Eastern valley, foothills, & west slope
Includes, but not limited to: Sacramento, Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Gold River, Rancho Cordova, Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Roseville, Rocklin, Granite Bay, Loomis, Newcastle, Auburn, Grass Valley, Foresthill, Meadow Vista, Colfax, Cool, Coloma, Placerville, Cameron Park, Elk Grove, Plymouth, Jackson, Ione, Valley Springs, San Andreas, Sonora, Farmington, Yuba City, Oroville, Chico, & Paradise. Cities & towns nearby (within 10 miles) of each aforementioned location can be assumed/included in this forecast.
Monday, Sept 25
High temperatures: 71 – 81 °F
Tuesday, Sept 26
High temperatures: 72 – 82 °F
Wednesday, Sept 27
High temperatures: 77 – 86 °F
Thursday, Sept 28
High temperatures: 79 – 89 °F
Friday, Sept 29
High temperatures: 74 – 83 °F
Saturday, Sept 30
High temperatures: 62 – 72 °F
Sunday, Oct 1
High temperatures: 69 – 78 °F
Forecast details (9/29/23)
The last week of September is going to prove to be a roller coast ride of weather, with some rather notable uncertainty still needing to be cleared up for this weekend.
For the workweek, a strong system impacting the Pacific Northwest will drag the south edge of its precipitation shield into northern California from around the Sutter Buttes northward, with a few hundredths of an inch to a tenth of an inch expected in most lower elevation areas (valley), to perhaps a quarter inch at best in some northern foothill locations, and totals between one and three inches in extreme northwestern California along the coast/coastal mountains north of Eureka. Down in north-central California, a few light showers may occur late Monday evening or very early Tuesday, but nothing very notable. On Tuesday, the system begins to depart eastward, and weak ridging edges up into central California by mid-week, though an active Pacific jet continues to brush northern California for much of the week, preventing us from getting hot — though, we will get rather warm by the middle of the week.
By Friday into Saturday, a potent and cold system from western Canada will dive southward into the west coast. Friday’s highs will be a little lower than Thursday, as late in the afternoon gusty onshore wind will kick in, will bring quick cooling. Additionally, by late Friday night into Saturday, some showers and isolated thunderstorms will be possible, mainly throughout most of Saturday.
These showers and storms will prevent Saturday’s highs from even reaching the mid-70s, with most of the lower elevations likely to see highs in the upper-60s. The warmest areas that miss out on precipitation may see some low-70s, but overall, Saturday will not be a day many snakes chose to come out. Slight warming is expected Sunday as the system departs, with most locations adding a handful of degrees atop the temperatures seen Saturday.
It’s looking like next week (the first week of October) will be much dryer and warmer, with potential for a period of drying/warming offshore winds Monday – Wednesday, though the strength of said winds is still uncertain, as it depends on the track our weekend system takes as it ejects deeper into the U.S. next week. That said, high temperatures through what what currently appears to be most of next week, currently look very supportive of snake activity, with well above average temperatures likely. Stay tuned for next week’s forecast when it’s posted late Sunday/early Monday, as usual.
Date & time last updated: Friday, 9/29/2023, at 1:37 AM
Next update: 10/1/2023 (late) – 10/2/2023 (early)
How the forecast works
Snake activity is heavily driven by weather conditions, not just large-scale seasonal changes such as the shift from Winter to Spring or Summer to Fall. While time of year has an impact on snake activity, it’s primarily driven by various meteorological factors including, but not limited to, surface/air temperature, cloud cover, humidity, and more.
Placer Snake Removal’s weekly snake activity conditions forecast combines large-scale seasonal trends, in addition to & perhaps more importantly, daily weather conditions. The forecast breaks the day up into 4 pieces: morning, afternoon, evening, and overnight. Each day chunk includes the expected quality level for rattlesnakes to be active. A conditions forecast of “Low” means that the conditions are not expected to be particularly ideal for rattlesnakes to be active for long periods of time at the surface. A conditions forecast of “High” means forecast conditions are likely to be very supportive of rattlesnake activity at the surface.
The forecast for each week is created the Sunday night prior.
Do not rely on information from these forecasts for personal safety & always practice venomous snake awareness/safety no matter temperature or weather.
Forecast key & description
Low – conditions not ideal for surface activity.
Low – medium – conditions may support small amounts of activity.
Medium – conditions supportive of some activity, perhaps short-range travel.
Medium – high – conditions supportive of activity, including travel.
High – conditions very supportive & comfortable for all forms of activity.
