The Remarkable Weather of Southern California

Miguel Miller

Description

A qualified exploration of the science and effect of Southern California’s weather.
Yes, even in Southern California, weather is something we experience every day. It is in our conscious or subconscious whenever we wake up, look out a window, venture outside, see or feel the sunshine, hear the swish of wind in the trees or the white noise of rain on the roof. We make decisions, sometimes several times a day, based on a brief thought of weather. We make plans based on the near-term forecast, or long-term climate. Occasionally, we take prompt action to stay safe from it. For something so integral to our lives, how much of it do we understand? Greater understanding of the real, practical meaning of the forecast can inform decisions and plans, affording greater confidence and less frustration. You will gain a greater awareness of how the weather you experience works. You’ll understand where forecasts come from, how they’re made, and what it means to you.

Sujets

• Sciences et techniques
• Weather
• Santa Ana
• California
• San Diego
• Nature
• Los Angeles

Informations

• Publié par: iUniverse
• Date de parution: 21 février 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781663246370
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 11 Mo

Extrait

THE REMARKABLE WEATHER OF SOUTHERN CALIFO RNIA
 
Its Science and Subtleties
 
 
 
 
 
 
MIGUEL MILLER
 
The Remarkable Weather of Southern California
ITS SCIENCE AND SUBTLETIES
 
Copyright © 2023 Miguel Miller.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
iUniverse
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www.iuniverse.com
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6632-4636-3 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6632-4637-0 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022921028
 
iUniverse rev. date: 02/16/2023
 
 

CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
Part 1:Southern California’s Cli mate
Part 2:The Winter Wet Se ason
• Winter St orms
• Storm T ypes
• Floo ding
• Snow
• Winter Storm W inds
• Torna does
• Cold
• The Fair Filler and Fog
• Spring St orms
Part 3:The Spring Stratus Se ason
• Onshore Flow and the Sea Br eeze
• The Stratus Quo of the Marine L ayer
Part 4:The Summer Mon soon
• The Upper Air Pat tern
• Turning up the heat
• Solar (Diabatic Hea ting)
• Upslope (Orographic) Flow
• Low-level Wind Converg ence
• Instabi lity
• Thunderstorms and their haz ards
• Hail
• Thunderstorm W inds
• Flash Fl oods
• Easterly W aves
• Gulf Su rges
• Elevated Convec tion
• Summer Heat
• Monsoon Wave
• Tropical Connect ions
• Winding Down
Part 5:The Fall Santa Ana Se ason
• Wind Direction Mat ters
• Forcing the I ssue
• Evolution of an Offshore Wind
• Sundow ners
• What makes Santa Ana winds hot?
• Why are Santa Ana winds so dry?
• Why are Santa Ana Winds so st rong?
• Wildfire Poten tial
Part 6:The Forecast and You
• Observing and Forecasting Southern California’s Unique Wea ther
• The Reward is in the Subt lety
• A Puzzle to Solve Every Day – The Forecast Pro cess
• Figuring the Fore cast
• The Three Cons
• Confidence, Humility and Expectat ions
• Forecaster Perspec tive
• Deterministic and Probabilistic Forec asts
• Seasonal Outl ooks
• Weather Information and You
• The NWS Mission to Protect Life and Prop erty
• History of Weather Observing and Forecasting in Southern Califo rnia
• The NWS Pres ence
• What I wish people would unders tand
• No Respect. No Respect at all…
• The Nature of Southern California’s Hazardous Wea ther
Part 7:The Culture of Southern California’s Remarkable Wea ther
• Idyllic and Conven ient
• Skies and Personalities: Mostly S unny
• Is Earthquake Weather Real?
• Poetic Jus tice
• Santa Anas: Culture and Psycho logy
• Santa Anas in Literature and the Human Ps yche
• Where did the Santa Ana name come from?
• Epic Surf, Dude
Part 8:Southern California’s Changing Cli mate
• Main Projections and Conc erns
• Tempera ture
• Sea Level Rise
• Shrinking Snow pack
• Precipita tion
• Dro ught
• Wildfire Se ason
• Things We Don’t Know Yet
• Adapta tion
• Climate Change and Responsible Steward ship
Things are looking up – if we look up
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
PREFACE
“Sunny… 72 degrees… back to you.”
The above fictional forecast sums up how many people view Southern California weather. In the 1991 romcom L.A. Story, Steve Martin plays Harris K. Telemacher, a prototypical “wacky TV weatherman.” He prepares the 5-second prediction for the entire coming week in Los Angeles for his fill-in, played by George Plimpton. What could go wrong?
A quick cut to a torrential downpour runs with the joke. Later in the movie, another weather gag is a story about Los Angelenos coping with an unseasonably cold night, as temperatures drop to an incredible 58 DEGREES! Close those windows and bring in the cats!
Southern California’s seemingly unchanging weather has been the butt of jokes for decades. Long before the time of Telemacher, Bob Hope once quipped, “In England when you make a movie even the weather is against you. In Hollywood the weatherman gets a shooting schedule from all the major studios and then figures out where he can fit in a little rain without upsetting Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer too much.”
To the casual observer the weather here is quite vanilla. Some transplants even pine for traditional weather from back home as if Southern California weather was some guilty pleasure or came too cheap. Such appears to be the case with Irving Berlin, who, while famously “dreaming of a white Christmas,” wrote: “The sun is shining, the grass is green, the orange and palm trees sway. There’s never been such a day in Beverly Hills, L.A.” All that idyllic weather was a problem for him.
The reality is more fascinating than these dismissive portrayals. A closer examination reveals Southern California weather is anything but vanilla to anyone willing to observe and discover its mysteries.
The metropolitan regions of Southern California can go long stretches with no severe weather, but that just makes the extreme events all the more fascinating when they happen. And exciting weather happens quite frequently in the mountains and deserts. Ask a mountain or desert dweller about their weather, they’ll regale you with stories. A Barstow man told me about driving in strong desert winds where he encountered not only dust and sand blowing on him, but rocks blowing at him. Once, a rock the size of his fist blew into his windshield! For this reason, most Coachella Valley residents live south of Interstate 10. North of I-10, the few trees that manage to survive grow diagonally, thanks to those strong, persistent winds.
Harry P. Bailey, author of Weather of Southern California (Bailey, 1966) asked, “What is the essence of the lure of the climate of Southern California?” Among other answers were some that emphasized the climate’s “variety, with considerable change obtainable by relatively short travel from one location to another… Variety does indeed exist in southern California, and to a degree unknown on the more level terrains east of the Rocky Mountains.”
Southern California weather is used as a weapon, both against and by the locals. Non-locals picture Southern Californians always in shorts and sandals year-round. To them, we’re coddled weather wimps who could never deal with snow, severe thunderstorms or extreme cold. There is some truth to that.
But the smug attitude cuts both ways. On those sunny, warm winter days, while aunts in Albany or cousins in Columbus are suffering through a below-zero wind chill and horizontal snow, we Southern Californians feel compelled to inform them that we really are in shorts and sandals out here.
Over my forecasting career, I have compiled a history of Southern California’s most significant weather events. As I’ve pored over numerous remarkable weather events that have occurred over the years, decades, and even centuries, I have discovered that more exciting and fascinating weather has happened in Southern California than most people realize.
World’s highest recorded temperature? Check. 26 inches of rain in 24 hours? Absolutely. A thunderstorm that dropped nearly 13 inches of rain in 80 minutes? Incredibly, yes. Baseball-size hail? You bet. 57 inches of snow in three days? Of course. 100 mile-an-hour winds? Uh-huh. A foggy 100 degrees? You got it. All in Southern California.
No, it’s not always sunny and 72. In fact, you could fill a book about all the wild extremes, rich history, and fascinating science of Southern California’s remarkable weather.
INTRODUCTION
We’re about to embark on a journey through Southern California’s remarkable weather. The ride will feature exciting ups and downs, like a roller coaster. These swings happen year-round as weather patterns come and go, usually in the form of troughs of low pressure or ridges of high pressure. Active, in-your-face conditions alternate with the gorgeous brand of Southern California weather that made our climate world-famous.
Some observers believe Southern California doesn’t have weather or even seasons. My aim is to show that Southern California absolutely has seasons, just not the seasons everyone is familiar with. Southern California’s four seasons are categorized like this:
• The Winter Wet Season
• The Spring Stratus Season
• The Summer Monsoon Season
• The Fall Santa Ana Season
This book is broken down into sections that describe each of these four seasons. Sections are subdivided into chapters that describe weather elements that occur during each season.
Additional chapters highlight how the weather has influenced our way of life, our culture, and even our values. Drawing on my experie