Today’s Forecast
Good morning and happy Wednesday! I hope everyone has had an amazing week so far and has enjoyed some of the warmer temperatures! Today will hit the warmest it has been in a while with highs in the lower 60s and mostly sunny skies. Lows will be in the mid 40s with mostly cloudy skies throughout the night. With a shortwave shortly moving into the area, chances for showers start to go up starting Thursday night. Throughout tomorrow cloudiness will increase, with highs in the lower 60s and lows in the lower 50s. Into this weekend, temps remain in the lower 60s with continuous chances for rain.
Recent Wild Weather
The wildest weather this week could be found in Southern California, with the hardest hit area being Los Angeles. Torrential rains and hurricane force winds made their way into the area when a powerful atmosphere river storm hit. Atmospheric river storms are created when wide-reaching plumes of moisture act as a firehose, loading up with warm air from the tropics and unloading them both drenching the land with rainfall. These types of storms are very popular on the West Coast. This system is currently causing major, downed trees, flooding, and mudslides to occur. Rainfall totals over the 4th and 5th of February hit just over the 12″ mark, making this the third wettest consecutive two-day total since official weather records began in 1877, and the highest two-day rainfall total for the month of February. There have been 4 deaths associated with this storm, and more rainfall is still expected in the futurecast. There are evacuation orders or warnings in place in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and San Bernardino counties.
Wild Weather this Day in History
On February 7, 1959 a man named Gary was rushed into the emergency room with frozen hands, feet, and arms. He had spent the night in his car in subzero temperatures. Subzero temps in the U.S. is any temperature reaching below 0° Fahrenheit. It is never safe to attempt to stay in your car overnight in these kinds of weather conditions, but in dire circumstances you should always be prepared just in case. First, make sure your vehicle is prepared for travel in the winter. You can do this by checking that your battery, lights, heating/cooling system, windshield wipers, and tires are all in good working condition. You should also make sure that you have any necessary supplies should you get into an accident or become stranded. These supplies can include: an ice scraper, snow shovel, something to catch traction (many people suggest kitty litter), flashlight, blankets, water, non perishable snacks, first aid kit, reflectors, etc. There are lots of helpful resources online to help you further decide how to best prepare for travel during the frigid winter months.
I hope everyone has an amazing rest of the week and stays dry from any rain that moves in!
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/05/us/california-atmospheric-river-flooding.html https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-02-05/california-storm-weather-los-angeles-2024
