neighbor Lee traced the Rainbow Touchdown Impact Point to this Bernal Heights bedroom:

Neighbor Kent spotted a cosmic discontinuity:

Corroborated by Neighbor Ian…

… and Neighbor Naomi:

Neighbor Amar, one of Bernalwood’s agents in the La Lengua Autonomous Zone, shot this heroic Bernal Hill profile:

And where was I during all this?

Your Bernalwood reporter was northbound on US 101 near the Spaghetti Bowl just as the Rainbow Alert began to subside. But I’d seen the rainbow. All of Bernal saw it. Then I saw Bernal drenched in the afterglow:

PHOTOS: Top, DenSF and Neighbor Anita. All others by our vigilant Bernalwood neighbor-reporters

Massive Wall of Fog Violates Bernal Exclusion Zone

/ Todd_Lappin

Bernal Heights may be in San Francisco’s “Sun Belt,” but, alas, that’s no guarantee of blue skies overhead.

Over on the Instagram, ah_thenah captured the above photo of the fog making a bold assault on Bernal Hill from the southwest on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, Neighbor Rally captured the scene on the ground as the leading edge of the fog bank sliced through Bernal Heights:

As always, complaints about the behavior of the fog bank can be directed to @KarlTheFog over on the Twitter.

PHOTOS: Above, ah_thenah; Below, @rallyp

Giant Wall of Fog Makes a Stylish Evening Entrance

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

Interior Decorator Jessica Laine snapped this photo late last week, while admitting that she is “falling in love with this part of the city.” (No surprise.) Apart from being lovely, however her photo also captures something very seasonal about summertime in Bernal Heights.

As we all know, summer is generally not the most glamorous time of year here in Our Faire City, because the season tends to bring fog, followed by fog, and then more fog, which is rather glum and chilly.

Yet to the extent that there is anyplace in San Francisco where the ill effects of summer weather patterns are not felt, it is here, in tony Bernal Heights. The realtors used to call this part of town the Sun Belt, and the label is generally true — except for when it is not.

Apart from our daily dose of sunshine, an additional benefit of our location is that we usually get a ringside seat whenever a massive wall of fog (it’s named Karl, by the way) creeps over Twin Peaks to engulf the northeast corner of the City.

UPDATE: Just remembered this photo from my own archive.

Here’s an aerial view of what it looks like when the fog rolls in, as seen from a Cessna flying about 1000′ over Bernal Heights on June 24, 2006:

Cloud City

And this photo, taken a few minutes later, explains why Sutro Tower needs an Observation Deck:

Above Sutro Tower

PHOTO: Jessica Laine. Below, Telstar Logistics.