L.A. residents are being advised to reduce lawn watering and conserve water. There’s only been 4 inches of rain since July 2006. The Eastern Sierra mountains where L.A. gets half its water had the second lowest snowpack on record. So it’s a double whammy, and the driest year on record.
It’s still Spring too. Wait until the full blast of summer heat hits. It virtually never rains in L.A. in the summer, so little relief can be seen to stave off L.A. from going into “full drought mode.” Last summer, when we lived in Van Nuys (part of L.A.) there were at least 60 days in a row over 90 degrees, 19 days in a row over 100, and it peaked out at 119 degrees, the hottest ever recorded for L.A. So yeah, I think the weather in L.A. is changing, and global warming is what’s doing it.
As blogged here before, virtually all the water for L.A. comes from hundreds of miles away via aqueduct, a quite lunatic scheme, when you think about it. What will happen when the required amount stops flowing and a drought lasts for years? Because that’s what predicted for the southwest. Los Angeles is so not ready for that.
Tip: Asymptotic Life, who also notes that coastal Los Angeles has been having unusually humid and foggy weather with gardeners losing plants to mildew, something which virtually never happens, and that this change is also consistent with the predicted effects of climate change.
The milder more precepitous model, which is playing out here on The High Desert ($&@%#! ewegene weather), would have cooler summer temps with greater humidity resulting in abnormal rainfall. That may be what coastal LA is seeing, and has potential to provide some sporadic physical relief, though having no overall impact on the drought. This summer ought to be a real eye-opener. Sucks that they’ll all end up moving here.
I think West L.A. and Santa Monica have had more humid conditions but not rain. They’ve also had freak strong winds at varying times. Both conditions are unusual.
The increased humidity is caused by warmer ocean surface temperatures– but does not necessarily lead to rain, just damp air and clouds/fog.
Yeah, they’ll be moving up our way, too. (And to Connecticut.)
I expect we’ll be getting lots of rain over the summer, as the hurricanes start to move north! Just watch Bush try to claim credit for it, too!
Nah, if hurricanes come to L.A., Bush will blame Venezuela for creating weapons of mass hurricane.
If Chávez can actually harness the powers of the hurricane, I’ll take back everything I’ve said about it. They’d still be true, but I’d be willing to take them back.
Alas, you’re probably right about Dubya’s reaction.