As is often the case, after El Nino. But this McClatchey/Fresno Bee piece is an unusually good one, complete with a charticle designed for web postings. La Niña tends to influence wetter winters around the Canadian border, but drier conditions along the Mexican border. So Southern California — Los Angeles and San Diego — consistentlyContinue reading “La Nina expected back this year”
Tag Archives: drought
Theme song for the drought-averse in SoCal
It's raining, slightly, and yes, I'm happy…we're now at about 110% of normal, which is pretty much right on the button of what Terry Schaeffer, forecaster extraordinaire, predicted for Ventura County in January. http://www.lala.com/external/flash/SingleSongWidget.swf Only Happy When It Rains – Gar…
El Nino 2010: Small, medium, large…or wanna-be?
The infamous El Niño, bringer of warm winters and rain to Southern California, is back, NOAA says, and thanks to a surprisingly wet November, we're still ahead of normal in our total rainfall for this water year. Wouldn't you like to know what that really means? The truth is, no one knows. But for theContinue reading “El Nino 2010: Small, medium, large…or wanna-be?”
Mann’s latest temperature reconstruction record: Could a warming globe mean more La Ninas?
From a November paper by Michael Mann and cohorts in Science, meticulously reconstructing the temperature record over the last fifteen hundred years, from proxies including tree rings, pollen, coral, oxygen isotopes, sediments, and so on. The end point — in black — is from the instrumental record. This gives us a familiar conclusion — sinceContinue reading “Mann’s latest temperature reconstruction record: Could a warming globe mean more La Ninas?”
California Drought, As Seen from Space
Via NASA's Terra satellite, which uses a MODIS Spectraradiometer to measure plant growth. In the Central Valley, the drought is worst in the Westlands water district. Many in the area blame Congress for lack of water, and for the 70,000-80,000 farmworkers reported to be out of work. Interestingly, NASA talks about this in aContinue reading “California Drought, As Seen from Space”
Biggest Storm of the Season? That’s It? C’mon now…
If this weekend's rain, totaling less than two inches in wet Upper Ojai, is the "biggest storm of the season" according to the Los Angeles Times, then we have problems. The prediction was for between one and three inches of rain. Hardly an awesome figure for a weekend. To date in the mountains of VenturaContinue reading “Biggest Storm of the Season? That’s It? C’mon now…”
Irreversible Climate Change and Drought in the Southwest
The big news in climate this week was the publication of a study by Susan Solomon, who testified before Congress on climate change about this time last year, on irreversible climate change. Even if we ceased emitting carbon dioxide today, Solomon and her coauthors show that we will be dealing with a thousand years ofContinue reading “Irreversible Climate Change and Drought in the Southwest”
Drought in the Southwest Can Last for Decades — or Centuries
One of the interesting reports coming out of the American Geophysical Union conference this year was on "abrupt" climate change. For a long time the Dust Bowl droughts of the l930's, which were indeed severe, were considered the worst the Southwest could expect. But now, based on tree-ring and pollen "proxy" studies, scientists can withContinue reading “Drought in the Southwest Can Last for Decades — or Centuries”
The Wets Get Wetter, the Dries Get Drier
So says a new report — Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate — available at the U.S. Climate Change Science Program site. The title could be better, but it’s free. The report points to wetter storms (especially in the Midwest) and more severe droughts (especially in the Southwest). For someone living in SouthernContinue reading “The Wets Get Wetter, the Dries Get Drier”
Sierra Snowpack Low: Drought Stalks California
According to officials quoted by The Los Angeles Times this weekend (here). "I have not seen a more serious water situation in my career, and I’ve been doing this 30 years," said Timothy Quinn, executive director of the Assn. of California Water Agencies. An outmoded delivery system and court rulings that protect endangered fish areContinue reading “Sierra Snowpack Low: Drought Stalks California”
Kit Stolz 