You are now in California and the U.S. category.

The Latest: Record-Setting High Temps Around California

/in /by /Associated Press (As Published by Watertown Daily Times - Watertown, Wis.)

A severe heat wave has set new record highs for several cities in Southern California. The National Weather Service says the thermometer hit 112 degrees in Lancaster, breaking the old record of 110 degrees set for the same day in 1961.

The service says a record high temperature was set at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank with 111 degrees. That breaks the old record of 106 degrees set for this date in 2008. Forecasters expect Monday to be the peak of the heat wave. Officials say about 20,000 customers were without electricity when outages were at their worst Monday.

Full Story

California to Fire Up Burners to Battle Dead Tree Epidemic

/in /by /Associated Press (As Published by Capital Press - Salem, Ore.)by Scott Smith

California’s drought and a bark beetle epidemic have caused the largest die-off of Sierra Nevada forests in modern history, raising fears that trees could come crashing down on people or fuel deadly wildfires that could wipe out mountain communities.

Aerial images show vast forests that have turned a rust-color. The epidemic has killed an estimated 40 million trees since 2010 in the central and southern Sierra, and it’s spreading north. Officials who are cutting down and stacking the most dangerous trees in piles across six counties, however, say they are stumped by how to get rid of them all.

Full Story

Temperatures in Excess of 100 Degrees Prompt Calls for Energy Savings

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ivan Penn

Sweltering temperatures across Southern California prompted calls Monday for electricity customers to reduce their energy use to help reduce strain on a system already weakened by the absence of the troubled Aliso Canyon natural gas storage plant.

Utility companies urged their residential customers to voluntarily delay washing clothes and dishes until bedtime and to keep their thermostats at 78 degrees or higher. In addition, the power companies asked business customers to voluntarily suspend unnecessary daytime operations such as production line work until nightfall.

 

Full Story

Melting Snow, Water Releases and La Niña Complicate California’s Drought Picture

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow and Phillip Reese

First, the good news: This winter, much of the Sierra had a near-average snowpack. Now, the bad news: It has melted early.

Word of the vanishing Sierra snowpack, which usually helps replenish reservoir levels later in the summer, arrives amid uncertainty over how California’s dams will be managed in coming months to protect endangered fish. It also comes at a critical juncture for urban water officials across the state. Wednesday is their deadline to submit updated drought conservation plans that lay out projections of how much water will be available to customers over the next three years.

Full Story

The Science Behind this Crazy Heat Wave

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Deborah Netburn

The sidewalks are scalding. The sun is blinding. It’s over 100 degrees across much of Los Angeles. We’re in the midst of a bona fide heat wave and it’s only June. What the heck is going on?

“Things are definitely out of whack here,” said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “This heat wave is not only unusual in its intensity, it is potentially deadly.” Angelenos know that a few days of punishing heat each year are part of the bargain of living in this usually temperate city.

Full Story

122 degrees: Palm Springs Breaks Record — and it Could Get Hotter

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ruben Vives, Ivan Penn, Nina Agrawal and Joseph Serna

Every so often someone walks into the Palm Springs Visitors Center raring to burn through hiking trails like they’re British adventurer and TV personality Bear Grylls.

For those people, Ceej Juarez, who provides information about hiking trails in the Agua Caliente Indian reservation, has to be a voice of reason.  And that is never as important a job as it was on Monday, when a torrid heat wave sent temperatures to 122 degrees in the resort city by early afternoon.

 

Full Story

BLOG: California Water Made Simple

/in /by /California Water Blog (UC Davis)by Jay Lund

There’s only so many acre-feet of water jargon the public can absorb during a drought. Here’s a primer that avoids wading into cubic-feet-per-second, appropriative water rights, overdraft, conjunctive water use and the like.

Full Story

WEATHER: Why is it So Hot? The Science Behind SoCal’s Heat Wave

/in /by /The Press-Enterprise (Riverside)by Alex Groves

It’s time to crank up those air conditioners, because the heat wave has arrived.

All across Southern California, temperatures will crest into the triple digits and likely break records. By Monday, the Inland valleys could see highs greater than 108 and the deserts could see highs greater than 120. The high temperatures have prompted the National Weather Service to put out an excessive heat warning that will last through Monday for coastal areas, Tuesday for the Inland valleys and Wednesday for the mountains and deserts.

Full Story

Temperatures Soar as Southern California’s Heat Wave Intensifies

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ruben Vives

High temperatures are expected to continue Sunday as Southern California’s heat wave intensifies, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasters say the weather system that has been building over Southern California is strengthening and will cause temperatures to keep climbing higher. Temperatures are predicted to be in the low to mid-80s at the beaches and in the 90s to 100s inland. Cooling centers have opened up throughout the Southland for those needing refuge from the heat.

Full Story

California Drought Causes Largest Die-Off of Sierra Nevada Forests

/in /by /Associated Press (As Published by NBC Bay Area - San Jose)

California’s drought and a bark beetle epidemic have caused the largest die-off of Sierra Nevada forests in modern history, raising fears that trees could come crashing down on people or fuel deadly wildfires that could wipe out mountain communities.

Aerial images show vast forests that have turned a rust-color. The epidemic has killed an estimated 40 million trees since 2010 in the central and southern Sierra, and it’s spreading north.

Full Story