Photo courtesy Brax -Valley Publishing Co Snowy Night.The Franklin Mountains get a second touch of the white stuff.

Photo courtesy Brax -Valley Publishing Co From Desert to Mountains. The Upper Valley is completely filled with fog.

Photo courtesy Brax -Valley Publishing Co Heading into a Cloud. Drivers could see from the top of Transmountain that they would be in a cloud soon.

Photo courtesy Brax -Valley Publishing Co The Fog Clears atop Franklins. At the same level as the red "thunderbird", the fog clears.

The season's second snow storm brought with it rain and fog. After the valley filled up with fog late last month, a new storm brought a touch of snow and an incredibly picturesque fog filled valley.

Slowly the message is sinking in to valley reisdents; this winter, we will get some "real" snow. El Niño, a weather phenomenon in the Southern Pacific is said to be partly responsible for the abundant precipitaton that we have received already this summer and fall.

El Niño is starting to flex his muscles. Occasionally, when the southern waters get warmer than usual it sets off a global weather change. When this occurs, the western coast of Peru, Chile and Ecuador are hit with much more rain than usual. So much so, that the canyons in the Andes Mountain Range flood. Ironically, this disaster occurs around Christmas time and so the name was given to honor Christ... el niño, or "the infant Christ".

Sometimes El Niño develops later in the year such that the Upper Valley is hit with many spring showers. This year it appears that it has developed earlier in the year. We can then expect to get plenty of the white stuff. Sierra Blanca, the highest peak in the Sacramento Mountains to our Northeast already has plenty of snow for the skiers.

Along with the rain and snow the Upper Valley has awakened to life in a cloud. And that is what fog is; 100% moisture. It just looks different from wihin compared to seeing it from above. Some residents find this weather change a treat. Dave, 34, was driving over Transmountain Road and stopped just after the fog had lifted from the summit. As he looked out over the sea of fog below, he was acting like a child at Christmas. "This is really great. I love it".

Not only does the air feel great and fresh but the extra moisture makes many of us all feel a bit more energetic. Perhaps it is the novelty of fog when you live in the desert. It is a welcome change from dust... that's for sure.
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