John Lindsey

Out over the Pacific Ocean, the sun’s light evaporates enormous amounts of seawater into water vapor in the atmosphere.

Growing up in Sonoma County, I often woke up to the noise of wind machines in the vineyards late at night and early in the morning. They came on during the late winter and early spring to provide frost protection.

Recently, a reader asked about the March 1995 storm that produced more than 11 inches of rain in Santa Margarita within 24 hours.

I took my 6-year-old son to the beach at Montaña de Oro State Park. He picked up an empty shell from a Lewis’ moon snail, held it to his ear and said he could hear the ocean.

At our latitude, storms generally move from west to east, directed primarily by the jet stream.

Last year, Tom Messenger from Los Osos was shooting aerial photographs of the ocean near Morro Rock. In several shots, the photos clearly showed the shadows of the surfers on the sandy bottom.

Aviation, from the Latin word “avis,” which means bird, is the art or science of flying airplanes. Anyone who has spent any length of time flying will sooner or later have his or her own stories of harrowing experiences with weather.

During a visit to Hearst Castle with my family, we stood outside and marveled at the incredible beauty and diversity of the Central Coast landscape.

On Jan. 7, the North American Ensemble Forecast System, a joint effort of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Meteorological Service of Canada and the National Meteorological Service of Mexico forecast wild weather for the Central Coast the following week.

For the past week, weather charts and models have been indicating a series of storms marching across the Pacific Ocean toward the Central Coast. So, get ready: stormy weather will begin tonight and continue all week.