Category: Extremes
Being Human in Big Weather
When it rained this May, it felt unexpected. Based on over 150 years of climate data for San Francisco, May typically gets several days with a light rain. But context is key, and we are coming out of three years of drought—a fact which will generally color memories in a drier hue. “If I’ve learned anything it is that people’s perceptions are usually wrong,” says Jan Null….
Return of a Lost Lake
On the heels of the worst drought in 1,200 years, Tulare Lake, at the southern end of California’s San Joaquin Valley, filled and filled again in the heavy rains and runoff, inundating over 100,000 acres. As the Sierra snowpack melts over the next few months, the lake could spread, prompting water managers and locals to reconsider the future of this lake, long thought “dead.”
Why California’s Water Extremes Are Wilder than Ever — And What We Can Do About It
While alternating between drought and deluge is nothing new for California, climate change is making these swings even more dramatic. New research and new policies will help the state prepare as the boom and bust cycle grows ever wilder.
All Stories
Unpacking the Hold Up on Heat Protection for Indoor Workers
A long queue of indoor laborers pleaded with the Standards Board of the Cal OSHA last spring to implement long-awaited rules, developed almost five years ago, to protect workers from heat.
Being Human in Big Weather
When it rained this May, it felt unexpected. Based on over 150 years of climate data for San Francisco, May typically gets several days with a light rain. But context is key, and we are coming out of three years of drought—a fact which will generally color memories in a drier hue. “If I’ve learned anything it is that people’s perceptions are usually wrong,” says Jan Null….
Return of a Lost Lake
On the heels of the worst drought in 1,200 years, Tulare Lake, at the southern end of California’s San Joaquin Valley, filled and filled again in the heavy rains and runoff, inundating over 100,000 acres. As the Sierra snowpack melts over the next few months, the lake could spread, prompting water managers and locals to reconsider the future of this lake, long thought “dead.”
Why California’s Water Extremes Are Wilder than Ever — And What We Can Do About It
While alternating between drought and deluge is nothing new for California, climate change is making these swings even more dramatic. New research and new policies will help the state prepare as the boom and bust cycle grows ever wilder.
Safer at School from Wildfire Smoke?
Research confirms the drastic impacts wildfire smoke has had on school learning. But 16 East Bay schools now have updated air filters and more actions are in the pipeline statewide.
My Neighborhood Wised Up to Fire
When we fled the house in the Santa Cruz mountains that we had been living in for just nine months, we knew exactly two of our neighbors.
Extremes-in-3D
In Part 1 FIRE, KneeDeep explores where to expect debris flows from burn scars, how one neighborhood became fire wise, and what schools are doing to become safe havens.
California Reeling: When Mudslides Follow Wildfires
Curtis Skene experienced loss and adaptation first hand after the deadly Montecito mudslide in 2018. The slide was triggered by a cascade of extreme events and climate change heightens the risk they will converge again.
Warming to Managed Retreat
To own beachfront property was once a crown jewel of the California dream. Now, many homes at or near the water’s edge are doomed as sea level rises, and for residents, evacuations will be inevitable. In Pacifica, there is talk of moving an entire beachfront neighborhood, and near Bodega Bay, homes have already been abandoned, and roadway managers are breaking ground on rerouting a short but vulnerable stretch of the coastal highway.