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2 months ago | 
onlinelibrary.wiley.com | Daniel Swain |John Abatzoglou |Christine Albano |Manuela I. Brunner
On January 7 and 8, 2025, a series of wind-driven wildfires occurred in Los Angeles County in Southern California. Two of these fires ignited in dense woody chaparral shrubland and immediately burned into adjacent populated areas–the Palisades Fire on the coastal slopes of the Santa Monica Mountains and the Eaton fire in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
edhat.com | Daniel Swain
What is “hydroclimate volatility?”Hydroclimate volatility broadly refers to unusually rapid and/or high magnitude swings between unusually wet and dry conditions (or vice versa) relative to what is typical for a given location and season.
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Jan 14, 2025 | 
piedmontexedra.com | Daniel Swain
It’s never good feeling when a dire weather or disaster risk prognostication comes to fruition; that “pit in your stomach” sensation has been described by many meteorologists, climate scientists, emergency managers, and disaster-focused researchers over the years. It certainly encapsulates how I’m feeling this week in the wake of the dual wildland-urban fire catastrophes that have unfolded this week in Los Angeles.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
nature.com | Daniel Swain |Andreas F. Prein |John Abatzoglou |Christine Albano |Manuela I. Brunner |Noah S. Diffenbaugh | +2 more
AbstractHydroclimate volatility refers to sudden, large and/or frequent transitions between very dry and very wet conditions. In this Review, we examine how hydroclimate volatility is anticipated to evolve with anthropogenic warming. Using a metric of ‘hydroclimate whiplash’ based on the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, global-averaged subseasonal (3-month) and interannual (12-month) whiplash have increased by 31–66% and 8–31%, respectively, since the mid-twentieth century.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
piedmontexedra.com | Daniel Swain
The following weather commentary is from climate scientist Daniel Swain, aka @weather_west on social media. Swain studies the changing character, causes, and impacts of extreme weather and climate events on a warming planet–with a particular focus on the physical processes leading to droughts, floods, and wildfires. He holds a PhD in Earth System Science from Stanford University and a B.S. in Atmospheric Science from the University of California, Davis. His full curriculum vitae is available here.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
edhat.com | Daniel Swain
A dry autumn to date in most of California! But hydroclimate whiplash to come…It did turn out to be a much drier than average autumn across most of California and the Southwest after all (except the northernmost part of the state). Well, that has been true through mid-November, at least–though it’s going to change dramatically later this week.
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Nov 5, 2024 | 
edhat.com | Daniel Swain
“Inside slider” Systems to bring Drier and Windier Conditions into Mid-Nov, with Rising SoCal Wildfire Risk by Daniel Swain November 5, 2024, 9:03 am 55 Views Cumulative precipitation map for the past 15 days (ending 11/1). Areas saturated by dark blue-green colors have seen at leat half of an inch of rain during this period–representing greatly reduced wildfire risk even during dry/windy conditions. Notably, most of central and southern California has yet to see this level of precipitation....
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Oct 24, 2024 | 
piedmontexedra.com | Daniel Swain
Record-breaking heat did indeed occur across much of California and the Southwest in early October, as predicted. And the heatwave that occurred was ultimately both more intense and more prolonged than even the rather severe event that was originally anticipated. The following weather commentary is from climate scientist Daniel Swain, aka @weather_west on social media.
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Oct 2, 2024 | 
edhat.com | Daniel Swain
Major Autumn Heatwave to Continue Streak of Record Heat in Interior Southwest; Warm to Hot in California for Foreseeable Future by Daniel Swain October 2, 2024, 8:13 am 2 Views Major autumn heatwave to continue streak of record heat in interior Southwest; Warm to hot in California for foreseeable future (Courtesy) September was a bit of a roller coaster month in California (especially SoCal). In the southern half of the state, a record-breaking early Sep heatwave kickstarted a major wildfire...
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Sep 3, 2024 | 
edhat.com | Daniel Swain
Weather West: Unusually Hot Weather Returns to the West, Major Heatwave & Fire Weather Escalation after Labor Day by Daniel Swain September 3, 2024, 11:36 am 2 Views The official stats from NOAA have not yet been released, but it’s quite clear that Summer (Jun-Aug) 2024 will end up as the hottest on record for a broad swath of the American Southwest, including much or most of California (and perhaps the state overall). Notably, the immediate coast did NOT experience record heat this summer...
