Category Archives: San Francisco Rainfall

California Drought Update February 2015

Posted on March 1, 2015 by gymnosperm

It seems from the great wailing and moaning that we have arrived at a new definition of drought. The new definition is whatever is inconvenient for 30 million people regardless how much rain falls. I am a big fan of … Continue reading →

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California Drought Update Early March

Posted on March 7, 2014 by gymnosperm

San Francisco did break the record of 1917 as of January, but just barely. Had the rains begun a day earlier as forecast, the monthly record would have held. Anyway, the drought is definitely not the end of life as we … Continue reading →

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A New Feature of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation?

Posted on January 24, 2014 by gymnosperm

We learn about things in mundane ways. Our conception of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) began with fish. Salmon are absolutely delicious. Tough handed people venture into dangerous conditions to catch them for us. It became apparent to the tough … Continue reading →

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Some Things We’ve Noticed About the California Drought

Posted on January 17, 2014 by gymnosperm

California is a drought state. Our so called “Mediterranean” climate falls in a global zone just poleward of the great deserts and along the western continental margins that is characterized by winter rain and summer drought. Should we be surprised … Continue reading →

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A Very Dry Season in California

Posted on January 9, 2014 by gymnosperm

The pre-Columbian California native people had a mystical and cultural relationship to the climate that did not involve measuring rainfall. The Franciscan fathers were on their own spiritual quest, and while they sometimes recorded wine production at the missions, they didn’t record … Continue reading →

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