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- Written by: Renee Duff
Storms from the Pacific set to swing into the rain-starved West Coast this week may end up turning detrimental, AccuWeather forecasters say, by whipping up gusty winds and heightening the risk of lightning-induced wildfires.
With over 87% of the Western states in moderate to exceptional drought, the news of Pacific storms poised to sweep onshore may sound good on the surface. However, the pattern will be a double-edged sword.
Each storm is expected to arrive with “very limited moisture,” according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
One such storm arrived Sunday night and continued into Monday, bringing only light showers to northwest Oregon and Washington state.
A second storm is forecast to reach the Northwest during the middle of the week. This storm may bring a more concentrated area of rain and thunderstorms to the northern Rockies Wednesday night, as well as the potential for some snow at the highest peaks.
Light showers in the Pacific Northwest Friday will mark the arrival of the third storm of the week.
On California’s North Coast, the forecast calls for slight chances of showers in Lake County on Friday night and Saturday.
As a whole for the week, temperatures will be several degrees lower than average across the region due to the more frequent clouds and chances for wet weather.
Meaningful rainfall will fall well short of reaching the Southwestern states where the worst of the drought is ongoing.
In addition to all of the rain staying north of the region, gusty winds will be kicked up to the south and east of the storms rolling through the Northwest.
“Wind will continue to be an issue through the middle of the week, with the strongest winds across Nevada,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Western U.S. blogger Brian Thompson said.
Red flag warnings were in effect from southern Oregon and California to Nevada, Western Arizona, Utah and Colorado in anticipation of the ramp-up of winds.
"This is not an unusual setup for this time of year, as we're still in that pre-monsoon season where the vegetation continues to dry out and temperatures are on the rise," Thompson added.
New wildfires can quickly be fanned into existence and ongoing blazes may grow farther beyond containment lines. Experts urge residents and visitors to avoid using outdoor flames in the dry, hot and windy pattern.
While moisture will be limited across the Sierra Nevada and southern Oregon Cascades, there may be enough energy in the upper levels of the atmosphere to set off spotty thunderstorm development. Given how dry it is, these thunderstorms can produce little to no rainfall but plenty of dangerous lightning that can be the spark for a new blaze.
Experts urge campers, hikers and anyone else spending time outdoors in the high terrain to keep a close eye on the sky and be on the lookout for tall, darkening clouds, which can indicate a developing thunderstorm.
In terms of temperatures, there will be some heat relief across the interior West by Thursday as cooler air pushes inland with the midweek storm. However, heat is likely to return as quickly as the weekend.
Renee Duff is an AccuWeather meteorologist.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Beginning June 1, all staff began a phased return to on-campus operations that will result in a full return to services on campus for the fall semester that begins Aug. 16.
While neither Woodland Community College nor Yuba College closed for the pandemic, most classes were transitioned to distance education, and many services transitioned to limited in-person operations.
The colleges deployed virtual options such as email, Zoom, and phone calls to process standard student service transactions in the interest of safety.
Beginning June 1, and ahead of the start of the Summer Session which takes place from June 14 to Aug. 5, services in person will increase.
“We’ve been successful in these online or virtual service modalities with our students,” said Dr. Dalexh Hunt, vice president of student services at Yuba College. “Students did not have to make a trip to our campus to move their registration or financial aid forward. However, some students need additional support or prefer doing so in person, so we look forward to returning to a walk-in model while still holding onto the online services.”
Offices will be open at both colleges from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, beginning on June 7.
Also, starting this summer, the ratio of in-person classes will increase.
“We typically plan our class offerings nearly one year out, so our fall course schedule was finished in January when our guidance was strict,” said Dr. Tawny Dotson, Yuba College president. “However, we planned where possible to have the flexibility to offer some courses in person with the hope that conditions would improve. We will see an increase in face-to-face courses this summer, and nearly half our courses will return to face-to-face for fall.”
In addition to the return to face-to-face services, both colleges will be supporting more students with federal funding provided by the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
In total, the two colleges will award students in the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years more than $10 million in additional financial support.
“We received over $3 million that will be disbursed directly to students impacted by COVID-19,” said Kasey Gardner, acting president of Woodland Community College. “Our colleges have been working together to outline a plan for students to access these funds that supports students who may otherwise stop attending, as well as supporting the return of students who put their education on hold due to the pandemic.”
In the first two rounds of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding students attending Yuba Community College received grants totaling more than $6 million in addition to their financial aid. Students attending in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years should expect to receive additional disbursements.
Enrollment for the summer and fall sessions is now open at both colleges. Visit http://yc.yccd.edu or http://wcc.yccd.edu to learn more about how to enroll in courses.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The commission will meet via webinar beginning at 5:25 p.m. Wednesday, June 9.
The agenda is available here.
To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here; the meeting ID is 986 6166 5155. To join by phone, dial 1-669-900-9128.
Comments can be submitted by email to
Please indicate in the email subject line "for public comment" and list the item number of the agenda item that is the topic of the comment. Comments that are read to the council will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words). Written comments that are only to be provided to the council and not read at the meeting will be distributed to the council before the meeting.
The main item on the commission’s agenda is a use permit and categorical exemption for a short-term rental Lois Langlois is proposing at 1270 Martin St.
Community Development Director Jenni Byers’ report to the commission explains that Langlois is proposing to rent out on Airbnb a unit that includes one bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchenette and family room on the ground floor of the two-story single-family residence. The unit will accommodate up to four people.
City requirements will include a business license for the rental’s operation, and working with the city to provide transient occupancy tax — or bed tax — from the rental, Byers’ report said.
Byers said staff is recommending approval of the permit and categorical exemption.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Webster Medley III, 51, and Novia Walton, 50, who family reported had recently become engaged to be married, were among five people on a boat that capsized offshore of Clearlake Oaks shortly before 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
Walton was pulled from the water and transported to an out-of-county hospital, where she died of her injuries on Saturday evening, said Lt. Rich Ward of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Medley, who went missing shortly after the incident, was the subject of an ongoing search that ended on Sunday morning, when his body was located in the lake, Ward said.
Ward said Medley’s body was found shortly after 10:15 a.m. Sunday about 50 feet from the Clearlake Oaks Park, just past the Island Drive boat launch, where the search for him had begun after the boat overturned.
Dispatch traffic at approximately 12:23 a.m. Saturday said that a caller had reported a boat had capsized about 500 yards offshore of Island Drive and that they could hear the people in the water.
Less than five minutes later, a medic unit from the Northshore Fire Protection District’s Clearlake Oaks station reported arriving on scene, estimating five people were in the water about 75 yards out and asking for additional assistance.
Based on the information authorities have gathered so far, Medley was driving a 19-foot 1985 Bayliner registered to him with Walton and family members on board for a fishing trip.
Ward said the reports indicate that Medley was backing up from the shoreline, with he and his passengers on the left side of the boat, when it capsized.
A witness statement to deputies reported that Medley had called out while in the water, saying he needed to help Walton, Ward said.
Scanner reports also had stated that when Medley was last seen, he was trying to pull someone from the water.
Three of the boat’s passengers were reported to have gotten to shore within a few minutes, but authorities were still searching for the couple, according to radio traffic.
Ward said Walton was found face down in the water.
Scanner traffic said firefighters were doing CPR on the fourth individual — Walton — who later was flown out.
Medley, however, wasn’t found, and deputies, firefighters and a REACH helicopter crew searched for him for hours without success.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol searched for Medley throughout the day on Saturday, as Lake County News has reported.
The search continued on Sunday, when Medley’s body was found midmorning by a California Department of Fish and Game officer who was first on scene, Ward said.
Ward said the next of kin of both Medley and Walton were contacted and notified of their deaths.
He said a family member told deputies that the Fresno couple had recently become engaged to be married.
As for what led to the boat overturning, Ward said the investigation is ongoing by the sheriff's Marine Patrol and the cause is yet to be determined.
The boat — which was removed from the scene several hours after the incident — is due to undergo a secondary examination by Marine Patrol deputies, Ward said.
Ward said there is no indication that speed, low water or unfamiliarity with the area were factors.
He said post-mortem examinations of both Medley and Walton also are planned.
Family member describes incident
In an email to Lake County News Monday afternoon, Medley’s family described what occurred.
Medley’s younger brother, Trey Maxwell, offered an account given to him by two cousins who were on the boat.
Maxwell said Medley and his four passengers launched the boat on Friday evening.
They coasted straight out of the boat launch and after traveling about 150 feet, Medley turned left to approach their destination, which Maxwell said was 100 yards away.
“As they got closer the passengers noticed water accumulating in the rear. Just as they were stopping to fish, Webster was notified of the now excessive water and started the bilge pump which immediately began pumping out water. His cousin yelled to him to get them back to the launch,” Maxwell said.
“Webster tried to counter the water by sending a second cousin to the front for balance. At the same time, Webster shifted the boat into gear to U-turn the boat but it wouldn't move. He then switched to reverse and the boat suddenly and immediately sank, end first,” Maxwell said.
“The second cousin (wearing his vest) was tossed into the water at the front of the boat, the others had no time to grab theirs and entered the water abruptly. Once the boat was under water and capsized, the visibility was at zero for the passengers,” Maxwell said.
“Webster called for his cousin screaming ‘Greg, Novia can't swim!’ Webster then screamed out again ‘Greg ... Novia ... I think she's drowning!’,” Maxwell continued.
Maxwell added, “This is when it appears Webster went under the water to search for Novia and neither survived.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at