I am currently under the impression that many
times small quakes in Southern California happen
on the second day that fog or the marine layer
becomes thick enough to make it into the San
Fernando Valley. This means that it has to reach
an elevation high enough to make it over the
Santa Monica mountains which are blocking SFV
from the ocean. Most of these small quakes are in
the 3 magnitude range.

I have also noticed for at least three years that
my sinus pain correlates to the fog. I always have
the most problems in May and June and had always
suspected that the extra moisture allows a mold
or fungus to grow in my sinuses causing the pain.
Recently I read a medical article in the news that
confirms the belief that many cases of sinus pain
are caused by a mold. The sore throat is a
secondary symptom caused by drainage which
naturally runs down your throat, especially at
night, as your body tries to fight the invasion of
this mold.

And now the contrails. I grew up and lived in an
area of northeastern Iowa for a good portion of
my life. Contrails are allowed to spread out like
that when the winds aloft die down. Wind up that
high can be nonexistent at times or even blowing
in a different direction entirely than wind near
the surface of the earth. The conditions for a
calm upper atmosphere are when there is a high
pressure system moving out of the area, either to
the east or northeast. There will also be a low
pressure system to the west or northwest. As the
high pressure moves away, the wind becomes calm
aloft and any contrails just kind of sit there and
gradually spread out. There may be a warm front
preceding the low pressure system drawing moisture
from the south and this moisture takes on the form
of high clouds that mix with the spreading
contrails and appear to be related but are not. In
California the warm fronts are minor compared to
those in the midwest which draw up moisture from
the Gulf of Mexico and even develope into strong
thunderstorms along the warm front. Winds near the
ground can be quite strong from the south and get
even stronger as the approaching low pressure gets
closer. With practice you can get pretty good at
judging when a low pressure will get to your
location by watching wind speed and direction. In
general wind near the ground travels clockwise
around a high pressure and counterclockwise around
a low pressure. The contrails will always clear
out for awhile after a low pressure system passes.

Steven T.