Air temperatures blazing. Water temp is like bathwater. What’s happening California? Photo: Shutterstock
If you live in Southern California, then you may have noticed some abnormal temperatures of late. We’re well into October and yet the ocean and the air feel like it’s mid July. In parts of the state, highs have been tiptoeing into the triple digits and the ocean feels like bathwater. Residents everywhere are fanning themselves while eating their kale salads, blasting the AC in their hybrid vehicles, and obsessively gabbing about this “crazy weather we’re having (like, OMG).”
So far, 2015 is shaping up to be the hottest year ever for California, beating the previous record, which was set way back when in 2014. And while talking about the hot weather is beginning to sound (in more than one way) like a broken record, people are starting to worry. Things like the drought, El Niño, global warming, and our impending ecological doom are coming into question. But while the four horsemen of the environmental apocalypse aren’t yet galloping down Santa Monica Blvd., weapons ablaze, the current weather is unprecedented and worth discussing. So let’s break it down:
What’s causing it?
Batten down the hatches, people. We’re in for a big one.
In short, El Niño. And a freakishly strong one at that. The west coast has been abuzz regarding reports about this year’s “Godzilla El Niño,” and for good reason. It’s shaping up to be even larger than the environmental anomaly that occurred in 1997-98. El Niño occurs when a strip of abnormally warm water amasses around the equator, sending high-pressure storms, large waves, and warm weather north.
In addition to the blast of warm water and weather from El Niño, a pocket of heated ocean water has collected off of the Pacific Northwest. Dubbed “the blob,” this 500-mile wide, 300-feet deep mass of warm water has depleted nutrients, causing a bane on wildlife, and sent some whacky weather towards the coast.
Then there’s the elephant in the room, global warming. According to a report from NASA, the 10 warmest years in the last 134-year period have all have occurred since 2000. So, there’s that.
How long will it last?
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the hot weather will continue into the winter. But we’ll also experience heavy rains, too. Photo: NOAA
As we ease into winter, the warmer temperatures are expected to continue but we can also anticipate some precipitation. So while it will be an above-average winter in terms of temperature, there will be some showers to cool everything down. If you’re sick of the heat, you might want to giddyup on over to Texas where El Niño creates cooler than normal temperatures.
In a report issued today, NOAA’s deputy director Mike Halpert also anticipates a coming shift in temperature. “While temperature and precipitation impacts associated with El Niño are favored, El Niño is not the only player,” Halpert stated. “Cold-air outbreaks and snow storms will likely occur at times this winter.”
Are we all gonna die?!?
Is we living through the start of the environmental apocalypse? Photo: Peter Tarr
Eventually, yes. Everyone dies. But you will likely survive the coming months…if you’re careful. The 1997-98 El Niño was responsible for 17 storm-related deaths and this year is supposed to even stronger. Add in the fact that people in California don’t know how to drive in stormy weather and the large surf headed our way – both of those will surely account for a few more casualties.
But is this strange weather the beginning of the end? Are we about to experience a real-world version of The Day After Tomorrow? Hath the almighty stricken down his wrath upon thee? While all this might happen one day (especially if we’re not careful about our impact on the environment), the ecological “end of days” is likely a little ways down the road. After all, every few years an El Niño season comes along; it’s nothing new. Just wait till a plague of locusts shows up and it starts raining fire, then we can start to panic…or pray.
