“O suns and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October’s bright blue weather.”
~ Helen Hunt Jackson

As days grow shorter, the skies at sunset glow with the most spectacular hues, blooming with pinks, reds and oranges. Once again, Deukmejian Wilderness Park was voted by readers of the Crescenta Valley Weekly as the “The Finest Sunset View.” Thursday evening, while our community’s “finest” gathered at the park, the western sky transformed to a canvas of similar colors. The final touch … a few stars against the darkening, deep blue sky. A sunset only “The Finest Artist” could create.

October is a colorful month. The color of the leaves isn’t the only thing that changes in autumn. Have you ever looked up on a crisp fall day and noticed how brilliant and clear the blue sky is? That’s not just your imagination – the sky really is more blue, and all because of science.

Here’s my attempt to make the complicated simpler. During the autumn months, the sun is no longer directly overhead as it sinks lower in the sky. Because of this and the effects of Rayleigh scattering (a scientific principle explaining the dispersion of light that occurs when light waves pass through particles that are smaller than the wavelength of the light), more blue light is directed towards your eyes while the indirect sunlight decreases the incoming levels of red and green. Therefore, the sky does appear bluer in October. Add a Crescenta Valley sunset and science turns spectacular!

Present and upcoming weather will be a gentle and pleasant roller coaster ride, mostly beneath blue skies. A high and offshore flow is expected to warm temperatures into Saturday. Then a low and onshore flow breezes in Sunday causing a cooling trend with a drop of temperatures on Monday. Up we go again, as on Tuesday the offshore flow once again returns bringing warmer weather. During this period the highs may fluctuate between 70 and 100 degrees. There is no mistaking autumn for summer here; the nighttime temperatures are key, staying in the 50s and possibly dropping into the 40s!

I think the Crescenta Valley should be voted, “USA’s Finest Weather Location.”

Sue Kilpatrick is a
Crescenta Valley resident and
Official Skywarn Spotter for the
National Weather Service. Reach her at suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.

  Sue Kilpatrick