Extreme weather is becoming far more common in California today than it was in the past, according to a new study of changing conditions in the Golden State. Heat waves, droughts and other dramatic weather events are likely to occur more often in the near future, investigators concluded.
Droughts have already become more common in recent decades, including the recent spell that resulted in significant damage to crops and livestock in the state.
The highest temperatures in California were found to be associated with areas of high atmospheric pressure known as blocking regions. One of these, associated with the latest round of dry conditions, is known as the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, or Triple R.
These ridges can also be responsible for bringing about other weather-related events that can damage the landscape as well as affect agricultural production.
"Atmospheric circulation patterns are associated with various weather and climate events, ranging from flash floods caused by single-day downpours to multi-year, continent-wide droughts," Noah Diffenbaugh of Stanford University said.
Researchers examined historical records of wind patterns around the time of extreme weather events in the nation's most populous state. They took this data, and compared it to records from recent years, in order to determine if these conditions were seen more often over the last couple of decades. After examining data recorded between 1949 and 2015, researchers determined conditions that bring about extreme weather conditions have become more common in recent years.
Although drought conditions have recently lessened in California with the arrival of rain and snow, the state is still far from full recovery.
The rainy season in California runs from October to May each year. During that time, a large portion of annual precipitation comes from just a handful of events. Therefore, a reduction of just a few precipitation events can have disastrous consequences on the water table in the Golden State.
However, what the Stanford researchers found is that California is not only likely to see more droughts than normal, but the state is also likely to experience more years with extreme levels of precipitation, as well. Because of this, California could experience significant damage at times from the extreme weather conditions.
Investigation of weather patterns and ridges affecting California was published in the journal Science Advances.
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