Situated several miles North of Mount Shasta, the subdivision often enjoys milder weather than surrounding areas and is sometimes dubbed a "banana belt". Winds can come from almost any direction, but those which are strongest are those which  whirl around as they come in from the coast, hitting the southern slope of Mt. Shasta before reaching us. This has the effect of filtering out much of the precipitation that hits surrounding areas. For example, often during winter months when Yreka and Weed were snowed in with more than two feet of snow fall in one night, most of Mt. Shasta Vista receives only a couple of inches of snow - enough to be beautiful, but no shoveling required! However, anything can happen here: during the past seven winters, the deepest snow at most subdivision locations was about eighteen inches. The property owners association was formed for the purpose of maintaining the roads and according to their contract with the property owners, must keep the roads open at all times. Even so, with 65 miles of roadways, it could take considerable time to plow snow off of the roads. So it is best for residents to be prepared to deal with delays during the winters. Always keep food, pet supplies, medicines, emergency heating and other supplies on hand - enough to last several days. A couple of years ago some roads were closed for over a week.

Our temperatures are generally about 10 degrees cooler than the Sacramento River Valley, and our air is almost always fresh and clear, often tinged with a cooling breeze. Even in hot (90's) summer weather, the air cools off at night. Summer air is frequently heavily laden with the smoke from wildfires within 100 miles of here.

Sometimes the "breeze" turns to gale-force winds. Summer electric storms are awe-inspiring with great bolts of lightening and deafening thunder. Keep you pets in when the first summer storm arrives -several residents reported lost dogs last year.

Please click here to see current conditions: http://www.ktvl.com/

While we sometimes get less snow than surrounding areas, we get at least our share of wind, which can damage power and telephone lines. We can even get more snow than surrounding areas. In November of 2010 we received about seven inches of snow at elevations of about 4000 feet while Yreka did not get any snow.

October 28,1009: It was 20 degrees at 7:00 this morning. According to KTVL weather reports, it is about 15 degrees colder than "normal" although normal is an elusive concept here. It was cool all day, and snowing on Mt. Shasta early in the day. This is a particularly pleasant time of year here. Fresh snow on the mountain glistens in the dawning sunlight and turns a brilliant red at sunset. The air is fresh and clear and the fire danger, though ever present, is waning. You can walk more freely as the rattlesnakes have gone into hibernation. The birds are active and seem to be excited. Winding threads of geese are sometimes seen flying overhead as they seek warmer climates for the winter. Residents are busy stacking firewood and wrapping pipes. The wise among us are checking food and other supplies to be ready for winter when we can get snowed in. One creative family has decorated their yard with a spooky Halloween graveyard.

December 9, 2010: It has already snowed several times here. In November we had temperatures that dipped well below freezing into the single digits - something that doesn't usually happen until January. Click here for photos of recent snow.