Tag Archive for: Weather

Post-Tropical Storm Hilary Pushes into Nevada After Drenching Southern California

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Christopher Weber, Damian Dovarganes and Jordi Lebrija

Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California from the coast to the desert resort city of Palm Springs and inland mountains, forcing rescuers to pull several people from swollen rivers.

By early Monday, remnants of the storm that first brought soaking rains to Mexico’s arid Baja California peninsula and the border city of Tijuana, threatened Nevada and as far north as Oregon and Idaho with flooding.

Southern Californians were battling flooded roads, mudslides and downed trees.

Full Story

Hurricane Hilary Barrels Toward Southern California, Bringing Unprecedented Dangers

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Grace Toohey, Hayley Smith, Rong-Gong Lin II, Connor Sheets and Jeremy Childs

With Hurricane Hilary fast bearing down on the region, officials issued a tropical storm warning for a swath of Southern California Friday night — meaning tropical storm-force winds are expected in the region within the next 36 hours.

Southern California was already bracing for a rare and potentially destructive weekend. Such lashing winds would be only one of the storm’s potentially dangerous impacts, with forecasters also predicting intense rain, flash flooding in the desert and mountain areas and harrowing conditions along the beaches.

The storm has prompted officials to cancel events and issue dire alerts, particularly as the system moves across southwestern California on Sunday and Monday.

Full Story
Hurricane Hilary-rainfall-storm-Hilary

Hurricane Hilary on Path Toward Southern California

/in , /by /CBS Newsby Kerry Breen

A storm headed in the direction of Southern California has been upgraded to a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said in a public advisory early Thursday morning. It is expected to bring heavy rainfall to parts of the state after hitting Mexico.

The storm’s remnants are likely to bring flooding rain as well as strong winds to some parts of California, including the Los Angeles Basin, The Weather Channel reports. Heavy rainfall is expected to impact the Southwestern United States from Friday through early next week, according to the hurricane center.

(Editor’s Note: Updates on Hilary from NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.)

Full Story

European Scientists Make it Official. July Was the Hottest Month on Record by Far

/in , , /by /The Associated Pressby Seth Borenstein

Now that July’s sizzling numbers are all in, the European climate monitoring organization made it official: July 2023 was Earth’s hottest month on record by a wide margin.

July’s global average temperature of 16.95 degrees Celsius (62.51 degrees Fahrenheit) was a third of a degree Celsius (six tenths of a degree Fahrenheit) higher than the previous record set in 2019, Copernicus Climate Change Service, a division of the European Union’s space program, announced Tuesday. Normally global temperature records are broken by hundredths or a tenth of a degree, so this margin is unusual.

“These records have dire consequences for both people and the planet exposed to ever more frequent and intense extreme events,” said Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess. There have been deadly heat waves in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, Europe and Asia. Scientific quick studies put the blame on human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.

Full Story

Snowmelt Runoff Sets Streamflow Records in the Southwest

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Across the western U.S., many areas received record or near-record amounts of snowpack over the winter. With the spring and summer temperatures melting the abundant snow, a record volume of streamflow has been recorded in several basins in the southwestern U.S., providing more water for the area later into the summer than is typically seen.

Full Story
snowmelt runoff-streamflow-records

Snowmelt Runoff Sets Streamflow Records in the Southwest

/in , /by

Across the western U.S., many areas received record or near-record amounts of snowpack over the winter. With the spring and summer temperatures melting the abundant snow, a record volume of streamflow has been recorded in several basins in the southwestern U.S., providing more water for the area later into the summer than is typically seen.

Snowmelt runoff in Walker and Carson basins

The Walker and Carson basins near the California-Nevada border, for example, have reported the largest volume of streamflow for April through July that has ever been observed in roughly a century, when the records began. The ample runoff is helping fill reservoirs that have been depleted from years of drought conditions.

Weekly U.S. Drought Monitor: Cooler Northwest, Warmer Southwest

Dry conditions dominated the West and southern Plains, coupled with above-normal temperatures. Precipitation was most widespread throughout much of the upper Midwest and central Plains and into the Northeast. Almost the entire country had near- to above-normal temperatures this last week, with the greatest departures over the Southwest and central Plains where temperatures were at least 4-7 degrees above normal.

Cooler-than-normal temperatures were recorded in the Pacific Northwest with departures of 3-6 degrees below normal. At the end of the current U.S. Drought Monitor period, significant rains developed over portions of the Midwest and central Plains, and they will be accounted for in the next analysis.

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook

Central portions of the Intermountain West may be spared degradation, as those areas are still showing residual benefits from above normal winter snowpack leading up to the summer, in addition to periods of above normal rainfall during the last 60 to 90 days. Seasonal temperature and precipitation outlooks, ENSO, and climatology favor widespread drought improvement and removal across the central U.S. However, drought persistence is favored across the Upper Midwest, although there is the potential for localized improvements.” Read full assessment: cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/sdo_summary.php.

Seasonal Precipitation Outlook: November, December, January 2023-24

Colors show where total precipitation has an increased chance of being higher or lower than usual during the next three months. The darker the shading, the greater the chance for the indicated condition. White areas have equal chances for precipitation totals that are below, near, or above the long-term average (median) for the next three months.

Climate scientists base future climate outlooks on current patterns in the ocean and atmosphere. They examine projections from climate and weather models and consider recent trends. They also check historical records to see how much precipitation fell when patterns were similar in the past.

Copernicus Climate Change Service: July 2023 sees multiple global temperature records broken

July 2023 highlights:

  • The global average temperature for July 2023 is confirmed to be the highest on record for any month.
  • Antarctic sea ice extent continued to break records for the time of year, with a monthly value 15% below average, by far the lowest July extent since satellite observations began.
  • July 2023 was wetter than average over most of northern Europe and in a region from the Black Sea and Ukraine to northwestern Russia. Drier than average conditions were experienced across the Mediterranean basin, with Italy and southeastern Europe having the largest anomalies.

July 2023 NOAA State of Climate Report

Record-high temps & devastating floods struck the U.S. 15 separate billion-dollar disasters occurred during the 1st 7 months of 2023. More from NOAA’s July State of Climate report.

(Editor’s Note: Content for this story comes from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which produces a weekly report using data and products from the National Water and Climate Center and other agencies. The report focuses on seasonal snowpack, precipitation, temperature, and drought conditions in the United States.)

Valley Fever Could Hit California Hard. The Drought-to-Downpour Cycle is to Blame

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Summer Lin

After California’s record-breaking winter rains, public health officials are warning about an increased risk for valley fever this summer.

“California’s dry conditions, combined with recent heavy winter rains could result in increasing valley fever cases in the coming months,” California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Tomás Aragón said in a news release.

Full Story
A beautiful Santee garden oasis is the winner of the 2023 Padre Dam Municipal Water District Landscape Contest. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water District

Santee Garden Oasis Wins 2023 Padre Dam Municipal Water District Landscape Contest

/in , /by

Santee homeowners Edie and Tate Thomas created a beautiful landscape with California native plants to save water, beautify their home, and support the region’s wildlife. Their effort won the 2023 Padre Dam Municipal Water District landscape makeover contest.

Preserving rainfall by design 

The Thomases buried large unglazed clay pots in their yard called ollas, watering the plants with minimal water loss. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water District Santee Garden

Buried large unglazed clay pots in their yard called ollas, allows watering the plants with minimal water loss. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water District

In 2018, the couple began working on their makeover project. Edie Thomas is an architect, and Tate Thomas is a contractor. They took advantage of their building and design skills by creating a topography to capture and preserve the rainwater falling on their yard.

Their landscape is irrigated through underground rock ravines that collect rainwater in a rock-lined underground cistern reservoir which flows water to plants through gravity. They also buried large unglazed clay pots in their yard called ollas, which have above-ground access points to refill them with water. Plants wrap their roots around the porous ollas, which seep water out as needed, watering the plants with minimal water loss.

Edit Thomas advises other homeowners to do the same with their landscape topography.

“I always recommend people visualize a single drop of rainwater falling at the highest point of your landscape,” she said. “Watch where gravity takes that raindrop and plan your landscape around that flow.”

The pair also use drip irrigation about once a month along with occasional hand watering during extended dry periods.

Colorful variety of native plants featured

A wide variety of California native plants are featured in the winning landscape design. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water District Santee garden

A wide variety of California native plants are featured in the winning landscape design. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water District

Long nature walks and information from the California Native Plant Society inspired the Thomas’s to use native plants for most of their landscape, mixing colors and texture to be visually appealing. They have been richly rewarded with an ecosystem of butterflies, caterpillars, bees, birds, and bunnies. They describe their design concept as “playful chaos.”

Community space

The sidewalk in front of the garden is designed to be a community space for those walking by. The large California Coastal Live Oak provides shade to the retaining wall, designed as a place to sit and rest. Visitors can browse through books from the couple’s Little Free Library. Water-efficient herbs growing in the planter boxes under the tree are offered to those who pass by.

Edie and Tate Thomas spend most evenings on their patio, enjoying the space and watching their ecosystem thrive. They look forward to watching the plants grow and mature in the coming years and even decades.

“It’s so rewarding to see people come by and rest in the shade or take some rosemary for their dinner,” said Edie Thomas. “I love that we get to give a small square of land back to nature and that our neighbors enjoy it as much as we do.”

(Editor’s note: The Padre Dam Municipal Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego County region.) 

July Keeps Sizzling as Phoenix Hits Another 110-Degree Day and Wildfires Spread in California

/in , , /by /Associated Pressby Walter Berry

Phoenix sizzled through its 31st consecutive day of at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) and other parts of the country grappled Sunday with record temperatures after a week that saw significant portions of the U.S. population subject to extreme heat.

The National Weather Service said Phoenix climbed to a high of 111 F (43.8 Celsius) before the day was through.

Full Story

California Has New Weapons to Battle Summer Blackouts: Battery Storage, Power From Record Rain

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Grace Toohey

It’s a summertime sequence that’s become all too familiar in California: Extreme heat forces air conditioners into overdrive, which pushes the state’s power grid to the brink.

In August 2020, a major heat event fueled by the climate crisis forced some of the state’s first rotating power outages in decades, as the ongoing transition to green energy lagged behind demand. Last September, Californians narrowly avoided blackouts as a record-breaking heat wave broiled almost every corner of the state for days.

Full Story