Weather Patterns and Extremes
The Central Valley has many weather hazards that can be linked to cyclones and various frontal formations, with the most common hazards being droughts and heat waves. Chang et al. (2015) evaluated the change in precipitation due to extratropical cyclone activity and found that most of the precipitation that the region receives during the winter is due to extratropical cyclones and their fronts. When evaluating three consecutive winters, results showed that precipitation was below average. This lack of precipitation, paired with higher than average temperatures, caused extreme dryness, and as a result, much of California, including the Central Valley, experienced a drought (Chang et al. 2015).
Severe droughts
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The geography of the valley seems to play a large role in its climate type. El Bosque, Chile has geography that is very similar to Sacramento, California. Just like Sacramento, El Bosque is a city that is centrally located in a bowl-shaped valley and has mountain chains located to the east and west of it. Additionally, both cities are separated from the Pacific Ocean by a western mountain chain (The Geography of Chile). Also noteworthy is the fact that both cities are classified as hot Mediterranean climates (Csa). El Bosque and Sacramento both receive moderate amounts of precipitation in the winter and hot temperatures in the summer with dryness. This shows that geographical features, specifically proximity to the ocean and mountain ranges, can greatly affect an area’s climate.
However, latitude also appears to play a role. Bakersfield and San Pedro de Atacama, in California and Chile respectively, retain the same aforementioned geographical features, yet they have a different climate type (BWh) than Sacramento and El Bosque do. This can be attributed to their latitudes, as they lie closer to the equator than their counterparts.
Climate Change
The climate of the Central Valley has seen various ups and downs in its past, especially in regards to temperature. Many of these changes can be seen by looking at sediment cores and fossilized vegetation. About 150 million years ago, the Central Valley was an inland sea that slowly filled over time
Global climate change and variability, particularly at regional levels, are not completely understood. Therefore, there are many significant
The drought is not a result of Global warming because the California drought is caused by a lack of Pacific subtropical storms and the Nina ocean current pattern. However, Global warming does make California’s drought more severe in effect due to the rise of temperature which only contributes to hotter days resulting in more inland water evaporating into the atmosphere. As global warming persist and increases California’s current or future droughts will only become more severe. The implications Globe warming causes in just one state’s drought should be a realization of what global warming can cause in areas of drought at a larger
I.) Water and Drought in California: Facts and data show that the weather we are experiencing here in California is that there is a difference between La Niña that brings the ocean temperature down and making them cooler and El Niño brings much warmer ocean temperatures. Currently california is experiencing a weakened La Niña. With a 55% chance of this weather continuing for the next 3 months. La Niña affect patterns of rainfall, atmospheric pressure, and global atmospheric circulation. Even though California is in a severe drought, with coordination, modernization, and compromise, California should be able to provide enough water for a growing population and growing economy.
a much greater annual temperature range than City B. The most likely explanation for this fact is
climate is not much different from ours, besides that their winters are a bit colder, and there
A major problem in Southern California is that Los Angeles experiences very little rain all year, followed by intense downpours that last less than one day (53). Its unreliable rainfall severely hurts the region. In Northern California, mountains such as the Sierra Nevada allow for a huge range in rainfall over a short distance. “…a place on the western slope of the range may receive eighty or so inches of precipitation in a year, while a place on the east slope, fifty miles away, may receive ten inches or less” (58).
Regions with mild temperature tend to have high population density, while regions with severe weather conditions tend to have a low population density.
Most of us consider drought as a period of dry and hot weather with too little or no rain, and while any or all of these conditions might be existent during drought, the definition of drought is more complex and subtle. According to the United States Geological Survey, California Water Science Center (as cited in Congressional Digest, 2015, p. 2):
Although the weather is constantly changing, the climate for a general area can sometimes surprise you and change as well, especially in areas where the weather is considered “bipolar” since it changes so much.
In Ecuador there are many mountains so as I know the more you go up a mountain the colder it gets. To explain this further in the text it states, “Climate gets colder as latitude and altitude increase. So, climate also gets colder as you move farther up a mountain.” This basically explains what causes this range in climate and where as
I have researched the effect of climate change on California’s natural water supply. California has a diverse climate throughout, being a large state with sixteen different climate zones recognized. These can be subdivided into four major climatic zones as follows: North Coast, South Coast, Central Valley, and Desert/Mountain.
The Central Valley is located centrally in the heart of California and is surrounded by two mountain ranges, the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east and the Coast Range to the west. Due to its location, the area is plagued by poor air quality and extremely hot summers. The Central Valley is primarily known for its agriculture. However, for more than five years now, California has been in a drought. It has experienced some of the worst heatwaves in the country, with temperatures ranging from 105 to 110 degrees fahrenheit for months on end. This can be attributed to the rainshadow effect, which leaves the region with very little precipitation for a majority of the year. Most of the moisture filled clouds are blown into the surrounding mountain
San Francisco Bay was a hard area to reach by first early explorers because of the narrowness of its opening and the constant coastal fogs. The city is laid out in a network of forty hills, which reach nearly 1000 feet. The different elevations of the hills cause different temperatures and sky conditions in different areas of the city. The Pacific Ocean and its air, allows the temperature to be predominantly pleasant. Usually, the temperature rarely rises above seventy-five degrees or below forty-five degrees, thus San Francisco is known as the city that is "air-conditioned." San Francisco's climate is very much alike to coastal Mediterranean areas of Europe. The city's temperature remains most of the time constant, however, there are two distinct
Pacific Ocean west of Peru hit 5 degrees above average, outpacing the abnormally warm temperatures seen at this time of year in 1997, which developed into the strongest El Niño on record” (latimes.com). California and a majority of South America have gotten unusual rainfall since January because of this El Nino effect. “Mudslides, heavy rainfall, one storm after another like a conveyor belt,” is how they described the oncoming weather for the Western region. This rise in sea temperature did not just cause heavy rainfall in the western states and the South America countries but caused droughts in places like Australia and Indonesia. The frequency of category 4 and 5 hurricanes have been more common since the early 80’s. “El Niño has already
Climate change has been linked to increased extreme weather events such as; Hurricanes, tornadoes, torrential rains, flooding, and drought. These are all very debilitating to the communities they ravage through. The impact of California’s drought on the economy has cost the state about 603 million, with 4,700 job losses and a 550 million bill directly dealing with drought related cost. Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms