6 days ago
Entire state of California enduring cold summer
The Golden State has been a lot gloomier this summer as California experiences chillier weather and cloudy conditions which experts say is set to stick around. Temperatures in the Bay Area have hovered at an average of 67 degrees, below the average of 71 and making it the coldest summer since 1965. The phenomenon is due to a layer of air near the Pacific Ocean known as the marine layer, which is formed when warm, dry air comes in contact with a cool body of water.
In the summer months the warmer weather and cool water create a more dense marine layer, which causes low-hanging clouds that dampen a good beach day. 'The cooler waters off the Baja California coast have lingered through mid-July. The cooler waters have allowed upper-low pressure areas to drift into central California and enhance the marine layer for the Bay area. As a result, the low clouds have been more stubborn than normal this summer,' AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill told Daily Mail.
He noted that the high temperate in San Francisco has been 5 degrees cooler than average and has experienced a higher frequency than normal of overcast skies. 'The onshore flow contributes to the enhanced marine layer and this onshore flow is brought on by a series of upper-lows that have been off the coast and pushed inland through the central part of the state this summer,' Merrill added. This phenomenon is unique to the West Coast because cold water in the Pacific Ocean moves south from the Gulf of Alaska .
Water along the eastern Gulf Stream brings warmer tropical water north, meaning the east coast doesn't see the dense marine layer that California does. The marine layer along the east coast reforms almost daily, while along the west coast it can persist for days or weeks. San Francisco has seen a higher frequency than normal of overcast skies at 11 a.m. compared to average this summer. The cloud cover from the enhanced marine layer has allowed temperatures to trend cooler during the day.
Californians have nicknamed the weather patterns as 'May Gray,' 'June Gloom,' and 'No-Sky July.' 'June gloom is so named as June can be one of the months that tends to have more persistent marine clouds than any other month,' weather expert Ken Clark with AccuWeather said. This summer season has seen a dense marine layer, resulting in colder temperatures and cloudy conditions for Californians along the coast.
Greg Porter, the senior meteorologist with the San Francisco Chronicle , noted that Tuesday was the second day in a row when the entire Bay Area stayed under 80 degrees Fahrenheit. 'This cool, muted July follows an equally subdued June, driven by a combination of local ocean conditions and large-scale atmospheric patterns,' Porter said. 'Along the coast, colder than normal sea surface temperatures sharpen the marine layer, leading to thicker cloud cover, slower clearing and dampened daytime highs, even across the typically hot inland locations.'
Porter predicted the gloomy conditions are here to stay until August. The forecast for parts of southern California remains chillier, with parts of San Francisco experiencing highs in the low to mid-60s. Meanwhile, those who live farther inland can potentially see drastic differences in temperatures. 'It's not uncommon to have it cloudy and in the 60s at the beaches while it's in the 80s or even 90s only 10-20 miles inland,' Clark explained. Another reason for the persistent haze off the golden coast is a pattern called the jet stream, which are narrow winds high up in the atmosphere.
Porter explained that the jet stream has fallen into a semi-stationary rhythm, continuously holding over the same regions. The Earth has four primary jet streams that move weather systems from west to east. However, when a jet stream remains stationary, weather can stay relatively stagnant. 'California has been on the eastern flank of one such ridge, locked into a cool, cloudy pattern that persisted through June and July and now looks to continue into early August,' Porter said. 'Elsewhere, the same jet stream setup has delivered much more active weather from the grueling heat in Europe and Asia to the deadly flash floods across parts of the US.'
The meteorologist predicted that this pattern is likely to continue through the summer, so those thinking of planning a beach vacation to the California coast may want to reconsider going west. As California experiences cooler and cloudier temperatures, other parts of the country are seeing extreme weather . Texas experienced deadly flash floods at the start of the month, killing over 137 people, while the Tri-State area reached over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in June.
