Ride across California on the back of the wind and learn about the dramatic impact that seasonal weather and climate change have on the Golden State.
‘Selby’s greatest gift to readers is to reveal the climate as an indomitable equalizer.’ — Los Angeles Times
Often stereotyped as the land of unflaggingly perfect weather, California has a world-renowned reputation for sunny blue skies and infinitely even-keeled temperatures. But the real story of the state’s weather is vastly more complex. From the scorching heat of Death Valley to the coastal redwoods’ dripping in dew, California is home to a dizzying array of landscapes and bespoke weather patterns. In The California Sky Watcher, earth scientist William A. Selby takes readers on a journey through the seasons and across the state, exploring the atmospheric science that connects us all under our single sky dome.
With more than 125 photographs, diagrams, and explanatory charts, Selby guides us through the grand cycles that govern the world we see, feel, and hear every day, from the cirrus clouds that swirl overhead to the breezes that beckon us outside. Unraveling the mysteries behind the state’s fog, floods, fires, droughts, and snowstorms, Selby shares his love affair with the sky and reveals what these changeable energies forecast for the future of California’s climate.
विषयसूची
INTRODUCTION: Connecting to our Atmosphere
CHAPTER ONE: Summer’s Stable Drought
- When High Pressure Controls our Weather
- Power of the Gyre
- Marine Layer Madness
- Blocking the Sea Breeze
- Baseball Weather…or Not
- The Marine Layer Owns Us
- Pushing into Hotter Inland Valleys
- Harnessing the Wind
- Worlds away from the Ocean
- Moving On Up
- Thunder and Turbulence Interrupts Summer’s Tranquility
- Shocking Thunderstorm Science
- When the Tropics Invade California
- Washoe Zephyr Wind Mysteries and Legends
- Falling out of Summer and into the Arms of Autumn
CHAPTER TWO: Autumn’s Windy Metamorphoses
- How does Air Pressure Command our Winds and Weather?
- Looking for Signs of Change
- Pressure and Wind Patterns Reverse
- Clearing the Great Barriers, Heading for the Coast
- Blasting into the Southland
- Celebrating Autumn, Preparing for Winter
- A Time to Burn
- Wind beneath their Wings: Using Meteorological Skills to Survive Challenging
- Times
- Changing Weather Patterns Shape Moods and Holiday Traditions
- Signpost Clouds: Harbingers of Seasonal Change
- Night Moves Reveal Nocturnal and Seasonal Moods
- Blazing a Jet Trail
- Will Beauty or Beast bring the Season’s First Quenching Rains?
CHAPTER THREE: Winter’s Nourishing Turbulence
- Winter’s Storm Door Opens to End the Endless Summer
- Made for and by the Rain
- Ocean Cycles Change Weather and Climate
- Moving to the Dry Side
- Life Cycles of California Storms
- Optical Phenomena May Help Us Anticipate Weather Changes
- Following our Winter Storms as They Hit the Slopes
- Winter’s Cold and Fog Settle into Inland Valleys
- Winter’s Storms Finally Meet our Highest and Largest Walls
- Averting the Deadliest Natural Disaster in California History
- Farther East, Stuck in the Rain Shadow Again
- Winter Storms Arrive in Southern California
- Every Storm makes Magic in our Climate of Change
- Springing and Singing into Spring
CHAPTER FOUR: Spring’s Bright Reawakening
- Resurgence Begins in Baja
- Spring Advances into Transmontane California
- Desert Spring Migrates North and Uphill
- Seasonal Fits and Starts Power Energetic Winds
- Spring Fever Chases Retreating Snow Lines
- Following Spring in Coastal California
- Coastal Currents and Eddies Churn Things Up
- Plunging North into our Weather-making California Current
- Making Waves
- Restless Wind Takes Control Again
- Iconic Plants Signal Mild Coastal Climates
- Spring Spreads into Inland Valleys
- What is Earthquake Weather?
- Following Spring and its Water into the High Country
- Runoff Timing is Everything
- How to Make it Rain or Snow
- Ending our Journey, but the Show Must Go On
CHAPTER FIVE: Demystifying Weather Forecasting and Climate Change
- And Now, Here’s My Forecast
- A Brief History of Weather Forecasting in California
- Weather Forecasting in the 21st Century
- Interpreting the Forecast
- The Science of Climate Change in California
- What are the Natural Causes of Climate Change?
- What are the Main Causes of Climate Change Today?
- Anticipating the Future
- How is Climate Change Affecting California?
- California’s Landscapes and People React and Adapt to Climate Change
- Adaptation and Mitigation
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
APPENDIX: California’s Diverse Climates in Maps and Graphs
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sources and Recommendations for Further Reading
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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William A. Selby is an earth science researcher and teacher. A former professor at Santa Monica College, where he taught for three decades, Selby is the author of the popular textbook Rediscovering the Golden State: California Geography, whose fourth edition was published in 2019. He has conducted research on behalf of the National Weather Service, and he continues to present at professional conferences and lead teacher trainings and docent workshops. His academic and practical expertise within California’s myriad landscapes make him an invaluable guide to the developments that are changing California’s climate in the twenty-first century. He lives in Santa Monica, CA.
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