weather – Retirementally Challenged

I know that some people who live in more challenging climates think those of us living in coastal Southern California are weather wimps. And they have a point. We don’t have to deal with freezing temperatures in the winter or soul-sucking humidity in the summer. At least where I live, we don’t have many annoying bugs and summer temperatures above the high 80s are rare. We balance our envy of those who experience glorious fall-foliage with gratitude that we don’t find ourselves in the path of tornados and hurricanes… until now.

A very agitated whirlwind named Hilary is headed our way after churning off the coast of Baja California for a while. They say that by the time she reaches us, her category 4 hurricane status will downgrade to a tropical storm, but she is still expected to pack quite a punch of wind and rain. Since, apparently (as the local news keeps remining us) our area hasn’t had a tropical storm in 84 years, most of us have no idea what we are in for. Excitement mixed with worry seems to be the mood of the day.

I made a trip to Home Depot this morning to pick up a part for a house project and noticed that the shelves that normally hold bags and bags of construction sand were empty. I also saw people stacking multiple carts with large sheets of plywood. I didn’t go to the supermarket today, but I wouldn’t have been too surprised to see a few shelves of necessities emptied out. Even for a storm that is only expected to last a day or two, some people slip easily into their inner survivalist.

We’ve done what we can to prepare. Anything in our yard that could be gathered up by the wind and flung elsewhere has either been brought inside or moved to a less-exposed area. Since we don’t live in a low-lying region, we don’t expect to experience any flooding in our neighborhood. I think we’ll be just fine.

Yesterday’s sky was bright blue except for this strange apparition that appeared mid-day. I wonder if Hilary was sending a reconnaissance cloud to check things out before she blows into town.

So now we wait for Hilary’s arrival. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit some excitement and, judging from posts on Facebook, I’m not alone. We don’t get a lot of rainstorms here, and this one is supposed to be a doozy.

California’s drought has lasted over five years. Many of us have learned to take shorter showers, capture running tap water while it is being heated so it isn’t wasted down the drain, and not be so fussy about… um… flushing. Some of us have changed out our landscaping to reflect the desert climate we live in and others have installed water barrels to better manage the rain they get. What at first may have seemed a hassle is now just second nature to most of us. It’s the right thing to do.

In the summer of 2015, we started to read about the warming waters of the Pacific Ocean and how the resulting El Niño weather phenomenon would give Southern California the best chance for above-average rains. I even wrote a post about being grateful that we had a roof over our heads because of the anticipated storms. At the same time, Northern California was predicted to get much less precipitation.

In fact, just the opposite happened.

Last season, Northern California did much better both in the rain they received and the snow levels they experienced. On the other hand, except for a few days of torrential downpours, Southern California’s El Niño was mostly El Disappoint-o.

When El Niño finally vacated the area, and its drier flipside, La Niña started to show herself, we were told to expect little rain this winter. An article in the Los Angeles Times stated, “If the weather phenomenon behaves as expected, the Pacific Northwest and far Northern California will enjoy a wetter than normal winter, while the southern swath of the state will remain dry.”

Well, that didn’t happen either.

rain

Although the prediction was correct regarding the above average rain in Northern California, Southern California has been experiencing a wetter than normal rainy season this year too. In fact, we are now well above average in our seasonal rainfall totals. Even though we hear a few grumbles (including that we don’t know how to drive in the rain – which is true), most of us are willing to put up with any inconvenience for the sake of the overall health of our water supplies.

There has been some discussion about whether or not California’s drought is over. Some say “Yes,” and advocate for the removal of water conservation restrictions. Others argue “No,” and caution against prematurely declaring that all is well. I certainly don’t know the answer, but given our desert climate and how weather patterns have become less-and-less predictable worldwide, I’m willing to take the pragmatic approach and do what I can to help preserve this precious resource into the future.

In the meantime, I am so grateful for the rain we have received so far this season and, hopefully, will continue to enjoy over the next few months.

Tag: weather

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