South Wind

 An Unusually Rainy Day in Cairo, Egypt - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

fliesinyoureyes.com

In California’s Central Valley a south wind means rain.  Normally from late March through early November a high pressure system with its perpetual northwest wind settles over the West and drives all precipitation from the Pacific Ocean into the Canada and the Pacific Northwest.  From November through March the high pressure weakens and moves eastward, giving the San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains a chance for rain and snow.

Low pressure weather systems spell relief for Mediterranean climates.  Unlike high pressure systems which spin clockwise and bring dry, sunny weather, these winds swirl in a counter clockwise motion.  As a low approaches the coast of California from the Pacific, the leading edge winds are southerly.  The low barometric pressure within the system draws moist air from the Pacific and sends it skyward where it condenses into water and falls to earth.  As the storm continues eastward, the winds relent as the center of the system passes overhead.  Finally, the trailing edge with its reverse northerly wind signals the conclusion of the storm and a return to fair weather.

This winter the south winds did not come to California.  Day after day the weather was delightful with sunny skies, wispy clouds moving overhead, and the same relentless northwest wind.  The mountains were snowless and the lowlands bone dry.  California was rolling the dice again, struggling to capture enough water behind its limited reservoir capacity to survive the drought.  Fortunately, last year’s rainy season brought near record precipitation which kept reservoirs unusually full, but could the state withstand two consecutive dry years or three or four?

Then in April, long after major storms come, the south winds arrived.  Over a period of five days, two inches of rain fell on the San Joaquin Valley, five feet of snow at the local ski area, and even more of the white stuff in the High Sierra. 

The local paper, The Fresno Bee, which never saw a cup that was not half empty, downplayed the turn of events as too little too late.  Due to the risky weather patterns of the American West, one would think the area’s major newspaper would support the agricultural industry and advocate public works projects to provide a steady, predictable source of water.  However, its left leaning editors and reporters are content to harp on us for watering lawns and flushing toilets.

In California we should save for the not-so-rainy days, not just hope and pray for rain and snow.  Conservation is an essential part of the solution, but in a state of 38 million people and rising, it will only go so far, because no politician or advocacy group can summon the south wind.