What happened to L.A.'s 'perfect' Mediterranean weather? Humidity challenges a birthright
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Set us as preferred Southern California was built on many myths — but its weather was not one of them.Generations were lured to the region with promises of perfect weather, that “mild Mediterranean-type climate” that could heal the sick and grow practically everything.The railroads advertised the L.A.
climate as a last resort for the world’s sickly.It was the place where rained-out sporting events and umbrellas at the Rose Parade were so rare they were occasions for big news.
Sure, it could get hot.But, as the boosters always said, “at least it’s a dry heat.” So what went so very wrong this year?The oppressive moisture in Southern California’s air this week has felt more like Florida and the Gulf Coast, with many remarking that this is the worst, most powerful humidity they’ve ever felt.
Scientists suspect that the combination of high heat and a suffocating deep-tropical air mass will be considered the worst humidity the region has experienced in the modern era.“These are some of the highest humidities we’ve ever experienced in coastal Southern California.
There’s already some evidence that this summer has been, at least at some locations in Southern California, the most humid summer on record,” said UC climate scientist Daniel Swain.And it could be a grim preview of things to come.
Climate change has been heating up Southern California for some time, heightening fire danger and worsening droughts.With a very strong El Niño climate pattern predicted this winter, experts expect significant — and possibly historic — damage on the California coast.
“And the reality is, in some of these cases, we may not be able to do much at this point to engineer a way out of quite-serious coastal flooding, beach erosion, bluff collapses later this winter,” Swain said.“It’s going to be a real problem....