Your drive to work on this first day of May will be through fog! Along the Rim, it’s fairly heavy… not the worst I’ve ever seen, but it will slow you down. If you want to avoid a little of that Rim fog, go through Crestline, where the fog is significantly lighter.
As you descend Hwy 18, the fog will gradually thin…. by 4000 feet you’ll be able to pick your speed up a little, and you’ll drop completely through the ceiling at about 3000 feet.
Roads are wet, too, as there is intermittent rain. If your tires are bald, use extra caution today, especially when going through puddles, or taking turns on wet roads. Understand that bald tires are actually GREAT on dry roads… maximum road contact (consider race car tires… they are as smooth as a baby’s butt… since people would object, though, to using baby’s butts on race car wheels, they use smooth tires instead). However, when water is on the road, those same bald tires are the worst thing you can have. Bald tires increase your chance of hydroplaning (and they reduce the speeds at which hydroplaning will occur). If it weren’t for rain and snow, bald tires would be the way to go… however, it is days like this that makes having some tread on those tires very important. The balder your tires, the more cautious you need to be today.
Rocks are not a big problem today… I saw at least one plow out there on Hwy 18 today. No, not for snow… on days like this CalTrans clears rocks from the highway. They seem to be doing a good job, as I saw no rocks larger than walnuts from Hwy 189 to 40th Street.
However, be advised: During today’s Solar Exposure Event (SEE), which goes from 6:00 AM to 7:33 PM today, we will experience a full G (100%) of gravity. That’s the maximum amount of gravity our area has ever gotten. Coupled with the rain, and some slight breezes, this could really pull the rocks down onto the road. Also, during tonight’s Nocturnal Gravity Event (NGE), we will continue to experience the entire G’s worth of gravity. This will continue for at least 24 hours… I will update you on the progress of this gravity event as part of Kdog’s Science Facts (KSBS).