Guest essay by Larry Hamlin
The L A Times has been falsely hyping in numerous recent articles that the year 2023/2024 December through February California rainy season outcome is “supercharged” and “wild” based upon use of climate alarmism hyperbole that conceals extensive NOAA climate science precipitation data that clearly proves California’s most recent rainy season is in fact completely normal based on detailed and readily available NOAA rainfall records going back to year 1895.
These recent Times rainfall climate alarmist hyperbole articles are shown below and found here, here, here and here.
These L A Times articles provide absolutely no presentation of readily available, detailed, and extensive NOAA climate science precipitation data that addresses measured rainfall levels for the state of California, all 58 California County regions and numerous California City regions over the period from 1895 through February 2024.
This NOAA measured rainfall data concealed by the L A Times provides a clear climate science measured data record that establishes that the states rainy season between December 2023 through February 2024 is completely normal (unlike the climate alarmist hyperbole reflected in the Times recent articles noted above) based on comparisons to prior historical rainfall records for the state, the states 58 counties and numerous state cities including both Los Angeles and San Diego.
Shown below are NOAA precipitation records for the state of California for the rainfall period inclusive of December through February for the years 1895 through February 2024 which show the most recent December 2023 through February 2024 rainfall is unremarkable and well below prior year rainfall records experienced during this 3 month period as documented by NOAA’s more than century long California rainfall measurement database.
The most recent state rainfall period in California for the months from December 2023 through February 2024 totals 14.38 inches of rainfall which is only the 1,458 highest experienced rainfall during this most recent 3-month period out of the highest 1,548 measured 3-month periods between 1895 and 2024.
The highest ever recorded California rainfall over the period between December and February was 23.26 inches from December 1968 through February 1969 which is 162% greater than occurred between December 2023 and February 2024.
Shown below are the NOAA precipitation records for the County of Los Angeles for the rainfall period inclusive of December through February for the years 1895 through February 2024 which show the most recent December 2023 through February 2024 is unremarkable and well below prior year rainfall records experienced during this 3 month period.
The most recent state rainfall period for the County of Los Angeles for the months from December 2023 through February 2024 totals 15.12 inches of rainfall which is only the 1,491 highest experienced rainfall during this most recent 3-month period out of the highest 1,548 measured 3-month periods between 1895 and 2024.
The highest ever recorded Los Angeles County rainfall over the period between December and February was 27.43 inches from December 1992 through February 1993 which is 181% greater than occurred between December 2023 and February 2024.
Shown below are the NOAA precipitation records for the County of San Diego for the rainfall period inclusive of December through February for the years 1895 through February 2024 which show the most recent December 2023 through February 2024 is unremarkable and well below prior year rainfall records experienced during this 3 month period.
The most recent state rainfall period for the County of San Diego for the months from December 2023 through February 2024 totals 9.39 inches of rainfall which is only the 1,426 highest experienced rainfall during this most recent period out of the highest 1,548 measured 3-month periods between 1895 and 2024.
The highest ever recorded San Diego County rainfall over the period between December and February was 21.91 inches from December 1992 through February 1993 which is 2.3 times greater than occurred between December 2023 and February 2024.
Shown below are the NOAA precipitation records for the County of Ventura for the rainfall period inclusive of December through February for the years 1895 through February 2024 which show the most recent December 2023 through February 2024 is unremarkable and well below prior year rainfall records experienced during this 3 month period.
The most recent state rainfall period for the County of Ventura for the months from December 2023 through February 2024 totals 21.80 inches of rainfall which is only the 1,504 highest experienced rainfall during this most recent period out of the highest 1,548 measured 3-month periods between 1895 and 2024.
The highest ever recorded Ventura County rainfall over the period between December and February was 34.18 inches from December 1997 through February 1998 which is 157% greater than occurred between December 2023 and February 2024.
In fact, the NOAA rainfall data for all 58 Counties for California establishes that these counties experienced rainfall levels in the period between December 2023 and February 2024 that were far below prior NOAA measured highest rainfall values for this 3-month period that occurred between 1895 and 2024.
Shown below are the NOAA precipitation records for the City of Los Angeles for the rainfall period inclusive of December through February for the years 1944 through February 2024 which show the most recent December 2023 through February 2024 is unremarkable and well below prior year rainfall records experienced during this 3 month period.
The most recent state rainfall period for the City of Los Angeles for the months from December 2023 through February 2024 totals 15.55 inches of rainfall which is only the 940 highest experienced rainfall during this most recent period out of the highest 953 measured 3-month periods between 1944 and 2024.
The highest ever recorded City of Los Angeles rainfall over the period between December and February was 21.44 inches from December 1997 through February 1998 which is 138% greater than occurred between December 2023 and February 2024.
Shown below are the NOAA precipitation records for the City of San Diego for the rainfall period inclusive of December through February for the years 1939 through February 2024 which show the most recent December 2023 through February 2024 is unremarkable and well below prior year rainfall records experienced during this 3 month period.
The most recent state rainfall period for the City of San Diego for the months from December 2023 through February 2024 totals 9.03 inches of rainfall which is only the 976 highest experienced rainfall during this most recent period out of the highest 1014 measured 3-month periods between 1939 and 2024.
The highest ever recorded City of San Diego rainfall over the period between December and February was 16.37 inches from December 1992 through February 1993 which is 181% greater than occurred between December 2023 and February 2024.
The L A Times seems completely incapable of evaluating NOAA climate science data driven analysis concerning climate outcomes as demonstrated by the recent articles noted above which grossly misrepresent the outcomes of the 2023/2024 rainfall season in California, which based on detailed NOAA measured rainfall data, is a completely normal rainfall season and clearly not a “supercharged” and “wild” rainy season as falsely hyped by the climate alarmist propaganda presented in the L A Times recent articles.
The Times substitutes climate alarmism hyperbole dealing with peripheral topics concerning the rainy season outcome while never actually addressing NOAA’s extensive and highly detailed rainfall data outcomes that clearly establish the normal rainfall levels occurring in California this rainy season.
The Times claims of “supercharged” and “wild” rainfall between December 2023 through February 2024 in California are pathetic and a clear demonstration of the climate science incompetence represented by climate alarmist and climate alarmism propaganda.
Feelings are a lot more important, in the Dysfunctional state of Kalifornia, than that old fuddy-duddy science data. For instance: I feel like it’s time to move to Texas. Wait for it.
Ramp up the PANIC if you want to sell the “news”. But we have reached a saturation point where everything is CLIMATE CATASTROPHE all the time so no one pays attention any more, people have lives to live and the panic gets tuned out as noise.
I saw a poll that said “climate” was number 15 out of 15 in people’s priorities, education was number 1.
The UN My World 7-million people survey?
The last 6 months certainly have not been anywhere close to the worst rainfall that I’ve experienced in San Diego county over the last 5+ decades. Much of the flooding and damage this year was caused more by lack of maintenance on flood control infrastructure than by excessive rainfall.
The worst flooding in the area occurred in 1916. The worst in my memory was February 1980, with over a week of one rainstorm after another, fortunately the last rainstorm of the sequence missed the county.
I was going thru VS41 at NAS San Diego in February 1980. I do remember a mall was flooded north side of city and a small earth quake during my time there. Went to see Hal Holbrook do Mark Twain down town and that was a great show.
In recent years, rainfall in California has occurred from November to March.
5 day jetstream forecast.
So what the data show regarding California rainfall this past winter is that to avoid similar or worse flooding in the future, the State and its municipalities need to upgrade their storm water runoff systems. What the hysterics claim as needed to avoid such problems is for everyone to buy a battery-electric car or SUV. Soon, California will prohibit the sale of internal combustion propelled vehicles. Shall we wait and see if that does the trick? For me, I don’t care because I live in Maryland. But if I lived in California, I would be loudly protesting.
Protesting in a one party state controlled by the population of 4 counties out of 58 does nothing. It takes a successful initiative or recall when the corruption finally causes critical systems to fail massively for those residents.
Jerry Brown found that out in 1977 with the passage of proposition 13. Gray Davis found that out after Enron turned the lights out.
The jet stream is now reaching the Gulf of Mexico.
It would be less discomforting to take up daily self-flagellation with a scourge than to read the daily edition of the LA Times.
(I’ve previously thanked Eric Worrall here for reading such sludge as The Guardian so that we don’t have to. But sometimes, just like coming upon a horrible road accident, I can’t stop myself from looking at a Guardian article. And yes, the stupid – it burns.)
but… but… we’ve all read about apocalyptic, disastrous atmospheric rivers! like, like, the Amazon dumping on to LA! OMG! /sarc
Wasn’t the entire Central Valley an arm of the Pacific- what, a few million years ago? I’ve read about it but don’t recall the timing.
So has anyone insisted on a retraction? Every time they do something like this they should be confronted with evidence to the contrary and a retraction should be demanded.
Exactly what I was thinking.
Write and make a complaint, force them to issue a correction
Doesn’t work with the BBC but who knows
Heavy snowfall in the northeast of the US. They will further intensify at night.
For the MSM it’s not about selling newspapers but all about pushing the AGW narrative. The Marxists now control the MSM and the courts …. except for the court that counts the most, and they’re trying to change that.
What I found interesting is that the records for rainfall should be much longer. 1895? 1939? I rather think such records exist for a longer period, but do not fit The Narrative.
Given ’em 3 or 4 months and I’m confident the LA Times (and others) will be hyping the devastating California drought.
Those of us who have been around for a few years call it summer. And California is pretty much rain free for 6 months of every year.
In 1938, the Los Angeles, San Gabriel and Santa Ana rivers all burst their banks from heavy rainfall and destroyed thousands of acres with massive flooding and debris flow across the entire Southern California region. Over 100 people died. The flooding led Congress to the passage of the Flood Control Act of 1941, which led to the Army Corp of Engineers building concrete flood control channels in all three rivers which exist to this day.
Strange that the Los Angeles Times forgot that that happened. It’s almost as if reporters all developed amnesia at the same time that CO2 began controlling the weather.
It’s likely that none of the reporters writing for LAT were born before 1938 so they have never seen anything like those floods and therefore in their minds it has never happened before 🙂
So … did permanent flooding interrupt the permanent drought or did permanent drought interrupt the permanent flooding?
(Or, even though I don’t live in California, have I just remembered too many past claims?)
Don’t confuse people with the facts!
Anything for ad clicks.
I am one of those of those rare multigenerational San Diegans. Two sets of Great Grandparents arrived in San Diego during the period 1865 to 1885. Family lore is replete with bad weather stories. My paternal grandfather was seriously injured during the 1916 floods…still considered the worst weather event in San Diego history:. 22 deaths and destruction of a lot of infrastructure including bridges, roads and railroads.