“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.” ~ Vincent van Gogh, Painter

As I began writing this week the subject of storms at sea seemed more than apropos as many locations along the California coastline were walloped by a mid-season atmospheric river-driven storm. CV’s rainfall total of 2.48 inches is a reflection of the location of the tail end of the storm as other areas received 10-plus inches.

What about the sunflowers and wheat fields in the south of France or in a brightly lighted café under a starry night in Paris? I ask, “What are you doing at the beach, in the rain, Vince?”

Well, it seems van Gogh’s practice of painting outside – rain or shine – illustrates his effort to capture all of the elements of nature. The above quote gives us insight to one of his works, View of the Sea at Scheveningen; van Gogh painted on a beach in a raging storm. Grains of sand blew into the paint. They can still be seen under a microscope.

“It was a nasty little storm – I had to scrape everything off twice because of the thick layer of sand completely covering it,” he explained to his sister in a letter.

Just last week a winter storm made for challenges at Southern California ports as a backlog of ships waited for space, i.e., safe harbors to ride out the potentially damaging weather conditions. At the same time many of the larger cargo vessels wanted out to open waters.

“We cannot recall a more complex situation with this many vessels and this bad a wind and sea condition for such a sustained period of time (anticipated 21 hours). It is a busy night, but we, and all port partners, are on it,” wrote The Marine Exchange of Southern California in a Twitter posting.

Stormy conditions, with sustained winds of 35 mph, gusts to 55 mph and as much as 17 foot seas, were experienced across the region. In spite of the best instrumentation and scientific data, predicting a storm’s eventual path and destination can be a bit of a crapshoot. The captain makes a decision, sometimes at a moment’s notice; is it safer to “ride it out” at sea or drop anchor in the harbor?

Hopes for more rain this week evaporated quickly or disappeared into thin air! This sets the stage for breezy and warmer conditions for the weekend. Cooler temperatures are expected to settle in Monday, minus precipitation.

Good news! La Niña (causing dry conditions) is weakening quickly. Our meager rainfall of 5.64 inches may increase. We await a March Miracle or April Showers.