The Lights Are Out in California, And That Was the Plan All Along

The power is out in Northern California. More than 1 million Californians are now without electricity, one of modern life’s essentials that is frequently taken for granted. The blackout was done on purpose—to prevent sparks from powerlines that could ignite deadly wildfires.

Before planned blackouts are through in two or three days, as many as 3 million Californians may go without power. On the surface, the blackout and its causes are simple to understand. But the deeper causes are complicated, span decades of public policy, and dozens of overlapping unintended—and intended—consequences of decisions, both related and unrelated.

The wind in Northern California is blowing in from dry Nevada, as it often does this time of year. It’s called the “Diablo wind.” In Southern California, the comparable current blowing in from the Mojave Desert is known as the “Santa Ana winds.”

In both cases, as the wind rises above California’s mountain spine, then descends, it compresses and heats up. Forests, chaparral and brush, dry this time of year in California’s Mediterranean climate, are primed for wildfires.

Michael Wara, Stanford University’s director of climate and energy policy, warns, “We are having to adapt to new circumstances brought about by climate change.” He estimates that this week’s blackout could cost the state as much as $2.6 billion in lost economic activity.

Politicians, journalists, and some scientists repeat a common refrain: California is getting hotter and drier because of climate change. They ignore the fact that annual precipitation totals over the past 100 years show no statistically meaningful trend.

zeestephen: "CO2 does cause some warming."

CodeToad: "Total BS."

OK.

A link would be helpful.

I read “Watts Up With That” every day - it is the most widely read Conservative anti-Warming site in the world.

Most of the people who post there work full time in math, science, and engineering.

I don't recall anyone ever claiming that CO2 causes no warming.

In any event - the basic theory of Global Warming is built on the theory that CO2 modestly warms the planet, which “forces” the oceans to release more H2O vapor, which creates much more warming than CO2.

The real question, “Why did they tape off those Tesla re chargers/chargers, and 100 yards away, the gasoline pumps were running 24/7.”

Small and usually busy strip malls were without power for 2-4+ days.

Yet, the large shopping centers with Targets, Walmarts, Home Depots, Lowes, Safeways, Raleys and Whole foods were open.

Apparently, with their smart electric meters, PGE can shut off specific stores, neighborhoods and homes or leave the power on.

My wife somehow ended up replying to a PG&E text with her smart phone. Their records showed that she was the head RN for a medical group. They wanted to know if they needed power. She told them that she was retired, and who, they needed to contact.

She asked them about people like me, who use CPAP at night to breath and other medical devices. Apparently, if my PC/MD verifies this need, something special can be done unless there is a total area wide blackout. We got the form in the mail and will send it back after our PC verifies the need.

So there are a lot of unanswered ?’s from not recharging Tesla batteries to why some business or homes got power and some didn’t.

Great Flood of 1862

The Great Flood of 1862 was the largest flood in the recorded history of Oregon, Nevada, and California, occurring from December 1861 to January 1862, caused by an ARkStorm. It was preceded by weeks of continuous rains and snows in the very high elevations that began in Oregon in November 1861 and continued into January 1862. This was followed by a record amount of rain from January 9–12, and contributed to a flood that extended from the Columbia River southward in western Oregon, and through California to San Diego, and extended as far inland as Idaho in the Washington Territory, Nevada and Utah in the Utah Territory, and Arizona in the western New Mexico Territory. The ARkStorm dumped an equivalent of 10 feet of rainfall in California, in the form of rain and snow, over a period of 43 days. Immense snowfalls in the mountains of the far western United States caused more flooding in Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, and Sonora, Mexico the following spring and summer as the snow melted.

The event was capped by a warm intense storm that melted the high snow load. The resulting snow-melt flooded valleys, inundated or swept away towns, mills, dams, flumes, houses, fences, and domestic animals, and ruined fields. It has been described as the worst disaster ever to strike California.

The weather pattern that caused this flood was not from an El Niño type event, and from the existing Army and private weather records, it has been determined that the polar jet stream was to the north as the Pacific Northwest experienced a mild rainy pattern for the first half of December 1861. In 2012, hydrologists and meteorologists concluded that the precipitation was likely caused by a series of atmospheric rivers that hit the Western United States along the entire West Coast, from Oregon to Southern California.

An atmospheric river is a wind-borne, deep layer of water vapor with origins in the tropics, extending from the surface to high altitudes, often above 10,000 feet, and concentrated into a relatively narrow band, typically about 400 to 600 kilometres (250 to 370 mi) wide, usually running ahead of a frontal boundary, or merging into it.With the right dynamics in place to provide lift, an atmospheric river can produce astonishing amounts of precipitation, especially if it stalls over the same area for any length of time.

Prior to the flooding, Oregon had steady but heavier than normal rainfall during November and heavier snow in the mountains. Researchers believe the jet stream slid south accompanied by freezing conditions reported at Oregon stations by December 25. Heavy rainfall began falling in California as the longwave trough moved down over the state, remaining there until the end of January 1862 and causing precipitation everywhere in the state for nearly 40 days. Eventually the trough moved even further south, causing snow to fall in the Central Valley and surrounding mountain ranges.