I’M A BROADCAST METEOROLOGIST AND I’M ALARMED

There’s no doubt it has been a sobering and historic 2020 for numerous reasons, and weather in California is no exception. As a meteorologist, I am alarmed by the oppressive heat and endless fire weather patterns. As a mother, I am concerned when the skies are plagued with haze and the air quality is persistently poor. As a wife, I worry about my husband who suffers from asthma.

Following the hottest August on record in California, September also seared its way into the record books. The hot temperatures in San Diego County, exacerbated by Santa Ana winds, prompted early season fire danger. Keep in mind, we are classified as a Mediterranean climate with hot, mostly sunny and dry summers, followed by cooler and wetter winters. San Diego is essentially “rainless” in the summertime, with averages of less than 0.10 inches of precipitation in June, July and August. That climate type translates to very dry vegetation and any added heat or offshore winds are bound to stir up problems, such as happened, most notably, on a scorching Labor Day weekend when all unwelcome ingredients came together for a historic firestorm. Parts of Southern California experienced the hottest day in history that Saturday. Temperatures hit 113°F in Alpine and 114°F in El Cajon. Likewise, a blazing 122°F was recorded in Palm Springs, breaking the previous record from 1955.

From Washington to California, we saw all-time record heat and unprecedented fire spread, including the ignition of the destructive Valley Fire here in East County on Sept. 5. The Labor Day holiday quickly took a hazy turn as smoke enveloped much of the county, prompting smoke advisories and potential health impacts. The following week brought a more significant toll on air quality as additional, larger fires raged across the Western states. While San Diegans enjoyed some amazing red sunsets, the historic fires personally left my family reaching for inhalers, limiting time outdoors and keeping the windows closed up. That’s not fun for anyone, especially during a pandemic when stay-at-home restrictions are already chip

ping away at our sanity.

A lot of people ask me, “What’s going on with the relentless heatwaves?” First off, a heatwave is defined as a period when temperatures are higher than their historical average for generally two or more days. According to Glynn Hulley, a climate researcher at NASA’S Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NOAA climate data from 1950 to 2020 shows heatwaves are becoming more frequent, more intense, longer lasting, and increasing in overnight temperature and humidity, specifically in urban areas of Southern California. You may remember those warm and muggy September nights here in San Diego!

In addition to a notable warming trend, California remains the most populous state in our nation. As population grows, people are leaving big cities and establishing communities near the forests and wild lands, which contributes to a higher risk of larger and more destructive fires. As we’ve seen time and time again, fires can occur by malicious or accidental intentions — such as arson, discarded cigarettes, unattended campfires, burning debris, a spark from a car or lawnmower, and, more recently, pyrotechnic devices used at gender-reveal parties. So 2020, right? One Instagram-worthy event sadly ignited the El Dorado Fire in the Yucaipa area of

San Bernardino County and one firefighter — a San Diego native — lost his life fighting the blaze.

In the state, there have been over 8,500 wildfires that have burned well over 4.1 million acres this year. Per Cal Fire, that’s more than double the previous record of 1.67 million acres in 2018, and we still have a ways to go. California’s fire history shows us that the deadliest and most destructive blazes happen at the tail end of the dry season, September to December. We are also in a La Niña climate pattern — a natural cycle marked by cooler-thanaverage ocean water temperatures in the central Pacific — one of the main drivers of weather globally, especially during the late fall and winter. La Niña tends to bring persistent dry weather to Southern California during a time when our rain barrels are thirstier than ever. We’ve already seen that trend here in October.

While wildfires are a natural part of the California landscape, Cal Fire reports the length of fire season is estimated to have increased by 75 days across the Sierra. Any additional fires will continue to generate more smoke in the atmosphere, limiting those “chamber of commerce,” glorious blue sky days in the Golden State. Most concerning, the smoke can be dangerous to our health, especially to vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and those with underlying health issues.

Educating ourselves, recognizing the challenges before us and facing them head-on are the first steps toward a healthier future climate.