The East Bay Regional Park District is preparing its parks for climate change.
The Bay Area is famous for its microclimates. Learn about the patterns of rain, sun, and wind that make our home what it is.
A River Runs Above Us
In mid-November 2021, a great storm begins brewing in the central Pacific Ocean north of Hawai‘i. Especially warm water, heated by the sun, steams off the sea surface and funnels into the sky. This article is from Hakai Magazine, an online … Read more
Why a Mouse Matters
Salt marsh harvest mice are hard to find, and their fates offer a glimpse at our own coastal society’s future. A reporter tags along on an epic rangewide survey of salties—the Bay Area’s own endemic mouse species.
As Whale Populations Grow, Dungeness Crabbers Foresee Their Own Demise
For decades, whale migration and crabbing operated as a tag team. But now, the whales are coming sooner—widening the window for exposure to fishing gear.
Rainy Day Roundup: All About Atmospheric Rivers
Gosh—is it raining again? When you’d rather stay inside reading about rain than go out and get wet, here’s a pile of stories from our archives.
Why Sneaker Waves Are So Insidious
Every now and then, the ocean sneaks up on the land, with a wave that’s bigger than all the rest. Scientists are working out where these dangerous waves come from.
A New Satellite Monitors Lightning Strikes and Fog to Map Weather Risks Faster
Nine of the 20 largest wildfires in California in the last 110 years were started by lightning strikes, including the devastating Lightning Complex fires in August 2020 that burned more than 750,000 acres in and around the Bay Area. Between … Read more
This Tropical Weather Phenomenon Can Have a Big Influence on California Rain and Snow, But Key Connections Remain a Mystery
In a famous experiment in the early 1960s, the mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz was running computer simulations of weather patterns, trying to see how they changed when he changed variables like wind or temperature at the start. One day, … Read more
We Can’t Rely on Drought-Busting Atmospheric Rivers Anymore
Atmospheric rivers are nothing short of a miracle for California. But climate change is altering their character.
Why October Rain Matters
Major October rain is in the forecast for the first time in five years. As they say in sports, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.