Snow and Autumn
Cassel, Shasta County (9/30/19) Martha Fletcher 
Rainbow Lodge, I-80 (9/30/19) Robert Kermen
Two snowfalls have occurred in the Sierra and Cascades, this autumn. The latest arrived Sunday night.
Experienced color spotters understand that a dusting of snow is cause for celebration (it adds to photographs), though a blanket of it is not (it detracts from leaves).
Fortunately, the snow received so far has just dusted the mountains.
Martha Fletcher stopped along Cassel Road, just before CA-89 in eastern Shasta County, on Monday to photograph a Valley Oak that was full of yellow leaves. A gray sky hung over Burney Mountain (7,863′) in the background, where snow had fallen the previous night.
She observes that golden, orange and cherry-colored foliage will follow in coming days and weeks, as Shasta County’s autumn matures. The Burney area is a mid-October peak.
Color spotter Robert Kermen passed lime and light-yellow aspen surrounded by a blanket of snow at Rainbow Lodge as he drove I-80 on Monday. This area peaked last year on Oct. 21 and looks to be on schedule for a mid to late October peak.
- Cassel (3,320′) – Just Starting (0-10%)
- Rainbow Lodge (5,800′) – Just Starting (0-10%)
