Did I mention that Southern California is fucked when it comes to rain?

[maxxpower]

I don't know what to say anymore. Like I've mentioned before, I really let the weather and climate affect my mood and overall mental health, I can't help it, this shit isn't normal or natural, and this 'winter' has been really depressing for me. I definitely have considered moving to the PNW just to salvage my mental health considering this is just the beginning of what global warming will have to offer.

I ask myself, with California having so many sunny days, why aren't we getting at least 75% of our energy from renewable sources? There should be miles of solar panels out there and also add a shitload of wind energy turbines in the antelope valley and anywhere else that gets really windy. This summer (hell, even before then we'll start seeing record-high temperatures and wildfires) will be brutal and we can't keep relying on PG&E and hoping they don't shut down power for days or weeks at a time. Not to mention that it would affect covid vaccine distribution.

I feel like California isn't doing enough (or anything at all) to start gaining on global warming.

 

[maxxpower]

Bumping to see if anyone has any comments.

 

[Glimlocker]

This is for LA - so it doesn't necessarily apply to SLO - but there have been many dry Februarys before: Historical LA Rainfall
However, there's usually more rainfall in the months preceding, so this is especially rough.

But, I'm right there with you.
This is a pretty miserable winter for rain.

Only thing we can do right now is hope March is better. Or the next few years.

Although, last time I checked, next year is predicted to be a La Niña, too.

 

[cubicle47b]

I'm in Antelope Valley. I think it has only rained once this year. It's definitely concerning, but I've only been here for a year and don't really know what to expect.

 

[elLOaSTy]

This is for LA - so it doesn't necessarily apply to SLO - but there have been many dry Februarys before: Historical LA Rainfall
However, there's usually more rainfall in the months preceding, so this is especially rough.

But, I'm right there with you.
This is a pretty miserable winter for rain.

Only thing we can do right now is hope March is better. Or the next few years.

Although, last time I checked, next year is predicted to be a La Niña, too.

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The most recent model I looked at was suggesting this is the downward tail of it, so next year could be better. I will say it's the driest year Ive ever had in the 10 years out here. I moved here at the end of the last major cycle when there were big droughts and the following years we had massive rain for a couple years. I'm hoping we can get back to that sooner than later.

Geoengineering is going to become so fascinating in the next decade when humanity has to say fuck it lets try and see what we can do.

 

[Glimlocker]

The most recent model I looked at was suggesting this is the downward tail of it, so next year could be better. I will say it's the driest year Ive ever had in the 10 years out here. I moved here at the end of the last major cycle when there were big droughts and the following years we had massive rain for a couple years. I'm hoping we can get back to that sooner than later.

Geoengineering is going to become so fascinating in the next decade when humanity has to say fuck it lets try and see what we can do.

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I'm beginning to wonder if some sort of artificial weather is the only way to go in the future.

I haven't read anything too promising - it seems like we can currently only create rain if conditions are just right for it.

Anyways, for now, let's just hope March brings more rain and that next year is better for us over here in CA.

I think it's going to be a rough wildfire year regardless, though.

 

[Homekoro]

SOCAL continues to become a desert each year. When my family moved to SLO in 2000, I fell in love with the emerald hills and flower blooms in spring. Not so much the last decade; the decline in precipitation has been deeply upsetting.

 

[studyguy]

Cold, dry winters this year seemed less concerning since no one was really going outside, but it's bad. If you hike our mountain biking though, you see it everywhere out in southern CA. I was joking for a good while there that I hadn't gone mountain biking in the rain since thanksgiving 2019, it really was a parched year. Normally for my work right now we're dealing with winter berries but the rough winds in the county are basically killing early crops and the dry spells are causing some clients to upend their usual plantings and opting for different crops this time around. It's bizarre.

 

[elLOaSTy]

I'm beginning to wonder if some sort of artificial weather is the only way to go in the future.

I haven't read anything too promising - it seems like we can currently only create rain if conditions are just right for it.

Anyways, for now, let's just hope March brings more rain and that next year is better for us over here in CA.

I think it's going to be a rough wildfire year regardless, though.

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100% There's more large scale things they can do but we're talking wild west of geoengineering. That's the kinda shit we'll see in 30-40 years when we have to just say fuck it we're screwed if we do nothing.

Im getting way more emergency prepped after this last fire season and seeing TX. Extra food, water, water purification, two giant ass backup power batteries ect. After the 115 degree heat in the valley this summer and we lost power I won't be risking that nonsense again.

 

[Shogun]

Come live in the UK and you will soon have enough of the rain. Wake up to a nice sunny fresh morning and by 1pm it's pissing down.

 

[maxxpower]

I'm beginning to wonder if some sort of artificial weather is the only way to go in the future.

I haven't read anything too promising - it seems like we can currently only create rain if conditions are just right for it.

Anyways, for now, let's just hope March brings more rain and that next year is better for us over here in CA.

I think it's going to be a rough wildfire year regardless, though.

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I mean, if we can figure out a way to control atmospheric pressure systems then we can push that goddamn high pressure ridge the fuck out of California and allow some storms to come through. We also have to get the CO2 levels down though. With a hotter atmosphere it will be harder to get precipitation that actually fall all the way to the ground.

 

[pillowtalk]

When I was growing up around san francisco there used to be heavy fog almost everyday, and even down the peninsula. Hasn't really been like that in 15 years.

 

[Jon Carter]

I don't know what to say anymore. Like I've mentioned before, I really let the weather and climate affect my mood and overall mental health, I can't help it, this shit isn't normal or natural, and this 'winter' has been really depressing for me. I definitely have considered moving to the PNW just to salvage my mental health

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I understand we need rain, but as someone who moved to L.A. in 2007 after spending the first 18 years of his life in the notoriously rainy North of France, I still can't relate to that feeling at all. This winter has been the exact opposite for me. I've been loving the sun and dreading every rainy day, the few there have been. I know you're right in the end, but I just had enough rain for a lifetime back in France.

 

[Saganator]

When I was growing up around san francisco there used to be heavy fog almost everyday, and even down the peninsula. Hasn't really been like that in 15 years.

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Really? That's crazy to me, and sad. I grew up in San Jose in the 90s and one of my strongest memories of the bay area is the morning fog.

 

[Jogi]

I understand we need rain, but as someone who moved to L.A. in 2007 after spending the first 18 years of his life in the notoriously rainy North of France, I still can't relate to that feeling at all. This winter has been the exact opposite for me. I've been loving the sun and dreading every rainy day, the few there have been. I know you're right in the end, but I just had enough rain for a lifetime back in France.

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Yeah. It is possible to enjoy, but still understand that absolute disastrous impacts of it. I came from an extremely rainy place as well and loved the weather when I moved to SoCal, but now I am praying for rain. Recent wildfires are only going to get worse and worse. Sad what the future holds with things we can and cannot control.

 

[maxxpower]

I understand we need rain, but as someone who moved to L.A. in 2007 after spending the first 18 years of his life in the notoriously rainy North of France, I still can't relate to that feeling at all. This winter has been the exact opposite for me. I've been loving the sun and dreading every rainy day, the few there have been. I know you're right in the end, but I just had enough rain for a lifetime back in France.

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It's just weird wondering if we'll even get any rain for the year. Like I can't imagine living in Seattle or the UK and just saying "well it's raining again".

 

[eyeball_kid]

The lack of real seasons in SoCal has always worn on me. But I've been here a long time, and in the past decade I've noticed that heat has become much worse on average. Springtime used to be pretty mild, but can now be in the 90s in March and April and continue on through summer.

 

[Deleted member 35987]

CA has the money, tech and man power to start addressing this issues, but we are stuck building a stupid fkn train that no one wants.

 

[Booshka]

Cadillac Desert was an amazing book for me to read to learn about just how fucked LA and most of the Southwest is in regards to water.

 

[Glimlocker]

The lack of real seasons in SoCal has always worn on me. But I've been here a long time, and in the past decade I've noticed that heat has become much worse on average. Springtime used to be pretty mild, but can now be in the 90s in March and April and continue on through summer.

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I haven't looked too close at the temperatures, but here's the historical LA monthly temp. averages:

LA Historical Temperatures

Looks like we've had a few warm months lately though I don't immediately see anything historical.

 

[guacamole party]

Grew up in SoCal and one of the reasons I moved away was its distinct lack of seasons - enjoy them too much to not have them. Hot all the time is no fun for me.

 

[Bebpo]

It's definitely dry AF. Even with humidifiers and not running heaters as much as possible I'm struggling to keep humidity even in my place because it's just so damn dry.

Really concerned for this years fire season. Last years was the worst I've ever seen and I don't see how this years won't be even worse. Basically can't open windows for 6 months because the air quality is so bad.

 

[Jon Carter]

I can feel distinct seasons in L.A., but it's not summer, autumn, winter and spring. It's like mid-July to early October is summer, then early October to late March is an unpredictable mess, and April to July is spring.

 

[Pomerlaw]

I'm beginning to wonder if some sort of artificial weather is the only way to go in the future.

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I would say yes, but not because of current climate change.

We know the solutions and they exist. What is missing right now is not really the tech. It's a socio-political issue. We need political will. Of course cool tech is always a plus.

But for the future? Hell yeah we need to look into geoengineering. The next climate problem may be a natural one. What if in 2100 a new Ice Age begins? Are we going to let our cities and millions of people die because it's "natural"?

Edit : I hope you get more rain :(

 

[Glimlocker]

Just a reminder that California is in for a really rough summer.

This is by far the least amount of rain I've see here - it's absolutely unreal and quite scary.

Drove up a bit of the coast a few weeks ago and everything was still dry and dead. Crazy stuff.

 

[Replicant]

When I was growing up around san francisco there used to be heavy fog almost everyday, and even down the peninsula. Hasn't really been like that in 15 years.

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Really? The week I was there just a few years ago it was foggy every single morning and sometimes there was a day or two of foggy days

 

[maxxpower]

Just a reminder that California is in for a really rough summer.

This is by far the least amount of rain I've see here - it's absolutely unreal and quite scary.

Drove up a bit of the coast a few weeks ago and everything was still dry and dead. Crazy stuff.

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Probably in for a rough spring. I could see the fire season starting a lot earlier, especially given how windy it's been.

 

[Mandos]

Just a reminder that California is in for a really rough summer.

This is by far the least amount of rain I've see here - it's absolutely unreal and quite scary.

Drove up a bit of the coast a few weeks ago and everything was still dry and dead. Crazy stuff.

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Yeah my area was spared any major fires last year(SBC), but we had just enough rain that with the winds picking up early that if we don't get another week or two of rain fires could start up as early as next month and the entire area is prime for some nasty ones. Combine that with next season being prime for rain... well yeah going to be a rough year, wouldn't be surprised to see half the coast covered in smoke in under a month

 

[akilshohen]

Been in LA for almost 10 years now and the weather makes my eczema go crazy.

I know it's the climate because when I went to Japan and the UK, everything went away.

 

[Spine E Lobster]

Obviously we need the rain, and the fires because it's been so dry have been out of control with terrible air quality somedays. With that being said my family absolutely loves the weather. We live near the beach, 2 kids in competitive sports and I can't even remember the last time games were rained out. Everyday we walk the dogs I actually can't believe how nice the weather is. I'll enjoy it while it's here

 

[Mulligan]

If no drastic changes are made in the next 5-10 years when it comes to oil consumption, the American southwest (particularly Arizona) and parts of the California Valley will be uninhabitable.

Like the ecosystem cannot handle months without substantial rain.

 

[TheMadTitan]

Everyone in the Southwest US needs to pool together to create desalination plants in every state, even the state not near water (Nevada), along with pipelines from the Pacific and the Gulf, and just pump water. Refill the Salton Sea, refill Lake Mead, and so on. And then the US government needs to subsidize the cost since those things are a money sink that don't provide profit, which is why no one wants to build them in numbers.

 

[KhrossSF]

When I was growing up around san francisco there used to be heavy fog almost everyday, and even down the peninsula. Hasn't really been like that in 15 years.

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nothing has really changed lol , the fog always broke up when you got to SFO airport. Living in South part of SF i get nothing but fog from sf to daly city all the way to SSF. when i head 2 miles downtown the fog breaks up right around 101/280 merge

 

[maxxpower]

Obviously we need the rain, and the fires because it's been so dry have been out of control with terrible air quality somedays. With that being said my family absolutely loves the weather. We live near the beach, 2 kids in competitive sports and I can't even remember the last time games were rained out. Everyday we walk the dogs I actually can't believe how nice the weather is. I'll enjoy it while it's here

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The weather is beautiful but I honestly can't enjoy it.

 

[Norwegian Rudo]

Everyone in the Southwest US needs to pool together to create desalination plants in every state, even the state not near water (Nevada), along with pipelines from the Pacific and the Gulf, and just pump water. Refill the Salton Sea, refill Lake Mead, and so on. And then the US government needs to subsidize the cost since those things are a money sink that don't provide profit, which is why no one wants to build them in numbers.

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I'm no expert, but from what I've read desalination plants take a massive amount of power, you need a ton of them to supply even a mid sized city and the runoff is so salty it kills everything in the sea anywhere close to the outlet. There needs to be massive technology improvement for them to be any sort of large scale answer.

 

[mbpm]

 

[Alcoremortis]

Everyone in the Southwest US needs to pool together to create desalination plants in every state, even the state not near water (Nevada), along with pipelines from the Pacific and the Gulf, and just pump water. Refill the Salton Sea, refill Lake Mead, and so on. And then the US government needs to subsidize the cost since those things are a money sink that don't provide profit, which is why no one wants to build them in numbers.

Click to shrink...

Desalination plants are really bad for the environment just for all the hot super salty water they're pouring back into the ocean. If there was some way of using this hot salty water in a linked plant to produce power or sea salt so there was no runoff, it might be more viable.

Or, alternatively, just extend the aqueduct further up to washington or canada. Tell Trudeau we will replace the oil pipeline with a water pipeline to BC.

 

[TheMadTitan]

I'm no expert, but from what I've read desalination plants take a massive amount of power, you need a ton of them to supply even a mid sized city and the runoff is so salty it kills everything in the sea anywhere close to the outlet. There needs to be massive technology improvement for them to be any sort of large scale answer.

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Bring them inland, then. Pump the water from the coast into say, Nevada, toss some plants there, funnel the water toward Lake Mead and make some silos for the salt. No need to throw that shit back into the ocean, send it off to be sold as food salt after whatever shit needs to be done to be such a thing, or industrial salt.

Having a plant on the coast for quick sucking up of water and disposing of waste isn't the only option for the plant. And we don't have the time for massive technological improvements because we fucked around too long, so we eat the cost of the energy, have the federal government subsidize cost, and we move toward alternative green energy sources so we can continue to power these massive energy sinks without relying entirely on coal and oil.

This would just be another cog in burning fossil fuels while we transition away from fossil fuels. And regardless of the cost, it's something that needed to be done ten years ago, otherwise me and several million other people won't be living where we're living in 20 years.

 

[DazzlerIE]

Desalination plants are really bad for the environment just for all the hot super salty water they're pouring back into the ocean. If there was some way of using this hot salty water in a linked plant to produce power or sea salt so there was no runoff, it might be more viable.

Or, alternatively, just extend the aqueduct further up to washington or canada. Tell Trudeau we will replace the oil pipeline with a water pipeline to BC.

Click to shrink...

It rains solidly here in BC all winter but we're getting longer, hotter summers now too. The wildfire smoke the last few years has been intolerable

 

[TheMadTitan]

Desalination plants are really bad for the environment just for all the hot super salty water they're pouring back into the ocean. If there was some way of using this hot salty water in a linked plant to produce power or sea salt so there was no runoff, it might be more viable.

Or, alternatively, just extend the aqueduct further up to washington or canada. Tell Trudeau we will replace the oil pipeline with a water pipeline to BC.

Click to shrink...

Don't put them on the coast. Pump water inland, build the plants there, dump the salt into a silo and then turn it into either an edible product or an industrial product.

 

[Alcoremortis]

It rains solidly here in BC all winter but we're getting longer, hotter summers now too. The wildfire smoke the last few years has been intolerable

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We got... like three days of rain in total in SoCal. pls sell us some water!

 

[teruterubozu]

I haven't looked too close at the temperatures, but here's the historical LA monthly temp. averages:

LA Historical Temperatures

Looks like we've had a few warm months lately though I don't immediately see anything historical.

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That's for just Downtown LA, which is like a 5 mile radius. The Inland Empire/San Fernando Valley I bet tells a much different story.

 

[crienne]

My family moved to Arizona when I was 2. When I was 29 I moved to SoCal for a job hoping for a slightly different weather experience. And sure, it doesn't hit 120 here but jesus it's still depressing as hell.

Luckily my current job is going to lead to relocation to Seattle later in the year so I'm looking forward to, finally, living in different climate.

 

[StereoVSN]

Everyone in the Southwest US needs to pool together to create desalination plants in every state, even the state not near water (Nevada), along with pipelines from the Pacific and the Gulf, and just pump water. Refill the Salton Sea, refill Lake Mead, and so on. And then the US government needs to subsidize the cost since those things are a money sink that don't provide profit, which is why no one wants to build them in numbers.

Click to shrink...

What do you do with the salt water that is a result of large scale desalination? It has potentially tremendous environmental effect.

 

[Alcoremortis]

Don't put them on the coast. Pump water inland, build the plants there, dump the salt into a silo and then turn it into either an edible product or an industrial product.

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Oh, I think they're kinda doing something like that to protect sea life. Thing is, that runs into money, so your water bill is going up. It's also worth noting these plants do not provide all that much water for what they do. The ones that currently exist can only serve suburban and urban requirements, not the much more significant demands of agriculture.

 

[Distantmantra]

My family moved to Arizona when I was 2. When I was 29 I moved to SoCal for a job hoping for a slightly different weather experience. And sure, it doesn't hit 120 here but jesus it's still depressing as hell.

Luckily my current job is going to lead to relocation to Seattle later in the year so I'm looking forward to, finally, living in different climate.

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The weather will definitely be different for you here in Seattle, but Central Washington is hit with yearly wildfires and Western Washington does get it's share of smoke. Just a heads up.

 

[TheMadTitan]

What do you do with the salt water that is a result of large scale desalination? It has potentially tremendous environmental effect.

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Not have it on the coast like I said a bunch of times in this thread already?

Oh, I think they're kinda doing something like that to protect sea life. Thing is, that runs into money, so your water bill is going up. It's also worth noting these plants do not provide all that much water for what they do. The ones that currently exist can only serve suburban and urban requirements, not the much more significant demands of agriculture.

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I'd rather my water bill go up than not have water.

As for the second part, that's why we need a lot.

And even just addressing the needs of cities would do a huge favor to Lake Mead given how many major metros are sucking water from that thing, not including Las Vegas.

And we could have expensive capturing facilities in the flood prone south to move water before it gets to be 20 feet high and consuming houses, pumping that across the country to be treated and shuttled off into reservoirs and dammed up lakes like Lake Mead, and doing the same in blizzard prone areas (especially areas not really accustomed to that level of snow but has been getting it for the past decade or so) to capture it there and move it.

Yeah, it's fucking expensive, but so is Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Phoenix all migrating because it's too dry.

 

[StereoVSN]

Not have it on the coast like I said a bunch of times in this thread already?

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Don't think you said it clearly when I replied, but anyways. This would take a whole lot of land though. Can't imagine property fights that would need to be completed to pump this. Then you have to deal with salt getting into ground water potentially or having very sophisticated plants to capture, convert and store huge amounts of this stuff. Desalination is already a very expensive process, including energy required.

 

[TheMadTitan]

Don't think you said it clearly when I replied, but anyways. This would take a whole lot of land though. Can't imagine property fights that would need to be completed to pump this. Then you have to deal with salt getting into ground water potentially or having very sophisticated plants to capture, convert and store huge amounts of this stuff. Desalination is already a very expensive process, including energy required.

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Well, it's a good thing most of Nevada and Arizona is empty, there's plenty of land. Salt water getting into the ground is a problem, but we could also not dump straight into the barren Earth. Capture the waste and pump that shit elsewhere to be turned into something else rather than just throwing it back out.

But yeah, this shit is expensive and requires all kinds of precise science, but millions of people being forced to move over lack of water isn't all that cheap, either.

 

[StereoVSN]

Well, it's a good thing most of Nevada and Arizona is empty, there's plenty of land. Salt water getting into the ground is a problem, but we could also not dump straight into the barren Earth. Capture the waste and pump that shit elsewhere to be turned into something else rather than just throwing it back out.

But yeah, this shit is expensive and requires all kinds of precise science, but millions of people being forced to move over lack of water isn't all that cheap, either.

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Oh, I don't disagree and it certainly should be part of a solution. Then again, we also should have high speed rail at least between SF and LA as well as between say DC and Boston, and yet here we are.

Hell, we have thousands of crumbling Dams, bridges and roads and we are doing fuck all with that. Now Biden is in, he is promising "infrastructure" improvements but I somehow doubt shit will happen as it didn't happen under Obama for the most part.

Building large scale desalination infrastructure would be a huge undertaking and I just don't see our Federal and Stage governments being sane enough to do it :(. Much the same with getting our national power grid under control, and many other things.

Edit: I mean, shit, our national Postal Service is about to make our postal deliveries even worse then they are since that clown DeJoy came into the office and Democrats aren't serious about removing him. And this is not even close to complexity of large scale desalination.