Rain lingers over parts of California from big, slow-moving storm surges triggered by tropical systems after a week of dry air. In southern parts of the state it has been especially windy, with sustained speeds up to 65 miles per hour recorded near San Diego. California’s Sierra Nevada mountain ranges are dotted with snow-free peaks, but the wind can be strong.
“It would make a very nice winter destination for skiers.”
There’s just one tiny problem: wind is not warm enough to melt snow.
“It would make a very nice winter destination for skiers.”
So if this is actually possible, why has Sacramento been shut down? Because the only place to get snow that’s melting like crazy is the San Francisco Bay. San Francisco is the epicentre of our current warm weather, so the Bay is where we get the most snow from the snowpack that was in place when it was still cold.
But because it’s a very slow flow of water, it takes a long time to fall down to the Bay. And when it does fall, it’s usually in a storm, creating a much bigger storm than we’re used to during normal winter weather.
“I’m not sure people realize how many storms come at once.”
And while this is a big part of climate impact, there’s always been this idea that cold air was the bad part of the climate.
“I think the idea that warm and cold air was coming together to create a single weather system was a myth,” said John McManus, senior scientist at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center and lead author of the paper.
In reality, he says, warmer air is what’s driving winds and storms. And while cold air is the part of the climate cycle that has been the least understood, the warm air has been seen, he said, in a big way.
“It would make a very