Tag Archive for: Weather

Why Our Drought Isn’t Going Anywhere This Winter

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer

The latest measurements from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the American West is in for another dry La Niña winter, unwelcome news for the West currently struggling to keep flowing its main source of water: the shrinking Colorado River.

“That’s the worry in the present situation is that the odds now are now with La Niña are tilted against a really wet winter, at least in the southern half of California which of course has already been really dry,” said Dan Cayan, a research meteorologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

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Rains, Mudslides Prompt Southern California Evacuations

/in , /by /Associated Pressby Stephanie Dazio

Thousands of residents were under evacuation and shelter-in-place orders early Tuesday after heavy rains unleashed mudslides in a mountain area east of Los Angeles that burned two years ago, sending boulders and other debris across roads.

Firefighters went street by street in the community of Forest Falls Monday night to make sure no residents were trapped. Eric Sherwin, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, said crews hadn’t found anyone who needed to be rescued and no one was reported missing. Crews would canvas the neighborhoods again and begin cleanup efforts after sunrise, he said.

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Here’s The Alarming Amount of Ice California’s Longest Glacier Just Lost in the Heat Wave

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Mount Shasta, the widely recognizable face of California’s far north, has lost almost all its defining snow cover for a second straight year.

Another summer of scorching temperatures, punctuated by the recent heat wave, has melted most of the mountain’s lofty white crown, typically a year-round symbol of the north state’s enduring wilds.

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Tropical Storm Ended Saturday in San Diego With Light Showers

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Philip Molnar

San Diego County got minimal rain Saturday as the last of Tropical Storm Kay passed over the region.

The storm already brought record rainfall to the county on Friday, with around a half-inch near the coast and nearly 2 inches in some mountain areas. Rainfall totals were much lower as the storm dissipated over the Pacific Ocean on Saturday — around 0.01 to 0.03 inch on the coast and around 0.06 inch in the mountains as of 4:30 p.m., said the National Weather Service.

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September 2022 La Niña Update: It’s Q and A Time

/in , , /by /Climate.govby Emily Becker

Ocean and atmospheric conditions tell us that La Niña—the cool phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate pattern—currently reigns in the tropical Pacific. It’s looking very likely that the long-predicted third consecutive La Niña winter will happen, with a 91% chance of La Niña through September–November and an 80% chance through the early winter (November–January).

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‘Weather Whiplash’ Withers, then Drowns Areas Worldwide

/in , /by /Scientific Americanby Chelsea Harvey

The Dallas area is still reeling from record-breaking downpours that triggered flash floods across northeastern Texas last week. The event swamped houses, submerged vehicles and prompted hundreds of emergency rescues. At least one death has been reported so far.

The sheer volume of rain was stunning, with some locations receiving more than a foot. But the deluge was all the more surprising because Dallas has been choked by severe drought for months.

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Dangerous Heat Predicted to Hit 3 Times More Often in Future

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Seth Borenstein

What’s considered officially “dangerous heat” in coming decades will probably hit much of the world at least three times more often as climate change worsens, according to a new study.

In much of Earth’s wealthy mid-latitudes, spiking temperatures and humidity that feel like 103 degrees or higher — now an occasional summer shock — statistically should happen 20 to 50 times a year by mid-century, said a study Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

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Drought Expected to Continue Even With a Wet Winter

/in , , /by /NBC Bay Area by Damian Trujillo

Droughts are here to stay. That’s the warning from Santa Clara Valley Water as we continue to face a severe water shortage and uncertainty with regard to the upcoming winter months.

Rain or not, the message is to expect droughts to be a much more regular part of life, meaning conservation and preparation need to become lifelong habits as well.

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Weather Whiplash: Summer Lurches From Drought to Flood

/in , , /by /Associated Pressby Seth Borenstein

Parts of northern Texas, mired in a drought labeled as extreme and exceptional, are flooding under torrential rain. In a drought.

Sound familiar? It should. The Dallas region is just the latest drought-suffering-but-flooded locale during a summer of extreme weather whiplash, likely goosed by human-caused climate change, scientists say. Parts of the world are lurching from drought to deluge.

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Better Atmospheric River Forecasts Are Giving Emergency Planners More Time to Prepare for Flooding

/in , , /by /Scientific Americanby F. Martin Ralph

I was eating breakfast on a Monday morning at Sears Fine Food in downtown San Francisco, casually watching the local five-day weather forecast on a television screen behind the counter. A little symbol along the bottom showed a happy-looking sun for the rest of the day. Wednesday had a friendly-looking cloud and a few raindrops, and Thursday had a dark, threatening cloud with heavier drops.

I knew Thursday’s conditions would be much rougher than the symbol conveyed. I had been studying detailed satellite data and weather models, and they indicated that a major atmospheric river (AR) was likely to hit the city. The symbol was completely inadequate for communicating the threat of the approaching storm.

 

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